Draft Pick
- This article contains information about the queue. For information on draft types, see Team drafting.
Draft Pick (sometimes Normal Draft or colloquially shortened to "Draft") is a PvP queue for 
Classic 5v5 
Summoner's Rift that provides players with a casual environment to participate in the primary team drafting process in 
League of Legends (of the same name). Draft Pick is exclusively a Normal game queue.
The player must be at least summoner level 10 in order to enter the Normal Draft Pick queue. They must also have access to at least 20 champions, the free weekly champion rotation included.
In some regions, the Normal Draft Pick queue has lower availability:[1]
- OCE (AEST): 11:00–03:00 (of next day)
- SEA (GMT+8): 11:00–03:00 (of next day)
- MENA (GMT+3): 19:00–05:00 (of next day)
The "Draft Pick process" or "Draft Pick design" is meant to be the premier, seamless and integrated competitive experience, which consists of choosing preferred roles in the lobby, entering the queue, being assigned one of those roles, then completing a Draft team formation in champion select.
History[edit | edit source]
Draft Pick's design was originally introduced in 2010 with the Season One start patch V1.0.0.96 and offered three Ranked modes: Ranked Solo 5v5 ( Summoner's Rift), Ranked Teams 5v5 ( Summoner's Rift), and Ranked Teams 3v3 (
Twisted Treeline). On September 20, 2011, two new non-ranked queues that used the style became available: one for Summoner's Rift Classic, which has been known as "the Normal Draft Pick queue" or simply "Draft Pick" ever since, and the second for 
Crystal Scar Dominion (a game mode that was removed shortly before V6.4).
Due to low queue participation at the time, Draft Pick was removed in certain servers as a test with the start of Preseason 2017.[2] For the South Korea (KR) server, this choice had persisted throughout the years, presumably due to Korea's low server population and competitive nature.[3][4][5] On patch V25.07, Draft Pick was enabled again in the Korea (KR), Japan (JP) and the Southeast Asia (SEA) server (before the 2025 merge, its region's members) after being indefinitely disabled for more than half a decade.
Lobby[edit | edit source]
In the lobby, players simply select their primary and secondary role. The number of unique roles chosen must be at least one more than the number of players in the party, and players cannot pick the same primary role.
The selectable roles are 
Top, 
Mid, 
Bot (or Bot/carry), 
Support (or Bot/support), 
Jungle, and 
Fill.
- Players queueing "Fill" may be assigned the role that is currently in highest demand for that queue.
Champion Select[edit | edit source]
Draft Pick is named after and uses the Draft pick drafting type (see article for more details).
Each of the 10 players can choose to ban a champion of their preference, in order to prevent any player from picking it in the match. Enemy bans are revealed after everyone has issued them or at the end of the phase. Afterwards, players may select a champion that has not been banned, in this order:
- One team "first-picks" one champion. The Blue team always has the right to pick first, displayed in the top corner with "First Pick".
- The second team picks two champions
- The first team picks two champions
- The second team picks two champions
- The first team picks two champions
- The second team "last-picks" one champion
Before locking in their pick, players can also choose to swap their pick order. This can be done either:
- For the player who is picking earlier, to be able to secure a strong (meta) pick earlier during champ select, either because they are good at it, or in order to prevent the enemy team from picking a strong champion themselves.
- For the player who is picking later, to be able to otherwise secure a counter-pick that can potentially improve the odds of winning if played right.
After everyone has picked their champion, there is also the option to swap those selections with each other.
Media[edit | edit source]
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You are now in Match Making.
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Ready to play? You are matched with allied players that complete your team based on your preferences, with an attempt to accommodate all primary preferences. Unlike Team Builder, duos/trios can be matched with duos/trios.
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You are informed of the position the system has assigned you, based on your preferences.
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In a Blind Pick, each of you must now choose a provisional champion. While there is no formal swapping system, you can use this time to discuss your picks and potentially trade positions. The team you're on is represented in the map. 35 seconds
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The Third, Fourth and Fifth Summoner of each team now take turns banning. Bans now require confirmation and failing to ban will result in a dodge. 40 seconds each
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Banning from the observer's perspective.
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Choose your champion. You are still encouraged to grab priority champions for your allies - trading champions is still a feature. 40 seconds each
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Picking from an observer's perspective. The arrow beneath this option will open-up Skin Selection.
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Skin selection.
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Use this time to make any adjustments or trade champions. The arrow beneath this option will open-up Skin Selection. 40 seconds
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Draft Pick lobby circa 2018
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References
- ↑ Official Patch 25.07 Notes
- ↑ riftherald.com (9 November 2016) League of Legends normal draft has been removed in most regions
- ↑ Reddit — Riot Meddler (10 January 2025) "…when draft pick is removed from a region that is generally because of player population as we dont want to spread players out too thin…"
- ↑ NYT (19 October 2014) For South Korea, E-Sports Is National Pastime Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ↑ Esports Insider (25 July 2023) Esports Around The World: South Korea
ClassicDefending each Nexus are several turrets and inhibitors; each structure blocks the advancement of enemy minion waves and champions to the Nexus, and must be destroyed in sequence for each lane. Destroying the last structure alive in at least one lane grants access to the Nexus. Turrets right before the Nexus do not correspond to any specific lane.
