Image: Tencent
Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 will utilise the global ban and pick system, with the 'Ultimate Battle' to be used to close out a best-of-seven series.
Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 is set to introduce the global ban and pick format with the ‘Ultimate Battle’ system enabled in the even of a full best-of-seven series. This system will be the standard for Honor of Kings esports moving forward, as publisher Tencent initially stated when they unveiled the game's 2025 esports rules.
While the Honor of Kings Invitational 2025 will be the first global Honor of Kings tournament that implements the global ban and pick system, it is worth noting that it was already introduced in 2018 for the Kings Pro League (KPL). Here is a statement from Tencent's press release explaining their reasoning for the implementation of the global ban and pick system:
The draft format, global ban and pick, will be introduced in Honor of Kings Invitational S3 and all Honor of Kings Esports tournaments onward. The groundbreaking concept was introduced in 2018 and is now set to enhance the competitiveness and excitement of the tournament and provide more possibilities for each match.
The global ban and pick system was first introduced in the KPL and has been used for seven years. To date, over 8,500 matches have been played with this format. Global ban and pick meant that each hero could only be selected once per match series by each team, with a total of four bans per game. However, in the best-of-seven series, the ‘Ultimate Battle’ will commence when the match is tied at 3-3.
The Ultimate Battle is the last game of a best-of-seven in Honor of Kings esports and will feature no draft restrictions except the time limit, allowing the selection of previously banned and picked heroes. Both teams may have the same hero lineups in the Ultimate Battle, ensuring every team will play at their full potential.
The Honor of Kings Invitational 2025 will commence on February 21 to March 1 in Manila, Philippines. Twelve teams have qualified from across the globe and are set to compete for a share of the $300,000 prize pool.
