Sven is picked in 12% of Very High matches, 10.4% of High and 10% of Normal, and wins 52% / 51.8% / 50.7%. Storm Hammer stuns an area, Great Cleave spreads his attacks, Warcry gives allies armor and speed, and God's Strength adds a large amount of damage. He is a midgame hero: his team gains more XP in 57% of games between minutes 15 and 35, and he wins 48.2% of games under 25 minutes, 52.4% at 25–50 and 47.4% past 50.
Countered by Templar AssassinTemplar Assassin starts ahead: her team gains more XP in 53.2% of games before minute 15. Psi Blades hit the units behind her target from long range.
Sven deals his damage in a few huge hits, and Refraction gives Templar Assassin a barrier and a number of damage instances she avoids. Each of Sven's swings, however strong after God's Strength, uses up only one. Meld hides her until she strikes for bonus damage, and Psionic Trap slows Sven as he walks in. Her team gains more XP in only 43.8% of games between minutes 15 and 35, Sven's strongest phase.
Templar Assassin's team gains more XP in 51.2% of games after minute 35. She wins 57.7% of games under 25 minutes (149 games), 48.8% at 25–50 (4,195 games) and 49.2% past 50 (836 games). She is weak in this patch on her own (45.8% / 45.7% / 45.9%), and against Sven she wins 49.3% / 48.4% / 49.4% (Very High / High / Normal). The edge is +11 in Very High, +8.99 in High and +8.56 in Normal.
Best teammate: KezThe pair starts behind: their team gains more XP in 47.5% of games before minute 15.
Their team gains more XP in 56.1% of games between minutes 15 and 35. Grappling Claw pulls Kez onto a target and Talon Toss silences it, and Storm Hammer stuns everyone around it for Great Cleave. Warcry gives Kez armor and movement speed, which keeps a melee hero alive while Echo Slash and Raptor Dance do their damage.
The pair wins 48.8% of 25–50 minute games (1,604 games) and 46.1% past 50 (362 games), with an XP-gain share of 46% after minute 35. The pairing works in Very High (+8.86) and High (+6.64), not in Normal (+0.47). Kez is weak in this patch on his own (44.4% / 44.4% / 45.3%), and with Sven the pair wins 50.9% / 49.5% / 46.3% (Very High / High / Normal).
Based on 2,111,000 public ranked matches of patch 7.41, played 30 September – 14 October 2026. Advantage is the win-rate difference from what the two heroes' own win rates predict, times two (+6 is about 3 win-rate points), weighted over the skill brackets. The live numbers on the Sven page update every few hours. More guides: Dota 2 counter guides.
