Riot Video games has confirmed that Fearless Draft will return for the League of Legends 2026 season.
Its return was introduced throughout Worlds 2025, forward of the Grand Finals match between T1 and KT Rolster.
In response to Sheep Esports, Chris Greeley, International Head of League of Legends Esports, confirmed in a press convention that the ruleset will stay in impact for 2026.
First launched in China’s League of Legends Professional League (LPL) in 2024, the Fearless Draft prevents athletes from utilizing the identical champions twice in a row throughout a sequence. That is to assist steadiness the sport’s quickly increasing roster of playable characters.
Typically featured in Bo3 and Bo5 matches, groups can place 10 extra Fearless bans along with the ten bans from the usual pick-and-ban section, forcing gamers to differ their methods all through a sequence.
Fearless Draft continued for use in 2025, from the primary cut up to the League of Legends World Championship, which, as of writing, has reached the Grand Finals.
The drafting system’s affect on the scene has been a preferred subject amongst followers this 12 months, with some arguing that the champion selection makes the viewership expertise extra pleasurable. Alternatively, others consider that the Fearless Draft has overstayed its welcome and has turn into stale.
Solely time will inform how the Fearless Draft will affect the subsequent season, or if Riot Video games will make any modifications to shake up the esports scene.
Information of the Fearless Draft’s return was accompanied by Riot Video games’ plans for subsequent 12 months’s occasions and their places, together with First Stand, Mid-Season Invitational, and Worlds.
All Eyes on Worlds 2025 Grand Finals
The crowning occasion of the League of Legends esports scene, Worlds 2025, nears its conclusion as T1 faces off towards KT Rolster within the Grand Finals. The winner will likely be declared this season’s champion and take house the $1m (~£767,000) grand prize.
T1 enters the ultimate sequence because the defending champions from final 12 months’s occasion, and is considered among the finest workforce’s within the scene. Nonetheless, KT Rolster has been a standout workforce all through the match, topping the Swiss Stage with a 3-0 win/loss ratio, and defeating organisations like CTBC Flying Oysters and Gen.G Esports within the Knockout Stage.
