Overwatch 2 pros keep banning this unexpected hero
Blizzard EntertainmentHero bans from the recent Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) NA and EMEA qualifiers provided some insight into the strongest heroes to play for this meta.
The Overwatch Champion Series held a series of open qualifiers from January 16 to January 19. During the second phase, the top 16 teams of each region were given the opportunity to ban one hero per map. Any banned heroes were not allowed to be picked by either team.
One player collected data for the most banned heroes of the event, and while many of the most banned heroes were par for the course, there were a couple of heroes that stood out that might give players some pause.
This one dive hero was the most picked Damage hero
Between EMEA and NA, the most banned Damage character by far was Genji, a hero that’s not frequently a dominant force in the meta. With Hazard’s release, dive comps have been on the rise due to the dominance of the new tank. Alongside Ana’s popularity, Genji can often be a force to be reckoned with with frequent nanoblades.
In terms of other Damage characters, across the two regions, Genji was banned a total of 18 times. Sojourn was close behind him, with a total 17 bans between the two events. Other notable Damage characters who were frequently banned include Pharah, Tracer, and Widowmaker.
Genji’s dominance in the meta isn’t just limited to pro play. According to Overbuff, within the past month, Genji is the second most picked DPS character with a high 51% win-rate across all ranks.
Despite Genji’s high ban rate, he wasn’t the most banned character between the two events. Two support characters, Lucio and Ana, were banned even more. Across the two tournaments, Lucio was banned 23 times while Ana was banned 22 times.
Lucio seems to be back in the pro play meta and has historically been one of the strongest competitive characters. Ana’s high ban rate may be tied to her synergy with Genji due to the nanoblade combo, which indicates that with Ana out of the picture, Genji is a bit more palatable to deal with.
For tanks, Hazard was easily the most banned character, but Mauga, Junker Queen, and Wrecking Ball were also high-priority ban targets as well.