ESL One Bangkok is reaching its peak but we are not over from the intense Group Stage! The three-day phase witnessed a certain pattern in meta with interesting picks from various teams. It was obvious that different teams had unique strategies and drafting - but some heroes are just too good to ignore. Let's look at the most popular heroes during the ESL One Bangkok Group Stage.

We also reached out to analyst TeaGuvnor for his thoughts on the most picked heroes during the ESL One Bangkok Group Stage. Explore his input below!

  All stats referred from Spectral Stats.  

Most Popular Hero at ESL One Bangkok

Interestingly, Magnus is the highest-contested hero so far in this tournament. Out of 67 games played, the hero was either picked or banned in 66 games, with only one match of absence! Magnus was picked 22 times and banned 44 times.

This is a very high contest rate that we don't often witness in high-profile tournaments. The crowd-control hero has a 59% win rate during the Group Stage - which is high for a hero with many picks. Magnus is also very versatile with many role changes among different teams. Throughout the tournament he was seen as a:

• Offlane - x11
• Midlane - x6
• Carry - x3
• Pos 4 - x2

The team which picked Magnus the most was Shopify Rebellion with 5 total picks. AVULUS delivered the most bans on Magnus with 8 total bans. Interestingly, the top teams of the tournament, Team Falcons and PARIVISION, also banned Magnus a ton with 7 bans each.

Top Picks at ESL One Bangkok 

"All these heroes provide no loss in the draft. So when you pick them it doesn't allow your opponent to instantly counter you and break your game," TeaGuvnor comments on the Group Stage's most picked heroes. 

Batrider is one of the event's stars with not only the highest pick but also one of the highest win rates. The hero was picked 28 times and boasted a 64% win rate. Batrider is often played in the position 4 role, a solid nuisance for the enemy carry.

"Batrider is a strong lane-securing-4 with BKB piercing capabilities," said TeaGuvnor.

The second most-picked is Magnus, followed by Ogre Magi in the third place. This two-headed may not be intelligent but when utilized well, it can be a lane-destroyer. Ogre was picked 21 times during the Group Stage with a total win rate of 62%. It is often played as a position 5, mostly picked by Nigma Galaxy with 6 matches. 

"Ogre is a lane-securing position 5 that is hard to kill plus [it has an] attack speed buff," TeaGuvnor commented.

Although Lina isn't among the top 5 picks in ESL One Bangkok, she saw a lot of success in games, especially in the hands of Team Falcons. She was picked 17 times and was almost equally banned 18 times. She is mostly played as a midlane (13 matches) and occasionally played in the fourth (4 matches). 

"Lina is close to uncounterable in the mid lane and has INSANE burst. Not only that, if you do want to try and go even or beat a Lina in lane, you have to pick really specific heroes that hurts your own draft," said TeaGuvnor.

Top Bans at ESL One Bangkok 

The most banned heroes have a similar pattern of being easy farming heroes that perhaps can snowball quickly. The first one being the ultimate "greedy" hero that benefits off of gold and farm.

Alchemist is the most-banned hero during the Group Stage. This hero hasn't really made waves in the past few tournaments but it is a big threat in this particular event. Out of 67 total matches, Alchemist was banned 61 times! It was picked in 6 games with a 66% win rate. 

Next is Dragon Knight with 58 bans! This hero can easily farm from the earliest moments of the game. It was picked 8 times with a great 75% win rate. It is a versatile core that was played in the midlane and as a carry.

Will these popular heroes remain relevant throughout ESL One Bangkok or will we see some changes?