Riot Games confirms the popular format will stay as fans debate its impact on competitive play.
Riot Games brings back Fearless Draft
Riot Games has officially announced that the Fearless Draft format will return for the League of Legends 2026 competitive season, continuing its role in shaping how teams approach champion selection.
The news broke during Worlds 2025, right before the Grand Finals between T1 and KT Rolster, where Global Head of League of Legends Esports Chris Greeley confirmed the format’s continuation during a press conference.
First introduced in China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in 2024, the Fearless Draft prevents players from using the same champions twice in a series. The idea is to encourage creativity and variety, ensuring viewers see more of League’s massive champion roster instead of repeated picks every game.
What exactly is Fearless Draft?
In a typical best-of-three or best-of-five match, teams already have ten bans during the standard pick-and-ban phase. Fearless Draft adds ten additional bans after each game, meaning that any champion played before can no longer be selected again.
The format has gained popularity for making drafts more unpredictable and forcing teams to prepare a wider pool of champions. However, not everyone is convinced it’s the best direction for the game.
A split community reaction
The League community remains divided on the Fearless Draft’s long-term impact.
On social media, many fans praised the format for keeping matches fresh and avoiding repetitive metas. “I can’t see myself watching normal draft again,” wrote one fan on Reddit, while another commented that Fearless made each series feel like “a new level of League drafting.”
Others, though, argue that it sometimes lowers the quality of later games in a series, as players are pushed onto off-meta picks. One commenter joked that by Game 5, “we’d legit be seeing Teemos and Katas,” while another imagined wild team compositions like “Garen and Yuumi bot lane.”
Despite the debates, most agree that Fearless Draft has added excitement to the pro scene, even if it occasionally leads to chaos on the Rift.
Riot’s plans for 2026
Alongside the Fearless Draft announcement, Riot also teased plans for next year’s events, including First Stand, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), and Worlds 2026. The company has yet to confirm if any adjustments will be made to the Fearless ruleset, but its continuation shows Riot’s commitment to keeping the format alive for at least another year.
Eyes on Worlds 2025 Grand Finals
As the League of Legends 2025 season wraps up, all eyes are on the World Championship Grand Finals, where T1 and KT Rolster clash for the $1 million USD grand prize.
T1 enters as the defending champion, while KT Rolster has impressed throughout the tournament, topping the Swiss Stage and defeating heavyweights like Gen.G Esports and CTBC Flying Oysters.
The Fearless Draft’s influence has been a recurring theme throughout Worlds 2025, shaping how teams adapt their strategies from one game to the next. Whether it continues to enhance competition or create more unpredictability, it’s clear that Fearless Draft has already left a lasting mark on League esports.