The 2026 First Stand Tournament will be one of the first big international League of Legends competitions. It’s safe to say the tournament will be worth watching, so it’s time for our detailed review.
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What is the 2026 First Stand Tournament About?
First Stand 2026 is the first international League of Legends esports tournament of the year. It brings together the top teams from the six major regions, plus extra representatives from the strongest regions.
Riot describes the event as a way to ignite regional rivalries early in the competitive calendar while giving teams an opportunity to influence the developing global meta. In addition to the title, the results also affect regional seeding for the Mid-Season Invitational, meaning the tournament carries meaningful competitive importance right from the start of the year.
2026 First Stand Tournament Preview
2026 First Stand Tournament will be an offline event taking place in São Paolo, Brazil. The tournament will start on March 16 and end on March 22 and will have 8 teams. Following the latest LoL update, it became clear that this competition will be held on patch 26.5.
An interesting fact is that the First Stand tournament was introduced in June 2024 and became the third international competition alongside MSI and Worlds. São Paulo was chosen as the venue for the event in January 2025.
Considering the tournament’s size and importance, it will have a $1,000,000 prize pool. The action will kick off with the Group Stage, which will be between March 16-20. After that, we have the Knockout Stage, which will be on March 21. Lastly, we have the Knockout Stage Finals, which will be on March 22.
The Teams at 2026 First Stand Tournament
As pointed out, there will be a total of 8 League of Legends teams at the FST tournament as follows:
- Gen. G – LCK
- Bilibili Gaming – LPL
- G2 Esports – LEC
- LOUD – CBLOL
- BNK FearX – LCK
- JD Gaming – LPL
- LYON – LCS
- Secret Whales – LCP
We can clearly see three big favorites here – Gen.G, Bilibili Gaming and G2 Esports. The three powerhouses will do everything possible to win, so we expect to see an epic battle between them. Make sure to watch all matches in real-time.
First Stand 2026 – Twitch Rewards and Drops
Riot has interesting news for all League of Legends fans because it confirmed there will be Drops throughout the tournament. People wishing to take part in it must log in with their Riot ID and will have the chance to receive rewards.
If you follow the Finals, you will see the exclusive Evelynn emote and various Drops from Secretlab and the Esports World Cup. Those who are subscribed to LoL Esports’ Twitch channel will also receive different perks, such as ad-free viewing. There will also be subscriber-only chat access, custom emotes, and much more.
A portion of subscription revenue will go towards the Global Revenue Pool, which supports leagues and teams. Speaking of subscriptions, there are also limited-time deals starting from March 9. Those who subscribe with a paid or gifted sub can claim the “And That’s It” reward, a special in-game Yunara emote. Just make sure you connect your Twitch and Riot accounts.
Warhounds Senna Skin
Between March 18 and April 15, Riot will share a portion of all proceeds from the Warhounds Senan skin and its related bundles. People can purchase the skin alone or as part of a border set bundle. It is also possible to get it within a chroma bundle and there will even be individual chromas.
Runterra Fan Fest
People who decide to watch the First Stand 2026 tournament will have access to the Runterra Fan Fest. The latter will have special gameplay stations for all of Riot’s games. There will also be cosplay meetups, swag distribution and much more.
Co-Streaming and Coverage
Considering the importance of the League of Legends tournament, we are not surprised to see Co-streaming. All professional teams will be invited to host official team co-streams during the event.
Riot will also give us access to the Co-Streamer Hub from Opera GX. We will have to wait for the full list of streamers because it will be revealed on March 11.
Don’t forget that the tournament will feature the Fearless Draft mode, and we will see many of the best LoL teams in the world. We expect to see an amazing tournament.
