Ti9 Picks

Non-traditional hero picks are one of the bonuses of experimentation during the TI9 group stage. (Image via Valve) Every year at the International, we’re presented with interesting, albeit strange, drafts that closer reflect our own pub games than they do top-level Dota. The International 2019 organized by Valve:http://dota2.com/https://www.twitch.tv/dota2tihttps://twitter.com/dota2ti/https://www.instagram.com/dota2/https://w.

• Ti Pick
• Ti9 Pick Rate
• Ti9 Hero Picks
• Ti Pickling

With the Group Stage of The International 2019 (TI9) over, we now have an idea of what the metagame will be for the Main Event thanks to the trend of hero picks and bans throughout the preliminary stage of the tournament.

Join us as we dive into the heroes of the TI9 Group Stage and why teams have chosen to either pick or ban them in their drafts.

Most Picked: Elder Titan

Elder Titan appeared in the most games throughout the Group Stages, being picked a total of 54 times and sporting a decent 57.41% win rate. The hero has been played on both support positions, largely thanks to a skillset that has a high-impact throughout a game regardless of whether he gets a lot of items or not.

His Astral Spirit is very strong early game, as it allows him to harass opponents while buffing himself to effectively trade hits or even right-click enemies to death. Comboing Astral Spirit with Echo Stomp also gives him a very long range of initiation, which also makes him very effective in controlling Roshan especially when used in unison with his ultimate, Split Earth. His passive, Natural Order, reducing the armor and magic resistance of enemies is the icing on top.

Ogre Magi and Shadow Demon have also been popular choices among teams, with being picked a total of 51 times. Ogre Magi is tanky, has good stun and damage abilities, and can even buff his carry, while Shadow Demon is a solid support that can dish out a lot of damage alongside save and initiation abilities.

Gyrocopter (40), Tiny (39), Ember Spirit (36), Leshrac (36), Sand King (35), Kunkka (35), and Mirana (33) round out the rest of the top 10 most picked heroes.

Most Banned: Alchemist, Enchantress

Teams seem to not want to have Alchemist and Enchantress in their games, as the two have been the most banned heroes so far with 99 apiece — over 20 times more than the third most-banned hero. The two have only managed to sneak through the draft 27 and 24 times respectively, with both having win rates hovering just below 60% to prove their worth.

While Alchemist has always been one of the best farming heroes in the game, he hasn’t always been the most capable carry in teamfights and tends to get outclassed if the game goes longer after he peaks. Players seem to have solved that problem by foregoing the Radiance-Manta-Octarine farm/splitpush-focused build of the past for a more fight-ready itemization with Radiance, Blink Dagger, Black King Bar, and Skull Basher into Abyssal Blade.

Enchantress provides a lot of damage thanks to her Impetus ultimate, while Untouchable and Nature’s Attendants make her deceptively tanky. Teams have largely picked her as an offlaner that can push the opposing carry out of the lane once she hits level 6 or as a position-4 that can also act as a core once she gets items.

Mirana (74), Shadow Demon (66), Chen (62), Kunkka (61), Leshrac (60), Magnus (56), Lifestealer (51), and Ogre Magi (50) comprise the rest of the top 10 most banned heroes.

Top picks per position (>10)

Carry

• Gyrocopter (40)
• Ember Spirit (36)
• Lifestealer (30)
• Alchemist (27)
• Sven (26)
• Slark (23)
• Naga Siren (15)
• Wraith King (14)
• Faceless Void (13)
• Morphling/Razor/Juggernaut/Templar Assassin (12)

Mid

• Tiny (39)
• Leshrac/Ember Spirit (36)
• Kunkka (35)
• Alchemist (27)
• Storm Spirit (21)
• Outworld Devourer (15)
• Death Prophet (13)
• Broodmother/Timbersaw/Razor/Templar Assassin (12)
• Queen of Pain (11)

Offlane

• Ogre Magi (51)
• Sand King (35)
• Tidehunter (25)
• Enchantress (24)
• Earthshaker (23)
• Beastmaster/Axe (21)
• Centaur Warruner (18)
• Abaddon (16)
• Magnus (14)
• Pangolier (12)
• Batrider (11)

Support

• Elder Titan (54)
• Shadow Demon (51)
• Mirana (33)
• Ancient Apparition/Crystal Maiden (31)
• Grimstroke (26)
• Lina (25)
• Invoker/Warlock (22)
• Rubick/Shadow Shaman (19)
• Chen (18)
• Dark Willow (16)
• Jakiro (14)
• Enigma/Omniknight (12)

*figures are based on prevalent position for heroes, some heroes like Invoker are considered support after being played at their traditional role (mid) less than their new role in the Group Stage (support)

Unpicked Heroes

Ti Pick

• Brewmaster
• Clockwerk
• Dark Seer
• Keeper of the Light
• Night Stalker
• Riki
• Ursa

All statistics courtesy of Dotabuff.

