How Sven and Witch Doctor perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Sven and Witch Doctor win 53.04% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 14,360 matches.
Following up on Sven's Storm Hammer is the main idea behind this pairing. A clean stun from Sven can give Witch Doctor the opening he needs to land a Paralyzing Cask and start channeling Death Ward. This creates a window to burst down a single hero, especially one caught out of position. The theory is sound, but in practice, the stuns aren't exceptionally long. Any form of save, mobility, or a quick counter-stun on Witch Doctor can cause the entire gank attempt to fizzle out, leaving both heroes in a potentially awkward spot.
Their game plans can sometimes diverge. Sven wants to accelerate his farm to hit his key item timings, while Witch Doctor is often ready to fight with his ultimate much earlier. For their combo to work in a teamfight, the enemy has to lack the tools to interrupt a channeled ultimate or burst the Witch Doctor down. If the enemy team can easily get on top of the back lines, the setup falls apart completely. Success often depends more on the enemy's draft than on this specific hero pairing.
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 | 52.91% | 1,030 |
| Crusader & Archon | 53.74% | 2,486 |
| Legend & Ancient | 55.38% | 1,701 |
| Divine & Immortal | 52.03% | 444 |
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 | 53.04% | ▲ +1.0pp | 14,360 |
| 7.41d | 52.08% | ▲ +1.5pp | 137,813 |
| 7.41c | 50.56% | ▲ +0.2pp | 47,198 |
| 7.41b | 50.33% | — | 49,931 |
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.