Clash is a tournament game mode that lets you live out your dream of becoming a professional esports player. You team up with trusted allies, scout out your enemies, and prove your skills in a grueling, high-pressure environment. While you won’t be obtaining the Summoner’s Cup any time soon, winning Clash does give you hefty rewards and major bragging rights.
Clash is one of the most exciting game modes LoL has released in recent years. But it can be difficult to navigate. This is especially the case if you’re not an avid watcher of LoL esports. That’s why today we’ve compiled an in-depth guide on how to play (and dominate) Clash in League of Legends.
What is Clash in League of Legends?
Clash in League of Legends began in April 2018. It’s a monthly tournament that still runs today. Ultimately, it is a highly competitive game mode in which teams of five compete against other teams of the same tiers, based on players’ soloQ rank along with their overall Clash results.
How Does League of Legends Clash Work?
Clash is a competitive tournament mode where several teams compete against each other in three-round brackets. The event spans across two days and is typically held on a weekend. Teams are sorted into brackets based on their skill level.
To take part in Clash, you need to join a team (or create your own), own a Clash ticket, and lock in before the first game starts. Every single player must lock in, otherwise, your team is immediately disqualified from the tournament.
After locking in, players enter a short scouting phase, where they can access vital information about their rival team. This includes most-played champions, mastery points, and previous match history. You’re then thrown into a pick-and-ban phase that mimics the professional scene’s format. All champions are automatically unlocked in Clash.
The gameplay is essentially Summoner’s Rift, only with your team’s honor on the line. The main difference is that Clash has a “sudden death” mode to prevent matches from dragging on for too long. At 60 minutes, structures become weaker and their health bars begin to decay.
How Do I Earn Clash Tickets in League?
Clash tickets can be earned from missions, orbs, capsules, or bought from the store with Riot Points or Blue Essence. Other players can also gift you tickets.
There are two types of Clash tickets: basic and premium. A basic ticket simply gives you access to the tournament, while a premium ticket drastically improves the rewards you gain.
Who Is Eligible for Clash?
Players only need to meet the following requirements to be eligible for Clash:
- Your Summoner level must be higher than 30
- You must have completed placement games in at least one ranked mode
- Your account must be SMS verified
You can set up or join a team in the dedicated “Clash” tab. Team creation opens up a week before the actual tournament start date.
What Rewards Can I Earn From Clash LoL?
You can earn a whole range of rewards from Clash, including trophies, orbs, capsules, and banners to display on your profile.
The orbs and capsules can contain Clash tickets, mystery emotes, skin shards, icons, and even Mythic Essence, with the content depending on your ticket type and the place you finish in the tournament. Unsurprisingly, the higher you place in the tournament, the better rewards you’ll receive.
What Are the Clash Tier Rankings?
In Clash, teams are sorted into four separate tiers based on their skill level: Tier IV, Tier III, Tier II, and Tier I. You only compete against other teams in the same tier as you. So, you’ll never be put up against opponents that are too difficult or too easy.
Your team’s tier is determined by each member’s Solo/Duo and Flex MMR, as well as their performance in previous Clash tournaments. Tier 1 is the highest tier and consists of players above Diamond. Tier IV is the lowest tier and is predominantly made up of Iron and Bronze players. Lock-in time also varies between tiers.
How to Bring Your Clash Team to the Next Level
Clash is an entirely different experience from Ranked Solo/Duo. While Solo/Duo encourages you to prove your skills at solo-carrying, Clash is all about teamwork. You need to form team-oriented strategies, synergize your picks, and communicate effectively to survive.
Below, we cover some quick tips and tricks to help you and your allies win your first Clash tournament. We’ve also included strategies to level up your teamwork.
Expand Champion Pool
OTPing might work wonders in Ranked Solo/Duo — but in Clash? It’s a major disadvantage. During the scouting phase, your enemies will see exactly which champions you play and how often you play them. So yep, it’s a given that OTP champions are going to be perma-banned.
Expanding your champion pool allows you to play comfortably, no matter the enemies’ bans, and it also enables your team to be more versatile with the comps they can play. It even helps you become familiar with other champions’ playstyles, abilities, and weaknesses, giving you a greater understanding of how to fight against them.
The best champions to pick up are those that are adaptable, reliable in the meta, and have some form of CC. It’s also a good idea to learn champions that can be played in multiple roles; it can throw off the opposing team during the pick-and-ban phase as they won’t know the exact position you’ll be playing.
