Which Heroes Are SEA Teams Picking and Banning in the 2021 DPC Season 2

The SEA 2021 DPC Season 2, including both the Upper and Lower Divisions, has now run for two weeks, witnessing around 50 games in total. Like any other team in other regions, SEA teams are also getting accustomed to patch 7.29b, aiming to find a set of Dota 2 heroes that are strong in the current meta. Undoubtedly, Beastmaster currently transcends all other characters in the game, and as a result, it hardly gets through the first banning phase. On the other hand, the popularity of some heroes like Lion has risen over the last couple of weeks, while some like Lycan find themselves down in the dumps. Here is a look at the most popular heroes in the SEA 2021 DPC Season 2 so far. (all data has been taken from DotaBuff)

ALSO READ:  Week 2 Recap of the 2021 DPC Season 2: Upper Division [All Regions]

Most popular heroes in the SEA 2021 DPC season 2 so far

1. Puck

Puck prevails as the most popular hero in the SEA 2021 DPC Season 2. She is the most considered hero after the first two weeks, having been picked 17 times and banned 32 times. Because the hero received only minor nerfs in patch 7.29, Puck’s versatility in her item choices and in-game roles continues to make her any SEA team’s go-to choice. She also has favorable or even matchups in most laning phases and scales throughout the course of the game. 

In the 17 games that she has been picked, Puck has been very successful with a win rate of 75% in the Upper Division (8 games) and 77% in the Lower Division (9 games).

2. Beastmaster

The Aghanim Scepter’s upgrade which removed the cooldown from Wild Axes in addition to other benefits has put Beastmaster on cloud nine. Not only in SEA but in almost every other region, Beastmaster is being banned in the first phase. The hero has been picked 12 times and banned a total of 36 times in the first two weeks of the SEA 2021 DPC Season. The hero is predominantly played in the mid lane now. Even if he suffers a defeat in the lane, he can simultaneously create jungle stacks for himself using his Wild Boar. He can then instantly farm all those neutral camps and rush an Aghanim’s Scepter. 65 mana cost on Wild Axes allows him to spam the ability multiple times without requiring any expensive item to keep up with the mana drained.

In the 12 games that he has been picked, Beastmaster has been very successful with a win rate of 77% in the Upper Division (9 games) and 66% in the Lower Division (3 games).

3. Death Prophet

Similar to Puck, Death Prophet is another hero that is continuing to get recognition from the SEA teams. She has been picked 8 times and banned 29 times at the conclusion of the second week. Death Prophet did receive substantial nerfs to her movement speed and base damage in patch 7.29 but that has seemingly not deterred the teams from picking it. Perhaps, the ability to still be a decent laner, versatile enough to allow her to be played in the various roles, and the requirement of the meta to take towers and engage in constant teamfights on the team’s midlaner, make her potent. Though she has only been picked in 8 games, the amount of times she has been banned is a testimony of her strength.

4. Timbersaw

A hero that is oftentimes taken out of the drafts in the first phase, Timbersaw has been the first choice offlaner for many SEA DPC teams in recent times. The hero finds himself banned numerous times - a total of 32 times to be precise, and as a result, has only been picked 4 times in both Divisions. Timbersaw loses almost no matchup in the laning phase and provides his team with an incredible amount of map control due to his ability to push lanes aggressively without taking considerable risks. The hero received mild nerfs to his abilities in the current patch but that did not change the innate mechanics and the playstyle of the hero. 

5. Lion

Lion has been picked the most - 25 times in the SEA 2021 DPC Season 2  whereas he has been banned 9 times. The hero only had one significant buff in patch 7.29, to his Aghanim’s Shard. The Shard allows him to become Spell Immune while channeling Mana Drain and increases the drain hero targets from one to three. Though Lion had not been the most popular hero in the previous patch, he had already started to attract attention in its latter phases. Now with this Shard buff, SEA teams have seemingly prioritized this hero a lot in the second season. The hero is a complete package when it comes to disabling and performs well with a number of offlaners.

ALSO READ:  Top Dota 2 Players Missing From the 2021 DPC Season 2

With four more weeks of Dota 2 yet to be played in the 2021 DPC Season 2, it will be intriguing to see which other Dota 2 heroes emerge in popularity.