LPL's hidden rules revealed, weakening the blue side! Only one can be chosen between map and BP priority

Hello to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is Tianxia Game Hub.

A few days ago, the LPL officially revealed the schedule and format for the new season, with the first stage adding the SAB system and introducing a Resolute group between the Peak and Nirvana groups.

Yesterday, new leaks emerged indicating that the red and blue side settings will also be modified in the new season.

LPL's hidden system exposed, blue side will be weakened

Here’s the situation: former RA team manager Yao A Yao disclosed that besides adding the Resolute group, the BP mode has also been adjusted. The blue side will no longer be fixed as the first pick. For example, if Team A chooses the blue side, Team B can then decide whether to pick first or second in BP.

Editor’s note

Conversely, if Team A opts for BP priority, then Team B can choose map priority.

Simply put, the team with side selection priority in the new season can only pick either BP priority or map priority — either play on the blue side map or have BP priority. Previously, the red side had to give up both the better map and BP advantage, but now the red side at least gains a choice.

In past seasons, the blue side’s win rate has been higher than the red side’s for the majority of matches, which has become a major long-standing issue in LoL: how to balance the win rates between red and blue sides.

If you analyze closely, you’ll find the blue side’s advantage comes from having both map and BP benefits. Breaking down this dual advantage might help solve the century-old problem of red-blue side balance.

Map and BP analysis: which side has a clear advantage?

We have often said that the blue side in LoL has a big advantage, mainly referring to the BP position on the left side and the team attacking from bottom to top on the map. However, with the new season’s format changes, the blue side will only represent the team attacking from bottom to top on the map and will no longer guarantee the BP left-side priority for bans and picks.

Regarding the map, viewers generally believe the blue side’s advantage comes from a more comfortable camera angle and crucial map objectives—Baron Nashor’s position favors blue side because the dragon pit has a wall on the red side but no obstruction on the blue side.

However, some viewers feel the map advantage isn’t as significant as thought, since the dragon pit’s entrance faces the red side.

That covers the map aspect. On the BP side, the team with side selection priority, if choosing to ban and pick first, can secure the strongest meta champions early, while the team picking later benefits mainly from the fifth pick counter-pick.

Solving the century-old issue: does it become fairer?

Under this new system, analyzing the win rates of red and blue sides can reveal whether the previous blue side dominance was due to map or BP advantages. If the new mode balances these win rates, matches will naturally become fairer.

In past seasons, there were many BO5 series where the team on blue side won every time, leading many viewers to feel this was unfair and that the red-blue side gap or the meta was too skewed.

Of course, some viewers believe the win rate gap between blue and red sides tests the teams’ true strength—if a team is strong enough, they should be able to overcome the blue side advantage, which is essentially fair.

Personally, I think the imbalance in red-blue side win rates greatly affects how side selection priority impacts match outcomes. Achieving a balanced win rate between sides is definitely the best result. We’ll have to see how effective the implementation is. Also, this leak currently only applies to the LPL region; whether other regions will adopt it remains unknown. Fans can look forward to seeing if this change is directed by the LPL or is a collaborative decision across major regions.