If players want improved diversity in pro play, you have to ignore normal queues.

Every day I see the same argument: LCS diversity is bad. TI6 had incredible diversity. We want that for league, etc. But here's the thing: Riot's design and player backlash is not allowing diversity to improve. Foremost, let's point out some things:

#1.) DOTA Diversity mirrors League VERY SLIGHTLY.

No, I'm not talking about "lel only 30 heroes see play gg" but when you point out that League has a few picks here and there that only got picked 1-2 times, people tell you those don't count. Likewise, they draw attention to ONLY the most picked heroes and complain about diversity there. See, this is true for DOTA as well.

As an example, in the group stages, certain heroes saw far-higher contesting than anyone else in the game. Even in a game and meta as Diverse as DOTA, 11 heroes have seen pick rates/ban rates higher than 50%. Again, I'm not knocking DOTA Balance (TI6 is a masterclass is game polish) but you're always going to have heroes who are at the top. This is the nature of these games and the concept of the meta. When people complain "Oh xyz was only picked once or twice, they don't count", that's the exact opposite of what you should aim for.

#2.) DOTA tries to balance for competitive, Riot tries to balance for both competitive and normals

For this, look at DOTA's normal win rates. Warning, it might trigger some people because of how high some win-rates are. Omniknight sits at almost 61%, the next highest two boast 56% win rates and the bottom team are sub-40%. You wanna know some funny stuff though? If you remember that article linked in the last point, Io was highly competitive for in pro play despite his pathetic win rate. Omniknight, last I recall, was picked once at TI6...and lost.

If you bring up win-rates in DOTA as a means for balance, you will be laughed at. Win-rates mean nothing. DOTA is completely balanced around pro play and making the pros have the most influence. League, by comparison, cares 50/50. Riot attempts to balance for pro and normal play. Yes, high ranking queue can also be considered normal play because of a team of solos vs. a team of coordinated pros.

League has hit critical mass when it comes to pro vs. normal play. Riot has tried making tweaks that affect pros more than normals but this doesn't work as well anymore.

#3.) DOTA's banning system is superior. Period.

Not much to add to this. Riot's expressed interest in a snake/captain's draft for season 7. This will drastically improve things imo. Not much to harp on here.

With all that said, I want to point out the last instance of Riot trying to balance for the pros: The literal last patch. In this patch, we had a variety of buffs aimed at champions who are "fine" but don't see all that much pro play. Chief among them was Brand with his ult buff. The forums and the community exploded in anger. "Brand has a 52% win rate! He's fine! He doesn't need buffs! Riot stop fucking with my normal queue". So they pulled out. Which means Brand is not going to be as desirable for pros.

#THIS MENTALITY IS KILLING PRO DIVERSITY

I wouldn't be half as pissed about this if I didn't see those same people holding up DOTA as the standard. Yes, DOTA's balancing is phenominal, but the community also eats a lot of crap in norms because of it. You want DOTA level diversity? Bite the bullet, knuckle down and accept that some champs will have drastically higher win-rates than others.

You honestly, earnestly want super diverse pro play? Tell Riot you're fine with your normal queue being out of wack while they give improvements for pros alone. Tell Riot you want them to listen to the highest ranking teams rather than listening to anyone on G&B who makes a balance thread. Tell Riot that they are free to experiment with changes so that some champs can finally see the limelight. Riot may control the game but they often listen to us far too much, despite what one may believe in terms of other matters.

Bottom Line: The community has to be the agent of change if we want more diverse pro play and we're also going to have to be the ones to have a less-than-perfect normal queue.