How does GamGem decide a Dota 2 position?

A player's position is read from two things the match records: the lane at ten minutes and the farm rank on its own team. A team counts only when all five agree, so every figure is a real position 1 to 5: 4,897 teams qualified out of 5,672 in 2,836 professional matches on patch 7.41.

Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 1?

Tiny (411 games, 48% won), Shadow Fiend (394 games, 48% won) and Kez (312 games, 56% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 13:03.

Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 2?

Ember Spirit (598 games, 53% won), Puck (458 games, 52% won) and Storm Spirit (436 games, 50% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 12:50.

Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 3?

Underlord (376 games, 42% won), Axe (355 games, 53% won) and Doom (343 games, 55% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 13:09.

Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 4?

Hoodwink (859 games, 50% won), Rubick (654 games, 50% won) and Dark Willow (378 games, 46% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 21:20.

Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 5?

Phoenix (396 games, 47% won), Bane (373 games, 54% won) and Winter Wyvern (360 games, 54% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 22:38.

Explain simply

English

By GamGem ResearchLast updated 27 Sept 2026

Sourced

Dota 2

I was assigned position 3

Position 3, Off Lane: You're the frontline initiator and space creator.

Create lane pressure
Occupy dangerous farm
First 2,000-gold item11:02–15:21
Mistake that loses the roleFarming safe while map burns

UnderlordMost played at pos 3 · 376 league games · 42% won

Role timecard — Off Lane roadmap · pro medians

0:00StartLane setup
- · Block / secure range
- · Contest pull
- · Keep wave near tower
2:006 LH520 goldFirst pull
- · Pull small camp
- · Deny range creep
- · Maintain pressure
5:0021 LH1,523 goldFirst runes
- · Secure power rune if safe
- · Ping mid
- · Keep lane advantage
8:0039 LH2,695 goldStack & pressure
- · Stack ancients
- · Pressure tower
- · Keep lane rotation
10:0055 LH3,646 goldFirst timing window
- · Smoke or walk
- · Take fight with item lead
- · Take objective
15:00101 LH6,338 goldTower decisions
- · Take outer tower
- · Move to triangle
- · Create map chaos

Farm permission overlay

TakeYour farm. Push vision.
ShareWith team. Communicate.
Only if emptyCheck map. No priority.
NeverEnemy space. Too risky.

10:00–25:00 — role handoffs

10:00Initiate fights and break towersYour items are online. Team wants space.
15:00Move to triangle and deep farmYour lane takes less risk now.
20:00+Frontline for high groundYour initiation wins fights.

Core item branches — share · median minute

Core

Blink Dagger65%18:53
Aghanim's Shard66%21:31
Black King Bar59%26:09

Alternatives

Phase Boots44%7:29
Aghanim's Scepter39%28:14
Shiva's Guard26%31:58

Support your supports — pos 4 · pos 5

Observer Wards placed: 6 · 9
Sentry Wards placed: 11 · 19
Camps stacked: 3 · 2
Gold by 10:00: 1,868 · 1,812

Pos 5 buys, per game

Sentry Ward×20.2
Smoke of Deceit×3.8
Blood Grenade×2.5
Clarity×2.4

Bad draft rescue — pick 2

No stuns?Most-played Disablers here.
No frontline?Most-played Durable heroes here.
No damage?Most-played Nukers here.

Lane decision tree

Enemy pull or contest?YesNoContest or block pull?Win fightKeep pressureLose fightPlay safePull small campStack & push wave

Power spikes — median minute

Blink DaggerBought in 65% of games18:53
Black King BarBought in 59% of games26:09
Aghanim's ScepterBought in 39% of games28:14
Shiva's GuardBought in 26% of games31:58

Failure detector — in lost games

Less XP by 10:0069% · won 50%
Less gold by 10:0073% · won 50%
Fewer last hits at 10:0063% · won 48%
More deaths88% · won 36%
Fewer camps stacked46% · won 39%

Share of games below the winners’ median. Bar = lost games, tick = won. Losing makes these numbers as much as they make the loss.

Emergency cheat sheet

Lost lane?Stack jungle → Call for gank → Play around team.
Behind in items?Fight with team → Smoke → Take objectives.
Core dead?Take tower → Take map → Don't farm.
No vision?Buy wards → Smoke → Control map.
Need comeback?Pickoff → Roshan → Push.

Sources — counted

2,836 league matches, patch 7.41OpenDota
Patch 7.41 NotesValve
Roster · 127 heroesapi.opendota.com
Win rate, pick rate and sampleapi.opendota.com

Valve’s premium and professional leagues, Captains Mode. 4,897 of 5,672 teams read cleanly as pos 1–5; counted 2026-09-27.

