How Bristleback and Dark Willow perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Dark Willow win 47.04% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 5,264 matches.
Thinking that Dark Willow provides easy setup for Bristleback is a common trap. While a Cursed Crown can hold someone for a few Nasal Goo stacks, the heroes operate on different timers. Bristleback wants a long, messy brawl where he can wear down the entire enemy team with repeated Quill Sprays. He needs enemies to stick around and hit him. Dark Willow, on the other hand, contributes a big spike of magic damage with Bedlam and then needs to reposition. Her main tools are spent quickly, leaving Bristleback to a fight that he wanted to extend but his partner has already peaked in.
This disconnect is clear in teamfights. Dark Willow finds her best positions in the trees, away from the action, while Bristleback needs to be right in the middle of it. Her Terrorize ultimate is the biggest point of friction. It can certainly save a low-health Bristleback, but it also scatters the enemy team he was trying to pin down, resetting his chase and giving them a chance to escape. Instead of enabling his rampage, Willow’s abilities can accidentally disrupt it, making them an awkward pair who want to fight in fundamentally different ways.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate 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 | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 52.01% | 498 |
| Crusader & Archon | 43.19% | 815 |
| Legend & Ancient | 40.00% | 460 |
| Divine & Immortal | 52.70% | 148 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 47.04% | ▼ -0.1pp | 5,264 |
| 7.41d | 47.12% | ▼ -0.8pp | 63,375 |
| 7.41c | 47.90% | ▼ -1.8pp | 28,268 |
| 7.41b | 49.69% | — | 31,874 |
Move this data into a draft
Both heroes start on Radiant. Fill the remaining slots to test this pairing inside a complete draft and get next-pick recommendations.
Data updated Aug 17, 2026.