Rumors: a possible strategy of 9Pandas for TI12 has leaked online.

The 9 Pandas team may actively utilize Arc Warden in the mid lane during The International 2023, which their opponents might not have expected.

This conclusion can be drawn from the information noticed by users on DotaBuff and Dota2ProTracker websites.

The reason behind this is that Gleb "kiyotaka" Zyrjanov, the midlaner for 9 Pandas, played 12 matchmaking games with the hero Arc Warden just a few days before the start of The International 2023. Arc Warden became the most popular choice for this esports player from October 3rd to October 10th.

An indirect proof of this unconventional strategy might be that kiyotaka had never used Arc Warden in official tournaments of such a high level before. Additionally, he rarely picked this hero in standard matchmaking games, but he began practicing extensively with him after the release of patch 7.34d, in which the developers buffed this hero. As a result, Zyrjanov achieved a win rate of 58.3% with Arc Warden.

It's worth noting that the midlaner for 9 Pandas is not the only one who has taken an interest in this improved hero. Other esports players, including Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, Ilya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk, and Guo "shiro" Xuanyan, have also experimented with this hero.