First Stand is a new, no-boundaries competition that was announced in June 2024 for the League of Legends International Circuit. This international event is hosted by Riot themselves and happens at the beginning of the competitive yearly circuit, the opposite of MSI and Worlds.
This year’s First Stand was hosted in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Eight teams made the trek to Sao Paolo: Gen.G, G2 Esports, FEARX, LYON, Bilibili Gaming, LOUD, JD Gaming, and Secret Whales. The teams were separated into Group A and Group B, with the Upper Bracket and Lower Bracket Championships of each group moving onto the finals.
Bilibili Gaming, JD Gaming Gen.G, and G2 Esports were the top four teams that advanced into the Knockout Stage. Bilibili Gaming defeated G2 Esports 3-1 to win the world’s first inaugural First Stand Tournament.
Xin Zhao and Yunara were the star champions throughout the tournament. According to Liquipedia, Xin Zhao had a 72.73% win rate, and Yunara had a 69.23% win rate. To be considered for the highest win rates in the champion statistics, all champions had to be played in at least ten games.
There were two pentakills the entire tournaments, both by the same player, Diable [LOUD]. The final prize pool of $1,000,000 was dispersed, with every team taking home something for qualifying. However, Bilibili Gaming took home the biggest prize, bagging $250,000 USD for their organization.
Riot is having a never-before-seen sale on the skins that were used in the First Stand Tournament. Usually, for MSI and Worlds, Riot would design special skins for the winners that would all match. However, immediately after the tournament, Riot put on sale every League of Legends character skin that were used throughout the inaugural tournament.
The next First Stand Tournament will be in March 2027 in Southeast Asia, with the country yet to be announced. The next international tournament will be the Mid-Season Invitational [MSI], where 11 teams will face off in Daejeon, South Korea from June 28 to July 12, 2026.
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