The First Stand hasn’t even begun, yet it has already ignited controversy over the limited capacity of the arena.
The First Stand marks the start of the international League of Legends competitive season. However, this year’s event is kicking off amid controversy. The choice of a small arena in São Paulo, Brazil, has raised concerns about both the venue’s capacity and the event’s overall organization.
The small arena of The First Stand 2026
The Latin American crowd, popular for its incredible energy and passion, makes the return of a League of Legends international event to Brazil even more significant. After nine years, São Paulo will host The First Stand 2026.
However, when the venue was revealed, fans were furious. The First Stand 2026 will take place at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo. The space has a total capacity of just 140 people, a very small number for an event of this scale. Gen.G CEO, Arnold Hur, even joked that he had more people at his wedding than FST’s capacity.
For context, the MSI 2017 event in Brazil took place at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, which could hold 15,430 spectators. Even recent European League of Legends Grand Finals were hosted in an arena with a capacity of around 15,000 people in Badalona, Spain.
The Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) Grand Finals had a 40% increase from last year’s viewership, with 443k peak viewers. “To reward this enthusiasm, Riot has decided to open an exclusive live viewing council for First Stand matches in São Paulo. 140 premium LoL community per day!” a shoutcaster joked on X.
“We deserve more, we deserve better.”
Some fans have accused Riot of not taking the event seriously. They point out that both the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and Worlds are held in much larger arenas. “This is just to fill the gap between Worlds and MSI,” one fan commented. “The entire Brazilian community has been warning you about this for the past three months. This shows a huge disregard for the Brazilian community and the scenario. We deserve more, we deserve better,” others added.
The community has voiced strong opposition to the arena choice for The First Stand. They talked about how it could harm both Brazil’s reputation as a host country and the broader fanbase. After the official statement by Riot Games, fans have accused the company of using Brazil as a scapegoat to organize better events for North America, Europe, China, and South Korea in the upcoming years.
Riot Games addresses the controversy
After a few hours, Chris Greeley, Global Head of League of Legends Esports, talked about the arena capacity in a note sent to Mais Esports, a Brazilian esports outlet.
We’ve heard the sentiment that international competitions should feel larger in scale than our regional studio shows, whether that was hosting First Stand in LoL Park last year or at the Riot Games Arena Sao Paulo this year. That feedback is fair, and it’s something we take seriously.
At the same time, part of the purpose behind hosting First Stand in our own studios is flexibility. It allows us to experiment with format, scheduling, and timing in ways we simply can’t with larger arena events that require long lead times and early lock-ins. That flexibility is intentional, and it gives us room to test, learn, and refine as we develop First Stand.
Following this year’s event, we’re going to take a hard look at how First Stand is constructed and what role it should play in the international calendar. We expect to share more about that direction in the back half of the year.
Chris Greeley to Mais Esports
The First Stand 2026 will be held in Brazil from March 16 to 22. Teams already qualified for the event include Gen.G, BFX, G2 Esports, LYON, LOUD, and Team Secret Whales. There are two more Chinese squads yet to secure their spots.