LPL heavily rumored to be swapping to Fearless Draft for 2024 Summer Split
According to multiple sources, the Chinese professional League of Legends circuit (LPL) is looking to swap to the Fearless Draft format for their Bo3 games. The leak was first broken by Chinese esports personality and former coach Wang “HanYi” Han-Yu, who suggested that the change could come as soon as the upcoming 2024 Summer Split.
Should this come to past, the LPL will undoubtedly undergo a new era of interest and experimentation on a scale never seen before. For the uninitiated, Fearless Draft can be summarized by the following:
What is Fearless Draft
‘Fearless Draft’ or ‘Fearless’ is a format first introduced in the LDL, China’s League of Legends Academy league back in 2022. The new rules introduced were simple.
- All Champions picked in Game 1 are not allowed to be picked by the same team in Games 2 and 3
- The Champion picked by Team 1 in Game 1 may still be picked by Team 2 in Game 2.
- In Game 3, all champions picked in Games 1 and 2 will be locked from draft for that team, with the same exception in application.
A Discussion on the Benefits and Intrigue of Fearless Draft
As League of Legends enters its 16th year of play, the developers, players, and tournament organizers alike seek to continue re-innovating gameplay in an effort to keep the passion and competitive spirit aflame.
To become stale is to accept decline. The game and the players must continually evolve. Fearless Draft does precisely that – introducing draft diversity into a game that has seen virtually every season and combination of meta.
With each new patch, team’s quickly realize the optimal picks for the season, and prioritize either banning or picking said champions. This makes the game stale for viewers and players alike. Moreso than just a tougher test of endurance, each successive game raises the stakes and challenges the teams.
Flexibility is demanded in champion picks, each game adding an additional 5 banned champions. Strategy is also demanded, knowing when to play their cards becomes all the more crucial.
To this date, each implementation of Fearless Draft in a tourney has been well-received, as viewers anticipate a more chaotic, high-stakes competition, as opposed to the best teams playing reserved on the same few picks for the majority of the series to maximize their victory percentage.
In 2024, the North American Challengers League (NACL) also implemented Fearless Draft, to much praise. The format has a very clear benefit even aside from all the above mentioned –talent development. More crucial in the academy leagues than in the major leagues, it allows the tournament to push players past their comfort zone, strengthen their champion pools, force greater diversity and strategy out of teams, as well as improve the viewing experience.
Read More: NACL implements Fearless Draft
Concern for Fearless Draft
Despite being well-received as a format change in the LDL, there are concerns as well that comes with implementing Fearless Draft. One of the strongest aspects of the current format of drafting, allows familiarity to be the greatest asset for professional players. At the highest level, the matchups are decided from draft because of how familiar each player is with their opposite. Knowing when they are weak, when they are strong, do they win lane, lose lane, when can they turn, limiting gold differential if they are disadvantaged – all these factors come in from repetition.
Fearless Draft turns this all on its head. By removing that sense of familiarity and putting players on potentially their 5th or 6th best champion in an unfamiliar matchup, the games become far less formulaic and far more chaotic. If there was a league that could tame this format, it would be the LPL, known for their aggressive playstyle and high-level of players. But it does beg the question, if implementing Fearless Draft would help or hinder more, especially considering the rest of the world hasn’t quite implemented the same format yet.