In the ever-evolving landscape of competitive Dota 2, professional players often voice strong opinions on the state of individual heroes. Recently, Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov, a prominent carry player, shared a particularly blunt assessment regarding the hero Phantom Lancer.
During a livestream segment, dyrachyo did not mince words, declaring the hero fundamentally flawed in the current meta. He stated, “I`ve said throughout my entire esports career that Phantom Lancer is a dead hero.” This isn`t a new or fleeting thought for the player, but a long-held conviction.
The reasoning behind his steadfast opinion is rooted in the hero`s perceived inconsistency and rare moments of genuine strength. Dyrachyo elaborated on his unwillingness to dedicate practice time to PL, suggesting the hero`s viability is incredibly sporadic, perhaps only aligning with the meta “once a year or three years, or never.” He concluded that picking Phantom Lancer in today`s professional games amounts to “absolute nonsense.”
While one player`s opinion might be just that, recent tournament data from the Riyadh Masters 2025 appears to, at least momentarily, support dyrachyo`s harsh judgment. At the prestigious event, Phantom Lancer has seen remarkably little success.
Statistics show that the hero was selected in only six matches across the tournament so far. Of those six appearances, Phantom Lancer emerged victorious in just one instance. The sole win was recorded by Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko in a specific series, highlighting how rare success with the hero has been on this competitive stage.
This dismal win rate at a major tournament serves as a statistical footnote to dyrachyo`s qualitative analysis. It underscores the challenges players face when trying to make heroes like Phantom Lancer work against top-tier competition, and perhaps explains why a seasoned pro like dyrachyo views the hero as effectively “dead” in the context of consistent competitive play.
