2026 First Stand Tournament
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Location | Brazil |
| Dates | March 16–22 |
| Administrator | Riot Games |
| Host | São Paulo |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Teams | 8 |
| Purse | US$1,000,000 |
The 2026 First Stand Tournament is the second First Stand Tournament (FST) – a League of Legends tournament organized by publisher Riot Games at the conclusion of the first split in the current competitive calendar of the game's professional esports scene. The tournament is being held in São Paulo, Brazil from 16 to 22 March 2026.[1]
It is be the second international League of Legends competition to be hosted in Brazil after the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational.[2] The tournament will be held between 16-22 March 2026 and will feature eight teams.
Hanwha Life Esports of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) were the defending champions, but failed to qualify for the event following their elimination from the LCK Cup after the group stage.[3]
Qualification
Unlike the inaugural edition in 2025, the tournament will feature eight teams.[4] Two teams each from the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) and League of Legends Pro League (LPL) will qualify by finishing as finalists of their respective splits, while one team from each of the other major regions, the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), League Championship Series (LCS), Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL), and the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), will qualify through winning their respective splits. This will be the first international League of Legends tournament since the 2024 World Championship to feature representatives from the LCS and CBLOL, as both leagues were reinstated after the discontinuation of the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) in 2025.[5]
Qualified teams
Gen.G of the LCK was the first team to qualify for the tournament on 21 February 2026, with BNK FearX securing their spot a week later on 28 February to complete the league's two representatives. Secret Whales of the LCP, G2 Esports of the LEC, LOUD of the CBLOL, and LYON of the LCS, advanced to the tournament on the same day on 1 March. Bilibili Gaming of the LPL qualified on 4 March, with JD Gaming following suit on 7 March to complete the qualified teams.
It will be the first appearance in an international League of Legends competition for BNK FearX, and the first international tournament appearance for JD Gaming since the 2023 World Championship, and the first for LYON since competing as Movistar R7 from the now-defunct Liga Latinoamérica (LLA) at the 2024 World Championship, making its first international stint under the LCS. In addition, this will also be the first international League of Legends tournament without any teams from Taiwan since the Season 1 World Championship.
| Region | League | Path | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil Southern Latin America |
CBLOL | CBLOL Cup champion | LOUD |
| South Korea | LCK | LCK Cup finalists | Gen.G |
| BNK FearX | |||
| Asia-Pacific | LCP | Split 1 champion | Secret Whales |
| North America Northern Latin America |
LCS | Lock-In Tournament winner | LYON |
| EMEA | LEC | LEC Versus winner | G2 Esports |
| China | LPL | Split 1 finalists | Bilibili Gaming |
| JD Gaming |
Venue
Brazil was chosen to host the tournament on 8 January 2025 in a development update video published by Riot Games to begin the 2025 competitive season.[6] São Paulo was revealed as the host city on 5 November 2025 alongside an announcement of the 2026 CBLOL season's season structure and format.[7] During the media day for the 2025 League of Legends World Championship final in Chengdu, China two days later on 7 November 2025, the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo was confirmed as the tournament venue.
The decision to host the tournament at the 140-capacity venue, which is smaller than the 450-seater LoL Park in Seoul (which hosted the 2025 First Stand Tournament) and the two Riot Games Arenas in Los Angeles (400) and Berlin (200), later gained criticism by several fans. In response, Chris Greeley, the head of League of Legends esports, stated that having FST hosted in regional league studios allows for flexibility and experimentation with the format and schedule that isn't possible with the later international events. Greeley also stated that the event's purpose in the competitive calendar will be reviewed for 2027 with more details to be announced later in 2026.[8]
| São Paulo, Brazil | |
|---|---|
| Riot Games Arena | |
| Capacity: 140 | |
2026 First Stand Tournament (Brazil) | |
Format
All matches in the tournament across both the group stage and knockout stage are best-of-five series.
All eight teams will start in the group stage. They will compete in two GSL-style double-elimination groups, where the two teams in each group who earn two wins advancing to the knockout stage. The knockout stage is a single-elimination bracket and will consist of two Semifinals and a Final. The winner of the Final is crowned FST champion and will give their region's two representatives automatic advancement or byes to the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational's Bracket Stage.
As with the previous competitive season, Fearless Draft will be implemented.
Draw
The draw for the group stage took place on 8 March 2026 in Suzhou, China after the LPL Split 1 finals.
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| Bilibili Gaming | Gen.G |
| G2 Esports | LYON |
| Secret Whales | LOUD |
| BNK FearX | JD Gaming |
Group stage
- Date and time: March 16–20, begins at 10:00 BRT (13:00 UTC)
- Eight teams were drawn into four groups of four teams each. Teams from the same region cannot be placed in the same group.