Quick reference — pro medians

13:09First 2,000-gold item
561Gold per minute
55Last hits at 10:00
693XP per minute
2Camps stacked
5Deaths

All five positions — pro medians, patch 7.41, 4,897 teams

Position	Most played	GPM	XPM	Last hits 10:00	Gold 10:00	First 2,000g item	Wards obs / sen	Deaths	Most-bought 2,000g+ items
Pos 1 Safe Lane	Tiny, Shadow Fiend, Kez	709	811	66	4,051	13:03	0 / 0	4	Black King Bar, Yasha, Manta Style
Pos 2 Mid Lane	Ember Spirit, Puck, Storm Spirit	589	753	59	3,939	12:50	2 / 1	4	Black King Bar, Aghanim's Scepter, Kaya
Pos 3 Off Lane	Underlord, Axe, Doom	561	693	55	3,646	13:09	0 / 0	5	Blink Dagger, Black King Bar, Aghanim's Scepter
Pos 4 Soft Support	Hoodwink, Rubick, Dark Willow	332	471	8	1,868	21:20	6 / 11	7	Blink Dagger, Force Staff, Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Pos 5 Hard Support	Phoenix, Bane, Winter Wyvern	323	447	7	1,812	22:38	9 / 19	7	Blink Dagger, Force Staff, Glimmer Cape

Official images

Game data and media via IGDB · igdb.com

Sources

Five positions, countedread 27 Sept 2026
4,897 of 5,672 teams in 2,836 premium and professional league matches on patch 7.41, read through OpenDota’s SQL explorer. A player’s position is its lane at ten minutes and its farm rank on its team; a team counts only when all five come out one of each. Every figure is a median. ⚠️ Observational: winning games make these numbers as much as the numbers make wins.
Roster · 127 heroesread 15 Sept 2026
Name, primary attribute, attack type and role list, read from Valve’s published hero data.
Win rate, pick rate and sampleread 15 Sept 2026
Counted over 4,610,063 public matches, per hero, with the same figures again above Ancient. The tier letter is derived from the win rate and is labelled so wherever it appears.
Portraitsread 15 Sept 2026
Served from Valve’s own CDN and never copied into this site. Steam’s API terms permit commercial use; GamGem is not endorsed by Valve.
What players buildread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items on each hero in each of Valve’s four game stages, counted over public matches. Each row carries its own pick count.
Matchups and game lengthread 16 Sept 2026
Who each hero loses to and beats, counted over public matches with a floor of 30 games per pair, plus the same hero's win rate in each of five game-length bands. ⚠️ Observational: a matchup win rate is not a claim that one hero counters another by design. Synergy — how a hero does WITH another — is not published by this channel and is not shown.
Patch movementread 16 Sept 2026
Which heroes the live patch names, and which way each line moved, counted off Valve’s own structured notes. A line the rule cannot read leaves the hero unmarked rather than guessed.

The roster is the one Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. Draft picks are kept in this browser and never sent anywhere.

Dota 2 position guides — common questions

How does GamGem decide a Dota 2 position?: A player's position is read from two things the match records: the lane at ten minutes and the farm rank on its own team. A team counts only when all five agree, so every figure is a real position 1 to 5: 4,897 teams qualified out of 5,672 in 2,836 professional matches on patch 7.41.
OpenDota explorer (third party) ↗· checked 27 September 2026
Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 1?: Tiny (411 games, 48% won), Shadow Fiend (394 games, 48% won) and Kez (312 games, 56% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 13:03.
OpenDota explorer (third party) ↗· checked 27 September 2026
Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 2?: Ember Spirit (598 games, 53% won), Puck (458 games, 52% won) and Storm Spirit (436 games, 50% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 12:50.
OpenDota explorer (third party) ↗· checked 27 September 2026
Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 3?: Underlord (376 games, 42% won), Axe (355 games, 53% won) and Doom (343 games, 55% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 13:09.
OpenDota explorer (third party) ↗· checked 27 September 2026
Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 4?: Hoodwink (859 games, 50% won), Rubick (654 games, 50% won) and Dark Willow (378 games, 46% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 21:20.
OpenDota explorer (third party) ↗· checked 27 September 2026
Which heroes are played most in Dota 2 position 5?: Phoenix (396 games, 47% won), Bane (373 games, 54% won) and Winter Wyvern (360 games, 54% won) — professional matches, patch 7.41. First finished item of 2,000 gold or more: median 22:38.
OpenDota explorer (third party) ↗· checked 27 September 2026