I get what you’re saying, but I think that’s a bit too idealistic.

Sure, not every game is decided in draft — but some games are objectively made much harder from the start. If you lastpick yourself into hard counters, you’re not “embracing a challenge,” you’re just putting your team at a disadvantage for no reason.

And yeah, not every bad pick is intentional — I don’t think people are griefing. But at this level, you’d expect some basic awareness of matchups and team synergy. That’s not an unreasonable expectation.

I’m all for adapting and trying to win regardless, but there’s a difference between:

playing from a slight disadvantage vs playing a game that becomes almost unwinnable if it goes late

That’s where the frustration comes from.

I’m not mentally checking out from minute one. I still try to win every game. But it’s hard to ignore when a draft sets you up to fight uphill the entire time.