The International 2026: Group Stage Meta Recap

Before the Playoffs begin, let's take a quick look at the most popular Dota 2 heroes in the Group Stage of The International 2026 and which teams made the most of them.

This might give you some insights that not only add useful knowledge about the tournament but also serve as a reference for picks in ranked matches and in the ongoing event.

The International 2026: Group Stage Meta Recap

Green Means Good

Starting from the bottom of the Top 5, Undying had a pretty good performance with 19 victories in 37 matches, amounting to an overall 51.35% win rate, the second highest in the list.

Team Falcons and Team Yandex were the ones to take the best results out of him, winning 3 out of 4 matches with the hero each. The BoomBoys also won 3 out of 5 matches and got positive results from him.

Earth Spirit is in fourth place in terms of popularity but was the uncontested best performer in the Top 5 after winning 25 out of 38 matches and achieving an impressive 65.79% win rate.

TEAM VISION and Team Spirit won every game where they picked this rolling boy, and Iron Wing won 6 out of 7 matches where they picked Earth Spirit. He is most predominant in the midlane and should be considered whenever you have the chance to pick him.

Third place was another tanky hero. Centaur Warrunner won 21 out of 43 matches and got a 48.84% win rate. Despite falling below average, the fact that even losing teams have picked Cent and he still managed to remain around average makes him pretty decent overall.

LGD Gaming won 3 out of 4 matches with Centaur Warrunner, but considering that they were eliminated, he is not that good of a pick. The only team in the Top 8 that picked Centaur was Falcons, and they only won half of the 4 matches with the hero.

Squirrel Woman Still Owns the Meta

Mirana got second place in the popularity contest and won 24 out of 51 matches, amounting to a 47.06% win rate. Her situation is similar to Centaur’s, with an overall good performance but nothing impressive.

She also was popular among teams that were eliminated. Mirana won 3 out of 4 games in the hands of Aurora Gaming and also won half the matches where she was picked by LGD Gaming.

Finally, Hoodwink still holds the title of most popular hero, but at the cost of a very low win rate of 41.82% after winning 23 out of 55 matches so far in The International 2026.

LGD Gaming won 3 out of 4 matches with her, and the only team in the Top 8 that had good results with Hoodwink was Team Liquid, winning 5 out of 8 matches. This might be an important point in favor of Liquid.

Closing Thoughts

If you picked emerald as a Title, you might be getting some extra points on the compendium due to an abundance of green heroes in the Top 5. We will cover the Playoffs for The International 2026 and return with the updated Meta Recap when the tournament is over, so remember to check our news section on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Source: Dota 2

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