Communicate Effectively
Good team communication is essential in Clash. If you and your allies can cooperate efficiently, you can effortlessly pull off dives, initiate team fights, and strategize on the fly.
Aside from hopping on a voice call and using a high-quality mic, there are a few other ways to improve your team communication in Clash:
- Speak in clear, concise sentences. Don’t bring up unnecessary information
- >Talk through what you’re doing, and crucially, what you plan to do. This ensures your allies can react in time
- Inform your team when you have lane priority or spot out the enemy jungler
- Call out cooldowns for abilities, summoner spells, and ultimates
- Create code words for certain comps and strategies to be more time-efficient and prevent misunderstandings from arising
- Use pings to communicate quickly in high-pressure situations
- Don’t snap or get frustrated if you start to fall behind. This will decrease the morale and focus of your entire team
Don’t Tunnel Vision on Kills
Securing kill after kill is a surefire way to get ahead in Solo/Duo. But the same rule doesn’t apply in Clash. In truth, tunnel-visioning on kills during the tournament can even give your enemy the upper hand.
Unlike Solo/Duo, your opponents are going to be well-prepared to react to every single move you make. Things you would get away with in Solo/Duo, like overextending to kill your lane opponent, are a lot riskier in Clash. Focusing on kills also gives up a lot of pressure. While you’re busy battling it out, the enemy team can react by ganking your other teammates or securing an objective.
Always assess the situation and consider whether the benefits outweigh the risks before making a play. Ask yourself questions such as:
- Does your target have their ultimate or summoner spells up?
- Do you know where the enemy team are?
- Which lanes have priority?
- Is an objective coming up?
- Do you have effective vision control?
- Can your teammates reasonably assist you if needed?
How to Scout Your Enemies in Clash
Scouting your enemies is all about identifying each player’s individual strengths and weaknesses, and using that information to your advantage in the pick-and-ban phase. Here’s how to get the most out of the scouting phase:
- Identify the weakest player in the enemy team and ban out their comfort picks. You should also ban OTP champions
- Make a list with your teammates of all the champions you want to ban. Make sure to organize by priority and include situational bans, such as ban x champion if we go for the x comp
- Identify the “carry” – aka the best player – of the team, and work to counter them. Ban out their champions or come up with a plan to hinder them during the match
- Do a quick U.GG of the enemy team’s usernames to find out their recent match history. Chances are, they’ve been practicing their Clash comps in Flex or Draft queue
Draft Carefully
During the pick-and-ban phase, you and your allies shouldn’t just thoughtlessly lock in your own champions. You ideally want to secure the power picks first, and then try to pick champions in an order that won’t fully reveal your comp or team goals until the end. This drastically reduces the chances of the enemy team counter-picking you or banning out your champions.
Another strategy to prevent counter-picking, especially if you’re red side, is to copy the enemy team’s pick format. For example, if they lock in their ADC first you should follow up with an ADC pick too.
You also want to consider your team comp when locking in the bans. If your comp is very reliant on CC, you should ban champions with CC immunity like Olaf, Morgana, and Volibear, especially if the enemy team plays them. Or, if your comp excels at teamfighting, you’ll want to ban strong split pushers like Tryndamere.
Don’t Forget to Ward
Don’t forget to ward – and don’t make it the support’s sole responsibility – is age-old advice in League of Legends for a reason. It helps you avoid deadly situations, secure objectives, get picks, and play with confidence. Vision control is especially vital in Clash, where your opponents are a lot more coordinated and often roam around the map to make team-based plays.
While optimal ward placement is very situational, it’s usually a good idea to place wards near objectives and spots where your opponents are likely to path through. You should also be denying the enemy’s vision to apply pressure and force them to make risky moves. Here’s a useful guide that breaks down vision control and all its intricacies.
A Final Word Before You Lock In
Clash is an exciting, fast-paced game mode that puts your teamwork to the test. It gives you the opportunity to feel like a pro, build new friendships, and earn some nifty rewards. We hope this Clash beginner’s guide has helped you and your teammates prepare for your first tournament.
As some final words of advice, I recommend you test out different comps and synergies in Flex queue, analyze your replays to identify your weaknesses, and invest in a high-quality mic that’ll allow you to come across clearly. And during the tournament? Stay calm and remember to always look out for opportunities to capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes. GL HF!
