When League of Legends was published in 2009 with only 40 champions to play, no one expected that the game would provide one of the best competitive e-sport arena ever. The game was always popular, but it needed a simple touch to became competitive: introduction of League of Legends Draft Pick!
Before the start of Season 1 (July 2010) the only draft mode in LoL was blind pick. Although it was good enough for casual players, it didn’t provide enough diversity. Because of that, the introduction of Draft Pick created a new era in the e-sports.
What is Draft Pick in League of Legends?
Draft Pick is a game mode in LoL in which ban and pick champions in a specific order.
In solo-queue, every player bans a champion at the same time. After the bans are complete, blue team has the first pick advantage. When blue team picks the first champion, each team picks 2 more champions consecutively till the last pick. Red team picks the last champion and after that point, the game starts in minutes.
However, in the tournament draft, drafts are a bit different than solo-queue. To start with, in the tournament draft, the drafts have 2 phases:
In the 1st phase, starting from blue team, each team bans 3 champions in order. After the bans, blue team has the first pick advantage same as solo-queue. On the other hand, the teams pick 3 champions each, which leads us to the 2nd phase of the draft.
In the 2nd phase, each team bans 2 more champions. After red team starts the bans, red team also has the first pick option of the 2nd phase. After that red team pick, blue team picks 2 more champions. Red team finishes the draft with the last pick.
How does Draft Pick in League of Legends help competitions?
We mentioned that with the introduction of Draft Pick, League of Legends became a more popular competitive environment. What is the reason behind it?
First of all, as the teams ban in order in Draft Pick, they had the option to understand their opponents mindset according to the champions they ban. This change allowed the teams to adapt to bans and find the optimal solution, even by banning the same lane as your opponent.
Secondly, Draft Pick made counters and blind picks very important.
In some situations, you need to pick a champion for a lane without having any information about your opponent’s plans. In these scenarios, you need to pick a champion can be played either safely without seeing the match-up or can be flexed to another lane if needed.
If you are picking after finding out about your opponent, your job is relatively easier. You should pick a champion that can have a comfortable laning against your opponent but at the same time, it should also be a good fit in your team composition. (You can check our previous blog if you want to learn more about team compositions)
What are the requirements of League of Legends Draft Pick?
To play League of Legends with Draft Pick in normal games, you must have at least 20 champions. Both the champions you own and weekly champion rotation count in this number. For ranked games, you must own all the 20 champions and also, you need to hit 30 level with your account.