Here’s everything to know about this year’s first international event for League of Legends.
One of the biggest news for League of Legends announced last year was the introduction of a new international event called The First Stand. At the end of the first split, one team from each major region will be competing against each other.
Tournament location and stream
The First Stand format
The tournament begins with a best-of-three (Bo3) round-robin stage in which every team must play once against all of the other teams. Each team starts two matches with a right-of-side selection and two without. This is happening during the first four days of the competition.
Knockout Stage
During the Knockout Stage, every match results in a team going home. The four teams must compete in best-of-five (Bo5) games. The first seed then plays against the fourth seed and the second against the third. All of this happens on March 15.
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The First Stand Grand Finals
The two remaining teams then face each other in the Grand Finals of the First Stand Tournament on March 16. The winner goes home not only with a victory but with the title of the first-ever win of the tournament. Besides that, the champion secures their region a second bye for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2025 event, bypassing the Play-Ins Stage and going straight to the Bracket Stage.
Fearless Draft explained
All of the Winter Split Playoffs and The First Stand matches are played in Fearless Draft mode. Any picked champion is banned for the rest of the match. In Game 2, there are going to be 20 champions banned: 10 in the first game and the other 10 in the second.
The same strategy applies to the Bo5 games. We can have a total of 50 champions banned during an entire match! This forces players to diversify their champion pool and strategy overall. This year is going to be good for the most creative teams.
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