Head-to-head Dota 2 7.41e win rate from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Ember Spirit wins the Bristleback vs Ember Spirit matchup: Ember Spirit beats Bristleback in 51.21% of 5,909 ranked matches.
Running up to a Bristleback with Flame Guard active seems like it should work for Ember Spirit. The magic damage and absorption feel like the right tools to bring him down. In reality, Bristleback often has enough raw health and passive damage reduction to survive the duration of the shield. Once that's done, he can turn around with stacks of Warpath and Quill Spray, forcing the fight into a brawl that Ember Spirit isn't equipped to win without a safe Fire Remnant to escape to.
The matchup often becomes a game of cat and mouse. Ember Spirit has the advantage early with his magic burst, but as Bristleback gets tankier items, Ember has to respect his sustained damage output. Ember shifts to using Sleight of Fist to stay safe and apply damage from a distance, never wanting to get pinned down. The outcome usually depends on which hero's team can better control the engagement, either by locking down Bristleback to be focused, or catching the elusive Ember Spirit out of position.
How the matchup shifts across skill brackets — Bristleback's win rate against Ember Spirit 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.
| Rank | Bristleback win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 55.01% | 449 |
| Crusader & Archon | 48.13% | 935 |
| Legend & Ancient | 47.81% | 707 |
| Divine & Immortal | 38.10% | 231 |
Bristleback's win rate against Ember Spirit in each recent balance patch — whether this matchup is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Bristleback win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 48.79% | ▼ -0.6pp | 5,909 |
| 7.41d | 49.40% | ▼ -0.6pp | 71,954 |
| 7.41c | 50.03% | ▼ -0.1pp | 37,930 |
| 7.41b | 50.11% | — | 46,667 |
Move this data into a draft
Bristleback starts on Radiant and Ember Spirit on Dire. Add the other eight picks to see whether this head-to-head edge survives the full draft.
Data updated Aug 17, 2026.