[KR source] Despite concerns of Red and Blue side winrate imbalance, Riot is discussing expanding fearless draft into the regular season after the success of the LCK cup

https://m.sports.naver.com/esports/article/442/0000179928?sid3=79b&spi_ref=m_sports_x

  • LCK Cup achieved record breaking viewership in its first year, the tournament peaked at 1,907,634 concurrent viewers, making it the second-highest viewership in LCK history—only behind the 2024 LCK Spring, which surpassed 2.6 million viewers.

  • The peak viewership of the LCK Cup was approximately 3.5 times higher than that of the LEC Winter 2025, the next most popular league. Additionally, the average viewership per match was about 30% higher than that of the LEC.

  • It led to a wider champion pool than ever before, captivating LCK fans. In the later stages, discussions intensified among fans, especially regarding the impact of the rule on the red-side disadvantage, as teams experimented with unconventional picks to counterbalance draft limitations.

  • Under the Fearless Draft rule, the win rate gap between blue and red side became a significant concern. Historically, blue side has had a slight advantage in League of Legends, but the disparity was exacerbated in the 2025 LCK Cup.

  • For reference, in the 2024 LCK Summer Regular Season, the blue side had a 50.2% win rate, which increased slightly to 54.8% in the Summer Playoffs—a common trend as stronger teams with better meta understanding remain. However, in the 2025 LCK Cup, the blue side win rate surged to 61.5% across both the group stage and playoffs.

Why does Fearless Draft worsen Red Side’s disadvantages?

  1. Champion counterplay is weakened

  • League of Legends is balanced around matchups—certain champions counter others.

  • In Fearless Draft, these counter picks may already be banned from previous sets, forcing teams to settle for less effective alternatives or take higher risks.

  1. Champion balance is not perfect

  • A best-of-five (Bo5) under Fearless means nearly one-third of the champion pool becomes unavailable by Game 5.

  • Some champions are already stronger than others, while certain champions are too weak to be viable.

  • Since blue side picks first, it can secure stronger champions earlier, further amplifying red side’s disadvantage as the series progresses.

Potential Solutions:

  • Adjusting Red Side Advantages (e.g., extra bans, priority flex picks, or counter-pick boosts).

  • Rebalancing Champion Strength to reduce disparity when key counter-picks are unavailable.