- A turret (or tower) is a heavy fortification that attacks enemies on sight.
- An inhibitor does not attack, but when a lane's inhibitor is destroyed, the opposite Nexus will spawn super minions within the same lane, allowing for even faster advancement.
Summoner's Rift
- Regular Modes
League of Legends
League of Legends: Clash of Fates) is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre video game developed by 
Riot Games.
- Platform
- Microsoft Windows, macOS
- Regular Map
Twisted Treeline
- Regular Modes
Crystal Scar
Top
Juggernauts, Divers, 
Battlemages, 
Skirmishers, and 
Vanguards are the most likely champions to be selected in the Top Lane position.
MiddleWithin a drafted team, the Mid Laner is the champion assigned to the mid lane.
Burst Mages, Artillery Mages, and Assassins are the most likely champions to be selected in the Mid Laner position.
Bottom Support. Being the most vulnerable, the Bottom Carry has to acquire as much gold as possible to purchase key items that will greatly increase their fighting potential.Within a duo lane, the optimal strategy for earning gold is to designate a single champion to farm while the other is recommended to purchase an economy item. The Bottom Carry is expected to fulfill the former designation: the position is made for champions that highly depend on item-based power spikes.
Marksmen are the most likely champions to be selected in the Bottom Carry position.
Support Bottom Carry. This role's initial goal is to assist their more vulnerable team mate through the earliest stages of the game, and is a position that suits champions with either utility, disengage or high base damage.
Within a duo lane, the optimal strategy for earning gold is to designate a single champion to farm while the other is recommended to purchase an economy item. The Support is expected to fulfill the latter designation: consequently, the position is not suitable for champions that are highly dependent on item-based power spikes. The Support is also expected to be the primary contributor to the team's 
vision.
Enchanters, Catchers, Wardens and Burst Mages are the most likely champions to be selected in the Support position.
JungleWithin a drafted team, the Jungler is the champion assigned to the jungle. A Jungler needs to be able to clear jungle camps without too much difficulty and ambush other champions in lane.
Divers, Assassins, Skirmishers, and Vanguards are the most likely champions to be selected in the Jungler position.
FillFill refers to being assigned to any lane in order to complete a drafted team. On Summoner's Rift, that would be: Top, Jungle, Mid, Bot, Support.
Howling Abyss
Freljord. Legends say that, long ago, a great battle took place here on the narrow bridge spanning this chasm. No one remembers who fought here, or why, but it is said that if you listen carefully to the wind you can still hear the cries of the vanquished tossed howling into the Abyss.
- Regular Modes
Brawl
Bandle City. It is also the map where Brawl is played on.
Brawl is a team-deathmatch Featured Game Mode in League of Legends. The game mode was released in patch V25.10 during Spirit Blossom Beyond.
- Brawl (5v5)
Cosmic Ruins
Dark Star.Feature Game Modes:
- Dark Star: Singularity
Valoran City Park
the Void and is up to the Star Guardians to protect the city, expel the monsters, and save the day.
Star Guardian Ahri.
- Invasion
Temple of Lily and Lotus
Ionia. It is a long-forgotten temple of the Canghapi 
vastaya. Legends say the Canghapi tribe were amphibious vastaya who worshiped the coming together of earth and water. Lilies symbolized peace and balance to the followers of the temple, while lotuses were associated with enlightenment.
- Regular Modes
Crash Site
Ziggs crash landed. It is the job for the crew of the Morning Star to save him from the planets dangerous wildlife as well as escape from 
Kayn. The announcer is replaced by 
Odyssey Jinx.
- Odyssey: Extraction
Substructure 43
Swarm
League of Legends. Players team up as 
Anima Squad fighters to defend humanity and Final City from waves of Primordians. Progress the story to gain access to more Weapons and Upgrades to defeat stronger enemies, unlock new difficulties and fighters, and earn achievements! Each of the four maps ends in an epic Boss Fight.
- Controls: Mouse (aim) / C (toggle auto aim) / WASD (movement) / E, R (abilities)
- Maps
- Warehouse District (
Primordian Rek'Sai) - The Outskirts (
Primordian Briar) - Subterranean Lab (
Primordian Bel'Veth) - The Beachhead (
Primordian Aatrox)
Swarm has 3 difficulties: 
Magma Chamber
The map never progressed beyond initial development.
Magma Corridor
The map has only been used at the All-Star Showdown. A public release was planned for the future but it was later cancelled. Magma "Corridor" is an unofficial name that refers to the 2v2 map, as opposed to the cancelled 5v5 map.