- Double elimination; all matches are best-of-five
Group A
| Opening Matches | Winners Match | Playoffs Qualified | |||||||||||
| March 16, 10:00 BRT | |||||||||||||
| Bilibili Gaming | 3 | ||||||||||||
| BNK FearX | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Bilibili Gaming | 3 | ||||||||||||
| March 16, 15:00 BRT | Bilibili Gaming | ||||||||||||
| G2 Esports | 0 | ||||||||||||
| G2 Esports | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Secret Whales | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Knockout Match | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| BNK FearX | |||||||||||||
| Secret Whales | |||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
| Opening Match | 16 March | Bilibili Gaming | 3 | – | 2 | BNK FearX | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| 10:00 (UTC−3) | Riot Games Arena | |||||||
| K/D/A: 29/9/62 Gold: 66.6K Turrets: 9 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 2 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 1 |
Game 1 29:38 BLG leads series 1–0 |
K/D/A: 9/29/20 Gold: 54.7K Turrets: 1 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 0 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 11/13/22 Gold: 49.9K Turrets: 2 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 1 |
Game 2 26:10 Series tied 1–1 |
K/D/A: 13/11/34 Gold: 53.2K Turrets: 7 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 2 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 17/23/34 Gold: 65.9K Turrets: 3 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 0 |
Game 3 33:06 BFX leads series 2–1 |
K/D/A: 23/17/49 Gold: 69.0K Turrets: 9 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 3 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 20/4/51 Gold: 56.5K Turrets: 10 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 3 |
Game 4 25:23 Series tied 2–2 |
K/D/A: 4/20/8 Gold: 43.1K Turrets: 2 Drakes: 0 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 0 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 25/16/56 Gold: 74.4K Turrets: 10 Drakes: 4 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 3 |
Game 5 34:14 BLG wins series 3–2 |
K/D/A: 16/25/30 Gold: 58.9K Turrets: 0 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 0 |
||||||
| Opening Match | 16 March | G2 Esports | 3 | – | 0 | Secret Whales | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| 15:00 (UTC−3) | Riot Games Arena | |||||||
| K/D/A: 22/10/52 Gold: 66.5K Turrets: 10 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 2 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 1 |
Game 1 29:22 G2 leads series 1–0 |
K/D/A: 10/22/24 Gold: 50.9K Turrets: 1 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 2 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 21/19/51 Gold: 66.4K Turrets: 7 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 0 |
Game 2 33:24 G2 leads series 2–0 |
K/D/A: 19/22/44 Gold: 62.9K Turrets: 3 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 3 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 20/12/39 Gold: 60.8K Turrets: 11 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 3 |
Game 3 27:46 G2 wins series 3–0 |
K/D/A: 12/20/12 Gold: 50.9K Turrets: 2 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 0 |
||||||
| Winners Match | 18 March | Bilibili Gaming | 3 | – | 0 | G2 Esports | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| 10:00 (UTC−3) | Riot Games Arena | |||||||
| K/D/A: 16/8/37 Gold: 68.1K Turrets: 10 Drakes: 4 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 0 |
Game 1 32:53 BLG leads series 1–0 |
K/D/A: 8/16/16 Gold: 57.0K Turrets: 1 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 3 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 18/7/41 Gold: 60.9K Turrets: 8 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 3 |
Game 2 29:54 BLG leads series 2–0 |
K/D/A: 7/18/11 Gold: 49.8K Turrets: 0 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 0 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 27/12/41 Gold: 66.9K Turrets: 9 Drakes: 4 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 2 |
Game 3 30:04 BLG wins series 3–0 |
K/D/A: 12/27/35 Gold: 54.5K Turrets: 1 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 1 |
||||||
| Knockout Match | 18 March | BNK FearX | v | Secret Whales | São Paulo, Brazil | |||
| 15:00 (UTC−3) | Riot Games Arena | |||||||
Group B
| Opening Matches | Winners Match | Playoffs Qualified | |||||||||||
| March 17, 10:00 BRT | |||||||||||||
| Gen.G | 3 | ||||||||||||
| JD Gaming | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Gen.G | |||||||||||||
| March 17, 15:00 BRT | |||||||||||||
| LYON | |||||||||||||
| LYON | 3 | ||||||||||||
| LOUD | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Knockout Match | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| JD Gaming | |||||||||||||
| LOUD | |||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
- Opening Matches
| 17 March | Gen.G | 3 | – | 0 | JD Gaming | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| 10:00 (UTC−3) | Riot Games Arena | |||||||
| K/D/A: 15/4/47 Gold: 53.6K Turrets: 8 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 0 |
Game 1 23:09 GEN leads series 1–0 |
K/D/A: 4/15/6 Gold: 36.8K Turrets: 0 Drakes: 0 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 3 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 16/7/39 Gold: 56.1K Turrets: 8 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 2 |
Game 2 24:26 GEN leads series 2–0 |
K/D/A: 7/16/15 Gold: 42.1K Turrets: 1 Drakes: 1 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 1 |
||||||
| K/D/A: 15/9/26 Gold: 61.1K Turrets: 8 Drakes: 3 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 1 Rift Heralds: 0 Voidgrubs: 3 |
Game 3 29:49 GEN wins series 3–0 |
K/D/A: 9/15/18 Gold: 51.7K Turrets: 2 Drakes: 2 Elder Dragons: 0 Barons: 0 Rift Heralds: 1 Voidgrubs: 0 |
||||||
| 17 March | LYON | 3 | – | 2 | LOUD | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| 15:00 (UTC−3) | Riot Games Arena | |||||||
Marketing
The tournament's official slogan, Lead The Charge, was unveiled on 2 March 2026 alongside a release of the tournament primer.
References
- ^ "Looking Ahead: LoL Esports 2025". lolesports.com. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ Ciocchetti, Cecilia (8 January 2025). "Riot just dropped the schedule and location for every LoL esports tournament up to 2027". Dot Esports. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ John Popko (2 February 2026). "Gen.G Clinches Baron Group Victory as Super Week Decides 2026 LCK Cup Playoff Field". Inven Global. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ^ Harbinson, Darragh (7 November 2025). "Worlds, MSI, and First Stand 2026 locations revealed". GosuGamers. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ Ciocchetti, Cecilia (September 28, 2025). "Riot bids farewell to the LTA as LCS and CBLOL return in 2026". Esports Insider. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ Daniels, Tom (8 January 2025). "League of Legends announces international esports event locations for 2026 and 2027". Esports Insider. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ "Tudo sobre o CBLOL 2026". LoL Esports (in Portuguese). 5 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
- ^ Ciocchetti, Cecilia (2026-03-04). "Riot Games responds to criticism over 140-seat venue for First Stand 2026". Sheep Esports. Retrieved 2026-03-04.