We take a look at the advantages, disadvantages, and general differences of the map sides in League of Legends.

It’s no secret that red side and blue side aren’t equal in League of Legends. In Solo Queue things might not be that different, but in a more controlled environment—in pro play—blue side is the clear-cut winner.

So what makes it so much better? And what are the differences between the sides in general?

The Draft

Whenever you talk about the side difference in LoL, you have to start with the draft.

The fact that the blue team gets to choose the first champion puts a lot of pressure on its opponents. Not only does the red side have to ban the current power picks (hello, Zac), but they also have to adjust their entire strategy to the opponent’s champion choice.

Of course, the red team can turn the situation on its head by leaving three or more dominant champions open or by using the last pick to secure a powerful counter. In the former case, the red team gets two OP champions while only giving up one, but there’s still the tradeoff of granting the freedom of choice to the enemy lineup. And in the latter scenario, the blue side can dispose of the most troublesome counters with the two remaining bans.

There’s much more depth to the pick/ban phase than we’ve covered, but ultimately, the blue team controls tempo while their red adversaries are forced to try their best to react.

In-Game Advantages

But the differences don’t come down to just the draft. There are many in-game features that make the teams play differently, depending on what side they’re on.

Most of them revolve around map terrain.

Summoner’s Rift isn’t symmetrical, which means that there are pros and cons to starting on a certain part of the map. For example, the red side top lane is more exposed to danger due to the nearby tri-bush, which the enemy jungler and mid laner can use to set up ganks. So if you’re running a squishy Rumble on the red side, you have to be extra mindful of ganks. laner can use to set up ganks.

You’d think that the same could be said about the blue team’s bottom lane since they also have to deal with the tri-bush down there. But it’s much easier to control tri-bush vision for a duo lane. Plus, it takes more effort to dive two players instead of one, so the blue side comes out ahead here.

Another advantage for the blue side is that their bot lane can leash the red buff while the jungler is clearing raptors. This way, the jungler gets a massive early game lead while the bot lane only has to deal with the minor inconvenience of getting pushed in for the first few waves.

There are many more differences that are tied to map terrain based on champion picks. Caitlyn can hide her traps in different spots behind the turret models, depending on the side she’s playing. Rek’Sai can loop around for a surprise bot lane gank on the blue side and do the same thing for the top lane on the red side. Red side Jayce can use his Shock Blast all the way from the river bush to harass his opponents under a turret while the blue side top laner can go for the Dyrus flash to escape a gank.

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