How pros approach Champion Select
Riot·7/16/2014, 5:33:57 PM·1 votes·8,140 views
Look, even under the best circumstances, League of Legends can be tough to follow. And it only gets worse when you enter the highest level of play--when you've got pros engaging in five-on-five teamfights, rapid-fire rotations, and give-and-take battles for vision. We get that, and we're here to help.
Leading up to the World Championship we'll catch up on what, exactly, you should be looking for while watching professional League of Legends. Every week, we’ll tackle an aspect of professional League of Legends so that you won’t miss a step.
Quick disclaimer: We’re going to assume that you’ve got a good idea of the absolute basics here. You know, winning by taking down towers and eventually pushing your way to the Nexus. That basic knowledge is all you really need to get started. With that, let’s get into our first topic: Champion Select.
When a pro League of Legends match is loaded up, the very first thing you’ll see is the Champion Select screen, where the players will pick what champions they’ll be taking onto Summoner’s Rift. You’ll recognize this screen from your own time playing League, but this is a little bit different than most new players’ Champion Select. During tournaments, every champion is unlocked and available for the pro teams to select. That means every strategy and every combination of champs is fair game.
Next up, the actual selection of the champions. The first team (on the Blue, or left, side) gets a single pick. Usually, they’ll use that pick to grab their highest priority champion. Next, the Red side will get two picks to make up for the fact that they didn’t get that initial selection. To finish things out, Blue gets two, Red two, Blue two, and Red one.
The alternating pick orders allows for teams to adapt and respond to their opponents’ choices. As soon as the first champion is picked, there’s a good chance that the opposite team is looking for someone that does well against that first selection. That champion is called a “counter,” and grabbing them is an integral part of making sure a team win the early phase of the game.
Some picks can even be baits. Teams may pick an intentionally easy to counter champion with the intention of drawing out a pick from the opposing team, only to crush their hopes with an even stronger pick. Champion Select is a heck of a mind game.
Once it’s all over, we know exactly who everyone will be playing, and the two sides head off to the game.
Next time: What’s in a team comp?
Make your choice
It may look a bit boring at first glance, but Champion Select is one of the most important phases in any given competitive match. Filling a squad with five strong, synergistic champions while simultaneously denying your opponents the same can make or break a game.
When a pro League of Legends match is loaded up, the very first thing you’ll see is the Champion Select screen, where the players will pick what champions they’ll be taking onto Summoner’s Rift. You’ll recognize this screen from your own time playing League, but this is a little bit different than most new players’ Champion Select. During tournaments, every champion is unlocked and available for the pro teams to select. That means every strategy and every combination of champs is fair game.
How it works
Once selection is under way, players don’t get to just grab whoever they want to take into battle. There’s a process that plays out: picks and bans. It works like this. Both teams get three bans, meaning six champions will be tossed out total. To do so, they alternate picking off champions one at a time. If a player on one side plays a particularly strong Yasuo, for example, the opposing squad may want to make sure they don’t get their hands on him. So they ban him out. Alternatively, if a team has done some scouting on their opponents, they can ban out the champions that could be core to a planned team composition. Expect them to run a team based on knock-ups coupled with Yasuo’s ultimate? Banning the samurai is a good way to take a Bushido blade to that plan.
Next up, the actual selection of the champions. The first team (on the Blue, or left, side) gets a single pick. Usually, they’ll use that pick to grab their highest priority champion. Next, the Red side will get two picks to make up for the fact that they didn’t get that initial selection. To finish things out, Blue gets two, Red two, Blue two, and Red one.
The alternating pick orders allows for teams to adapt and respond to their opponents’ choices. As soon as the first champion is picked, there’s a good chance that the opposite team is looking for someone that does well against that first selection. That champion is called a “counter,” and grabbing them is an integral part of making sure a team win the early phase of the game.
Some picks can even be baits. Teams may pick an intentionally easy to counter champion with the intention of drawing out a pick from the opposing team, only to crush their hopes with an even stronger pick. Champion Select is a heck of a mind game.
Once it’s all over, we know exactly who everyone will be playing, and the two sides head off to the game.
Next time: What’s in a team comp?
