Riot Games introduces First Selection rule for League of Legends esports in 2026

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The new League of Legends season has not yet started, but things have been moving pretty quickly in the off-season. On January 8, Riot Games made another announcement that is bound to affect the upcoming esports season.

The American organizer introduced the "First Selection" feature to LoL esports for the 2026 season. This new rule will serve as a new approach to showcase the new Pick & Ban phase during matches.

Under the new First Selection approach, aimed at refining how the massively popular MOBA is played at the highest level by balancing the variance in side win rates. This fresh rule will see teams who previously earned side selection now also getting first selection, meaning they can choose one of the following:

• Which side to play on — blue or red, or
• Whether to pick first or second in the draft

Once a side makes that decision, the opponent will get its choice of the remaining option. So if Team A chooses Blue Side, Team B will choose whether they draft first or second. If Team A chooses First Pick, Team B will choose which side they'll play on.

Riot Games added in its announcement that this update will attempt to give professional teams more strategic flexibility to shape their game plan based on comfort, preparation, and opponent scouting, not on a baked-in advantage tied to color.  

First Selection will roll out in all regions at the start of the season, with the first regional leagues to kick off being LCK and LPL, on January 14. The other four circuits will follow suit, with the last event to kick off being the LCS on January 24.

With Riot Games assuring that it will continue monitoring and evaluating how First Selection performs throughout the 2026 season, it makes for an interesting time for LoL fans. The game has been growing exponentially over the past few years, emerging as the most popular game in livestreaming and changing the way esports is viewed in the wider mainstream.

Following the success of the Fearless Draft approach last year, it remains to be seen how the new First Selection rule affects competitive play. Esports Charts will track any developments regarding this introduction and report them in our news section.