Be sure to check out our coverage of The International 2019 Group Stage for more TI9 action.

The International (TI 9) begins August 15, 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. Eighteen teams from the six global regions will battle for their share of the ~31 million USD TI9 prize pool. Europe is the most represented region at this year’s event with 6 out of the 18 teams representing the region. The second most represented region is China with 4 teams.

The regular 2018/19 season went the way of Team Secret, who managed to win two of the five majors and end up 2^nd or 3^rd in others. In fact, out of the twelve teams with direct Invites to the The International only 3 teams (2 Secret, 1 Virtus.Pro, 2 Vici Gaming) managed to secure a win at one of the five Majors. TI9 Regional qualifiers were held in July 2019 to determined the six final participants at the event. Two former champions Na’Vi (2011) and Newbee (2014) secured their spot at the event through regional qualifiers. The qualifiers were divided by country: Europe, CIS, North America, China, Southeast Asia. TI 9 European Qualifiers took place between July 11^th – 14^th.

This season resulted in six out of the eight previous Champions qualifying for the The International 2019.

Fantasy leagues and betting providers are buzzing with TI9 betting odds and coefficients already. In order to stay ahead of the curve and prepare our readers for the upcoming festivities we aim to create the ultimate Dota 2 TI9 predictions out there.

Below are our predictions Dota 2 TI9 predictions categorized by odds and value.

Place your Dota 2 TI9 bets with Unikrn:

Outright winner

We begin our TI9 betting guide with the mother-of-all predictions “Outright Winner” of The International 2019. Dota 2 betting sites and analysts are favoring Team Secret as the team with the highest chance of winning. For those that prefer safe betting, our choice is instead Vici Gaming as the team with the best chance at winning. If you are looking to place a longshot bet at a winner and net better winnings look no further than Virtus.Pro. It offers the best “bang for your buck” bet out of the attending teams while also being a relatively likely winner.

As tradition goes, each year thousands of predictions are made about the outright winner and less then 1% percent of the analysis is on point. Taking such high probability of upsets and uncertainty into account, Virtus.Pro is the best value and odds bet for the Outright Winner at The International (2019).

Group Stage

On the 14^th of August 2019, Valve announced the group draw for The International 2019: Group Stage. At first glance, both groups of nine are somewhat equal in balance, making for an interesting opportunity for TI9 fantasy pick’ems and bets. The Dota 2 odds for teams advancing out of the Group Stage and into the winner/loser bracket stage still favor the best performers from the Regular Season.

Group A

• Team Secret
• Team Liquid
• TNC Predator
• PSG LGD
• Chaos Esports
• Keen Gaming
• Alliance
• Mineski
• Newbee

Ti9 Pick Rate

Ti9 Hero Picks

Group B

• Virtus.ro
• Vici Gaming
• Evil Geniuses
• Fnatic
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• OG
• Infamous
• Natus Vincere
• Royal Never Give Up

A plethora of bets and fantasy picks became available after the groups were announced varying from “Average deaths per player” to “Champion versus champion pick amounts”. Some of these betting categories are so outrageous to predict. A specific TI meta will evolve during the event and game times and player performance will vary greatly based on the evolving meta. We would advise against trying to predict any of these outcomes unless you are a 5000iq 5head.

As for more reasonable prediction categories we would single out:

Ti Pickling

• Team eliminated from Group A: Mineski
• Team eliminated from Group B: Infamous
• Teams to advance to Winner Bracket out of Group A: Secret, Liquid, PSG.LGD, TNC Predator
• Teams to advance to Winner Bracket out of Group B: Vici Gaming, Virtus.Pro, OG, Evil Geniuses
• Group A points leader: Team Secret
• Group B points leader: Vici Gaming

For a day by day prediction of match outcomes we have prepared the following news articles:

• Day 1: The International 2019: Groups Analysis and Predictions
• Day 2: Coming Soon
• Day 3: Coming Soon
  
• Day 4: Coming Soon

Outright bets

A plethora of Dota 2 TI 2019 outright bets are available at various betting sites. Based on current and past TI9 betting odds and results, we predict the following outcomes:

Region to likely be Champion at TI 2019: Europe
Teams to likely reach Grand Final: Virtus.Pro, Liquid, Vici Gaming
Top team in Region: Team Secret (EU), Vici Gaming (CN), Virtus.Pro (CIS), Fnatic (SEA)
Region of Winner: Europe
Past Champion to Win TI 2019: No
Invited team vs Qualified team to win TI 9: Invited Team

The predictions above are generated based on trends and results in previous competitions and Majors in the 2018/19 season.

Compendium Specials

No Dota 2 TI9 predictions can be complete without the Compendium Specials. Some of the most entertaining bets and predictions can be placed on game time, kill and death averages. We will split the predictions in two categories. Best odds and best value.

Check out our selection of esports betting sites and esports betting bonus offers for the best TI9 betting odds. Place your bets wisely.

Betting Odds