Clavision Masters 2025 vs EWC 2025: how the meta has changed in Dota 2

The Clavision Masters 2025 has recently concluded, with the unexpected victory of Team Tidebound. In light of this, we decided to analyze the changes in the meta compared to Riyadh Masters 2025 — one of the biggest tournaments of the year. 

Common features

First of all, it's worth highlighting the similarities in drafts and overall team strategies. Shadow Shaman, Puck, and Queen of Pain remained among the most picked heroes at both tournaments, although their effectiveness noticeably declined. At the Chinese event, Queen of Pain was more popular with 79 total appearances in drafts, while Puck was slightly ahead at Riyadh with 77. Shadow Shaman, meanwhile, was picked an average of 40 times at both events, indicating teams' preference for tempo-based play with the added safety of reliable crowd control.

Additionally, Naga Siren was one of the few heroes that retained a high priority among teams. At Clavision Masters, her total draft presence reached 86 matches — almost the same as at the Esports World Cup (88). A clear trend persisted: teams preferred banning Naga rather than letting her into the game. In China, she secured a 60% win rate across 5 matches, while in Saudi Arabia — 62.5% across 8. She is widely considered too dangerous to be given to the enemy.

Differences

A key difference in the meta of the Chinese event became especially evident with the performance of Shadow Fiend. He did appear at Riyadh Masters as well, but due to differing strategies, didn’t perform nearly as impressively (52% over 25 matches) as he did at Clavision (91.67% over 12 series). In Riyadh, teams leaned toward macro-play heroes and map control, favoring picks like Chen, Nature’s Prophet, and Batrider. In contrast, Clavision was dominated by tempo-based aggression from the start, which allowed SF to truly shine. Team Spirit's carry Ilya Yatoro Mulyarchuk even called Nevermore “the strongest hero of the patch” in an interview, noting his flexibility in playing position 1 or 2, ease of lane-winning, and suitability for any draft.

Also defining the “Snow-Ruyi” meta were Storm Spirit with a 69.23% win rate and Dark Willow with 70%. Their high effectiveness — as noted earlier — reflects the strength of fast, mobile playstyles. By contrast, at the EWC, the best-performing heroes were Nature’s Prophet (75% in 24 games) and Chen (72.73% in 11) — heroes with strong late-game potential. The least effective picks also changed: in Saudi Arabia, the worst was Warlock (31.58% in 19 matches), while in China, it was Dazzle (21.43% in 15).

Conclusion

Clavision Masters 2025 became a showcase of a meta built on speed, burst damage, and early map dominance. Teams aimed to assert control from the first minutes, set the pace, and prevent their opponents from scaling. This approach stood in stark contrast to the performances at Riyadh Masters, where success came from aura-based heroes, global impact, and strategies focused on dragging the game out for long-term payoff.