Drafting in Dota 2 and League of Legends: what happens before minute one
Long before the first fight, each team has locked in five characters and removed others from play. The draft is a match inside the match.
Illustration: Maxivaleur design team.
In both games, two teams of five build their lineups in a structured sequence of bans and selections. A banned hero or champion cannot be played by either side in that game; a selected one belongs to the team that chose it.
The shape of a draft
Drafts alternate in phases: a round of bans, a round of selections, a second round of bans, then the final selections. The second ban phase is where teams respond to what they have seen — removing the piece that would complete an opponent's plan.
First selection versus last selection
Choosing first secures the strongest option on the current patch. Choosing last lets a team react, often to counter a specific opponent. Many teams value the last slot more than the first.
Reading the result
Our match centres for Dota 2 and League of Legends report each game's length and kill score, plus who won. A short game with a lopsided kill count usually means one draft simply worked; long games with close kill counts tend to be decided by objectives late on.
We do not grade drafts before a game is played. Analysis pieces discuss what teams did, after they did it.
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