League of Legends scrims: how to find, run and review them

A scrim (short for scrimmage) is a private practice match between two teams. In League of Legends, teams usually play a block of three to five games against the same opponent, often in a custom lobby with tournament-style rules, and increasingly in Fearless draft to match the official format.

Nothing is at stake, which is the point: scrims are where a team tries new compositions, drills early-game set-ups, tests a new player and finds out which picks hold up before an official match. Results matter far less than whether you practised what you meant to.

There is no single matchmaking queue for scrims; teams find each other through contacts. The usual routes:

• Your league or tournament. Teams in the same amateur league, ladder or tournament are natural partners — similar level, similar schedule.
• Community Discord servers. Many regional and amateur communities run scrim-finding channels where teams post their average rank, region and free times.
• Teams you have already played. Keep a contact list of every team’s manager or captain. Most scrims are booked through people you know.
• Your staff’s network. Coaches and managers trade scrims with each other; a manager whose job includes booking scrims saves players hours every week.

When you post or reply, say the region, the roster’s average rank, the format you want (number of games, Fearless or not) and the exact time with time zone. Clear requests get answered first.

Agree on these before the day, not in the lobby:

• Number of games and whether the block ends early if a team needs to stop.
• Draft format: standard, Fearless or another series format, and who picks sides.
• Start time and time zone, plus how long you will wait for a late team.
• Lobby details: who creates it, tournament code or custom game, spectators allowed.
• Remake and pause rules for disconnects and bugs.
• Contacts on both sides who can make decisions during the block.

A shared draft room helps when both teams want a timed, rules-enforced draft — for example a Fearless series where champions from earlier games are locked out. Blindspot’s draft rooms open from a link and the other team does not need an account.

Your reputation decides how many good scrims you get. The basics:

• Show up on time with all five players ready.
• Cancel as early as possible, and never just disappear.
• Play the number of games you agreed, even when the block is going badly.
• Keep what you see in scrims private: never share the other team’s strategies.
• Be polite in all chat; the other team’s staff talk to other teams too.

Scrims are only practice if you know what you are practising. Before each block, pick one to three goals — a level-one set-up, a composition, vision before the second drake — and tell the players. Between games, spend five minutes on what happened against those goals, not on who lost lane.

Avoid playing scrims like officials. Hiding your best picks, refusing to try new things or ending a block because you are losing all waste the practice you booked.

The review is where scrims pay off. Teams that improve fastest review the same evening and keep a record over the season:

• Review key moments, not whole VODs. A 2D replay lets you jump to the set-up before each objective and see positions, deaths and wards in seconds.
• Write down decisions and goals next to the games they came from, so the next block starts from them.
• Track scrim stats over weeks. Win rates by champion, player and side over dozens of games show what actually works; a single block does not.
• Carry it into draft prep. Champion pools, blind-pick answers and comps should come from what your scrims showed.

Blindspot does all of this in one place: scrim tracking and scrim stats, a 2D replay and game review, opponent scouting and draft prep for the whole roster.

What is a scrim in League of Legends?

A scrim (scrimmage) is a private practice match between two teams. Teams usually play a block of three to five games against the same opponent to practise drafts, strategies and new rosters without anything at stake.

How do you find scrims in League of Legends?

Through contacts: other teams in your league or tournament, community Discord servers with scrim-finding channels, and the staff of teams you have already played. Teams that show up on time and keep their word get asked back.

How long is a scrim block?

Most blocks are three to five games, which takes two to four hours including drafts and short breaks. Agree the number of games before you start.

Do scrim results matter?

Not on their own. A scrim is for practising specific things, so the useful questions are whether you executed what you planned and what the games teach you — tracked over many blocks, not one.