Head-to-head Dota 2 7.41e win rate from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback wins the Bristleback vs Shadow Demon matchup: Bristleback beats Shadow Demon in 58.20% of 244 ranked matches.
Using Disruption on an enemy Bristleback is a game-losing mistake. The two illusions created by the spell also get his passive, meaning they fire off a constant stream of Quill Sprays as your own team tries to kill them. This often results in Shadow Demon’s team taking massive damage from their own attempts to clear the illusions. His whole game plan of kiting and controlling a key target falls apart. He is too fragile to survive Bristleback running at him, but his main defensive tool makes the situation worse. Even Demonic Purge isn't enough to swing the fight, as it's a single-target ultimate that can't solve the fundamental problem with Disruption.
How the matchup shifts across skill brackets — Bristleback's win rate against Shadow Demon 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 | 62.43% | 189 |
| Crusader & Archon | 57.20% | 271 |
| Legend & Ancient | 54.59% | 185 |
Bristleback's win rate against Shadow Demon 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 | 58.20% | ▲ +3.6pp | 244 |
| 7.41d | 54.60% | ▲ +0.1pp | 27,158 |
| 7.41c | 54.47% | ▼ -1.5pp | 14,090 |
| 7.41b | 55.95% | — | 18,851 |
Move this data into a draft
Bristleback starts on Radiant and Shadow Demon on Dire. Add the other eight picks to see whether this head-to-head edge survives the full draft.
Data updated Aug 11, 2026.