First Stand
Upcoming season or competition: First Stand (2025) | |
| Game | League of Legends |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 10, 2025 |
| Administrator | Riot Games |
| No. of teams | 5 teams (2025) |
| Venue(s) | Rotating locations (inaugural location: Seoul) |
| Qualification | Regional leagues (list) |
| Related competitions | Mid-Season Invitational, World Championship |
| Official website | lolesports.com |
First Stand is an annual League of Legends international tournament hosted by Riot Games at the conclusion of the first of three splits of the game's professional esports scene. It is the third international tournament under the new split structure and competitive calendar announced by Riot Games starting in 2025.[1][2]
History
[edit]2025
[edit]On 11 June 2024, Riot Games announced the creation of a new split structure and competitive calendar for the League of Legends esports scene, including a three-split calendar similar to that of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) to be applied to all major regions and the creation of a new international tournament to conclude the first split.[1] During the media day for the 2024 League of Legends World Championship Final at The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom on 1 November 2024, Riot Games announced that the new international tournament would be named "First Stand," with the inaugural edition set to take place from 10 to 16 March 2025 in Seoul, South Korea.[3]
Format and Qualification
[edit]The tournament features five qualified teams, particularly the winners of the first competitive split from the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), League of Legends Pro League (LPL), League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA), and the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP). Each of the five teams will face each other in a best-of series.
The following is a breakdown of the qualified teams per region for First Stand as of 1 November 2024:
- League of Legends Champions Korea: LCK Cup Champion
- League of Legends Pro League: To be determined
- League of Legends EMEA Championship: LEC Winter Split Champion
- League of Legends Championship of The Americas: LTA Split 1 Champion
- League of Legends Championship Pacific: LCP Season Kickoff Qualifying Series Winner
In each series played in the tournament, the "Fearless Draft" format is implemented. Fearless Draft pertains to a draft format in League of Legends popularized by China's LoL Development League where teams cannot pick a champion that they've already played in a series. For instance, when one team picks a champion in any stage of the series, they and their opponents may not pick said champion for the succeeding games. Hence, for every game of a best-of series, there will be ten additional bans, narrowing teams' champion pools.[4]
Results
[edit]Year-by-year
[edit]| Year | Location | Final | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | ||||
| 2025 | Seoul | 5 | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future". lolesports.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Looking Ahead: LoL Esports 2025". lolesports.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Tan, Amanda (1 November 2024). "New third international LoL Esports tournament First Stand debuts in 2025, host country announced". ONE Esports. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Lynch, James (1 November 2024). "Riot confirms new international 5-team League of Legends tournament First Stand". Dexerto. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
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1 The 2020 Mid-Season Invitational was cancelled and replaced by the 2020 Mid-Season Streamathon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |||||||