Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak from Team Falcons shared in an interview on the DreamLeague Season 24 broadcast his thoughts on which hero he would like to see return to the mid-lane meta.
"Every year, I always mention the same hero – Pugna, who just hasn’t been boosted enough for the mid-lane. I genuinely miss this hero. I loved watching Topson dominate on Pugna during his prime. Playing this character is just fun for me."
Malr1ne explained that he tried using Pugna in the mid-lane multiple times, experimenting with around 30 games using different builds and skill setups, but ultimately found the hero ineffective. "The hero’s just bad."
He added that the current meta demands mid-lane heroes to exert pressure and be resilient, especially given that heroes can easily dive Pugna, leaving him with few options. "Yeah, especially when all these heroes can just jump on Pugna, and he's like, ‘Alright, guys, my time has come.’"
DreamLeague Season 24 takes place online from 27 October to 10 November, featuring a prize pool of one million dollars shared among 16 teams.