Outplaying vs Outpicking: A Discussion On Counterpicking – Guest Article by James Slavin

Today we are going to discuss champion selection, with a specific focus on counterpicking. For those not savvy to the term, counterpicking is when you select a character based on the fact that it has a notable advantage over your opponent’s character. This strategy essentially exists in just about any genre of game that has multiple characters to pick from. Certain characters are bound to have a specific advantage over another character based solely on their skill / moveset. Today’s article will be focusing on League of Legends, but the general principles can be applied to any game.

Counterpicking, in and of itself, is not a bad strategy. In League of Legends, players who want an easier laning phase will often counterpick their lane opponent during Draft Pick game modes. However, the majority of people who do counterpick are under the assumption that by counterpicking it guarantees them a free laning phase. This is not the case, and in my experience most people who counterpick end up losing the lane instead. Having a bigger champion pool (a collection of champions you are familiar with and play well as) gives you the opportunity to make more solid picks and counterpicks.

Why they lose is simple: They pick a champion based on getting the character advantage, and they end up picking a champion they are not fully familiar with and in most cases they flat out cannot play them effectively. I will be using a game I played in as an example (see video below). I was in a Ranked 5v5 queue with my teammates and I picked my solo lane champion early in a Draft Pick. Selecting a solo lane champion early in Draft Pick is a risky maneuver because it leaves you vulnerable to counterpicking. You can check the video yourself for more details on that specific match.

What ended up happening is the player had no idea how to effectively play the champion he picked. He prioritized champion advantage over champion familiarity and it lead to him losing the lane. Had he picked a champion he knew how to play well, he very well might have won the lane; or at the very least not fed me.

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