The International 2023 Sees Seven Unpicked Heroes
The International 2023, the biggest tournament for Dota 2, has come to a close. While fans enjoyed watching various heroes in action, there were seven heroes that did not make an appearance throughout the entire event, either because they were not picked or banned.
Our team at has been closely monitoring the hero contest rates, and in our latest report, we highlighted that nine Dota 2 heroes were yet to be seen at TI 2023. However, as the tournament progressed, the number decreased to seven, with Tinker and Dragon Knight finally getting the chance to show their skills in the final days.
With Tinker and Dragon Knight out of the picture, Abaddon, Lion, Meepo, Shadow Shaman, Slardar, Timbersaw, and Winter Wyvern ended TI 2023 with zero playtime.
Tinker’s only appearance came from LGD Gaming, who selected the hero for their mid lane against Team Spirit in the upper bracket finals. Despite a valiant effort, Tinker couldn’t keep up with Spirit’s catching abilities, resulting in LGD’s loss after a 76-minute game.
On the other hand, Dragon Knight made a strong entrance in an elimination match between BetBoom Team and Azure Ray. BetBoom chose Dragon Knight as their mid lane hero, and he played exceptionally well on the main stage, contributing significantly to BetBoom’s victory and tying the series.
Among the remaining seven heroes, Meepo has been a fan favorite, although his return is met with mixed feelings. Meepo is known for his unique abilities and is exciting to watch in professional matches. However, his overpowering nature in ranked matches has made him a nightmare, resulting in less hope for his appearance in recent patches.
Another surprising omission is Lion, a staple hero in TI events due to his disabling spells. While Lion retains his core abilities, his high mana cost and longer cooldowns compared to other heroes make him weaker during the laning stage.
With The International 2023 now over, Dota 2’s TI Compendium is finally coming to an end. It is expected that the removal of the Compendium from the game will coincide with a gameplay update that may bring some life back to the underutilized heroes of this year’s TI.
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