Draft Pick is a PvP game mode in Summoner's Rift where players ban and select champions in the game. It provides a competitive interaction to champion selection while introducing organized play among matchmade players.
10 bans (5 per side) are allowed in Draft Mode. This means a player must have access to at least 20 champions in order to participate. Those 20 champions can be either owned by the player or belonging to the free rotation in case of normal draft, whereas in solo or duo ranked all 20 champions must be owned, since free champions are no longer allowed to be picked in ranked unless owned.
History
The Draft Pick was included in the Season One Patch.[1] It took part in the competition system for the Season One ranked games. Since September 20, 2011 Draft Pick became available for unranked games on the Summoner's Rift and the Crystal Scar. Since January 24, 2016 Draft Pick had been changed to implement elements of Team Builder in its design. As a result, Team Builder has since been discontinued.
Lobby
Making the Party
In the lobby, players select their primary and secondary roles on the team. Depending on the number of players, the team may need to select a variety of roles before queuing. In a party of five, only one role can be selected.
The roles selectable are 
Top, 
Mid, 
Bot, 
Support, 
Jungle, and 
Fill. Despite the graphical depiction, the support is not strictly assigned a lane and the positions are not class-restricted - i.e. bot only refers to the person who wants to kill minions/earn gold in bot lane.
Autofill
To speed up matchmaking, the match may assign a player to an unintended leftover role. If they play with this change, or have played as Support, they are place in Autofill Protection, and are guaranteed their intended roles in their next queue.
Champion Selection
General
In organized play where teams are familiar with each other, champions that someone on the other team play exceptionally well are normally banned to try to gain an advantage. In solo queue, bans are normally reserved for champions that are widely considered to be overpowered and are likely to be picked.
- Failing to lock in a ban or pick will disband champion selection and incur a dodge penalty.
- In matchmade games, opposing members will not have their summoner names displayed.
- Champion quotes will only play on a player's own picks and bans. (They may cause audio clutter otherwise)
Current Iteration (2017)
Pick Intent [15s]: Players select their intended picks to show their team.
Banning Phase [30s]: All players simultaneously ban a champion from selection, however, opposing team's bans are not revealed.
Ban Reveal [5s]: Bans are revealed to all teams. It is possible for both teams to ban the same champion.
Champion Selection [30s in 6 waves]: After the initial pick, teams alternate and pick two at a time until each player has selected. No champion can be selected more than once in a game. Once a player has selected a champion, they can select their ward skins.
Finalization [30s]: When all the members of a team have locked in, there is an opportunity to make a trade within your team. Both members of the team must own both champions involved. One player can initiate the trade, and when the other confirms it their champions are swapped. It is possible to execute multiple trades before the game begins. Therefore, trades are often implemented in order to secure high tier champions early on to be swapped with the intended player instead of risking the other team taking them.
Tournament Iteration
Banning Phase 1 [30s in 6 waves]: The team captains alternate turns banning a champion, up to three per team.
Champion Selection 1 [30s in 4 waves]: One team makes the first pick, then alternates two at a time until only the third member makes a pick.
Banning Phase 2 [30s in 4 waves]: The team captains alternate turns banning a champion, up to two per team. At this stage, teams would usually ban depending on what roles are left to fill.
Champion Select 2 [30s in 3 waves]: Once the first team makes a pick, the second team is allowed to pick two at a time. The first team then makes the last pick.
Finalization [30s]: When all the members of a team have locked in, there is an opportunity to make a trade within your team. Both members of the team must own both champions involved. One player can initiate the trade, and when the other confirms it their champions are swapped. It is possible to execute multiple trades before the game begins. Therefore, trades are often implemented in order to secure high tier champions early on to be swapped with the intended player instead of risking the other team taking them.
2016 Iteration (6 Bans)
Pick Intent [15s]: Players select their intended picks to show their team.
Banning Phase [30s in 6 waves]: The last three players on each team alternate turns banning a champion from selection. This is meant to provide power to those who lack the advantage of early picks.
Champion Selection [30s in 6 waves]: After the initial pick, teams alternate and pick two at a time until each player has selected. No champion can be selected more than once in a game.
Finalization [30s]: When all the members of a team have locked in, there is an opportunity to make a trade within your team. Both members of the team must own both champions involved. One player can initiate the trade, and when the other confirms it their champions are swapped. It is possible to execute multiple trades before the game begins. Therefore, trades are often implemented in order to secure high tier champions early on to be swapped with the intended player instead of risking the other team taking them.
Dynamic Queue
The ranked ladder was replaced to allow players to form parties of any size to queue, meaning that parties would be matched with solo players. This resulted in uneven skill matchups, long queue times due to role populace imbalance, and disruptive team collaboration. It also placed solo players at a heavy disadvantage in matchups and rewards, and didn't accurately reflect the individual's skill. Due to these problems, Dynamic Queue was removed, returning in its spiritual successor, Flex Queue.
