Head-to-head Dota 2 7.41f win rate from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41f, Phantom Lancer wins the Phantom Lancer vs Witch Doctor matchup: Phantom Lancer beats Witch Doctor in 51.28% of 85,030 ranked matches.
Drafting a support against a late-game Phantom Lancer requires an answer to his illusions, which makes Witch Doctor a complicated choice. Witch Doctor's biggest teamfight contribution, Death Ward, is easily absorbed by the swarm of fakes. The Ward simply bounces between illusions, unable to focus its damage on the real hero. While Maledict is still a threat if it lands correctly, Phantom Lancer's Doppelganger gives him a tool to disjoint the cast and create even more confusion. Fundamentally, Witch Doctor’s ultimate is single-target, and Phantom Lancer is designed to overwhelm exactly that kind of ability.
Early on, Witch Doctor can still bully the lane with Paralyzing Cask before illusions are a major problem. The matchup sours for him as the game progresses and Phantom Lancer gets his core items. Phantom Lancer then begins to actively hunt supports, and Witch Doctor is a prime target. He’s forced to play far back, hoping his team can control the real PL for him. If Phantom Lancer closes the distance, the Death Ward becomes almost useless, and Witch Doctor has no way to escape the illusion army.
How the matchup shifts across skill brackets — Phantom Lancer's win rate against Witch Doctor 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 | Phantom Lancer win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 49.95% | 1,089 |
| Crusader & Archon | 49.15% | 3,341 |
| Legend & Ancient | 51.20% | 2,787 |
| Divine & Immortal | 52.45% | 551 |
Phantom Lancer's win rate against Witch Doctor in each recent balance patch — whether this matchup is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Phantom Lancer win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41f | 51.28% | ▼ -0.3pp | 85,030 |
| 7.41e | 51.54% | ▲ +0.5pp | 261,465 |
| 7.41d | 51.02% | ▼ -0.9pp | 240,896 |
| 7.41c | 51.89% | — | 114,637 |
Move this data into a draft
Phantom Lancer starts on Radiant and Witch Doctor on Dire. Add the other eight picks to see whether this head-to-head edge survives the full draft.
Data updated Oct 4, 2026.