NA Champion Select (Part 1 of 4): First Pick [Infographic]

Over the next week, we'll be taking a hard look at the NA Champion Select in this four part series.

Part 1: First Pick

Part 2: Counter Picks

Part 3: Winning Team Compositions

Part 4: Bans

Who should you first pick?  That's nearly always a dangerous question.  NA LCS teams use the First Pick for all sorts of things--as an extra ban (Gravity vs CLG, first pick Lissandra), securing a powerful open champion (Gnar that whole first week), or as a comfort pick (Cloud 9, first pick Zed).  However, whoever you first pick lets your opponent know a piece of your strategy--that's why many teams opt for a flex pick (Morgana/Lissandra) so that they don't give too much away at the beginning.

This infographic gives a little more insight into that first pick, and why some selections are much better than others.  Overall, these champions appear or are banned quite frequently:

• Lissandra: Appeared (18) or Banned (50) in 97% of games
• Morgana: Appeared (30) or Banned (25) in 79% of games
• Rumble: Appeared (16) or Banned (37) in 76% of games
• Zed: Appeared (18) or Banned (16) in 49% of games
• Nidalee: Appeared (8) or Banned (21) in 41% of games
• Vi: Appeared (26) or Banned (3) in 41% of games

Look for the next part in the series next week!