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Ancient Apparition vs Dark Willow

Head-to-head Dota 2 7.41e win rate from ranked matches.

Favored
Ancient Apparition 53.78%
Ancient Apparition53.78%
Dark Willow46.22%
Over 4,924 ranked matches (7.41e).

In Dota 2 7.41e, Ancient Apparition wins the Ancient Apparition vs Dark Willow matchup: Ancient Apparition beats Dark Willow in 53.78% of 4,924 ranked matches.

How this matchup plays

Getting hit by Ice Blast creates a serious problem for Dark Willow. Her main defensive tool, Shadow Realm, lets her become untargetable to dodge most spells. However, it does nothing to stop Ice Blast's damage-over-time, and she can still be shattered if her health drops low while phased out. This undermines her ability to use Shadow Realm to safely ride out a fight at low health, as she risks dying to the shatter effect without being able to react.

For Ancient Apparition, the goal is to land that initial ultimate projectile, forcing Dark Willow to play defensively. A well-timed Ice Blast can neutralize her elusiveness. On the other hand, Dark Willow is excellent at punishing a poorly positioned Ancient Apparition. With her combination of lockdown from Bramble Maze and Cursed Crown, she can easily find and burst him. The matchup often comes down to which hero gets the jump and whether Willow can successfully use Shadow Realm to dodge the initial blast in the first place.

Ancient Apparition vs Dark Willow by rank

How the matchup shifts across skill brackets — Ancient Apparition's win rate against Dark Willow in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.

RankAncient Apparition win rateMatches
Herald & Guardian59.40%266
Crusader & Archon54.05%692
Legend & Ancient52.56%586
Divine & Immortal46.15%195

Ancient Apparition vs Dark Willow across patches

Ancient Apparition's win rate against Dark Willow in each recent balance patch — whether this matchup is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.

PatchAncient Apparition win rateChangeMatches
7.41e 53.78%▼ -0.5pp4,924
7.41d 54.25%▲ +1.4pp50,055
7.41c 52.82%▲ +0.3pp19,695
7.41b 52.49%21,060

Move this data into a draft

Put Ancient Apparition against Dark Willow

Ancient Apparition starts on Radiant and Dark Willow on Dire. Add the other eight picks to see whether this head-to-head edge survives the full draft.

Radiant4 open
Ancient Apparition
Dire4 open
Dark Willow
Open with heroes loaded

Frequently asked questions

Does Ancient Apparition counter Dark Willow?
Ancient Apparition wins 53.78% of ranked matches against Dark Willow in Dota 2 7.41e (4,924 matches) — the matchup favors Ancient Apparition.
Does Dark Willow counter Ancient Apparition?
Dark Willow wins 46.22% of ranked matches against Ancient Apparition in Dota 2 7.41e (4,924 matches) — the matchup favors Ancient Apparition.
How many matches back the Ancient Apparition vs Dark Willow win rate?
4,924 quality-filtered ranked matches from patch 7.41e, refreshed as new matches are ingested daily.

Data updated Aug 17, 2026.