Valve unexpectedly nerfed Pudge, causing the hero to start losing winrate

Valve unexpectedly nerfed Pudge in patch 7.36c by deciding to nerf its aspect Flayers Hook. After this, the hero's win rate in matchmaking started to decline.

This is evidenced by data from the DotaBuff portal.

According to statistics, Pudge has already lost 1.32% of its win rate, bringing its overall performance in matchmaking down to 51.60%. The game developers changed the Flayers Hook aspect so that it no longer increases hook speed. This change may have influenced the hero's decline in performance.

This was quite unexpected, as in the previous update, this hero was buffed, making it one of the most popular picks among both casual players and esports professionals.

It's worth noting that Valve released patch 7.36c, which transformed the current meta of Dota 2.