Riot Games announced First Stand back in June 2024, giving fans another colossal event to look forward to each year. It’s a brand-new League of Legends (LoL) esports tournament series, functioning as the first cross-regional competition of a calendar year, preceding Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and Worlds.
LoL First Stand 2025 is an exciting prospect as teams represent their respective regions and fight for a hefty prize pool. To prepare you for the event, here’s the full schedule, format, competing teams, and our expert betting predictions.
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LoL First Stand
LoL First Stand 2025 Schedule & Format
The five qualified teams from regional Split 1 events will compete in front of a live crowd at the LoL PARK venue in Seoul, South Korea. LoL First Stand 2025 runs from March 10 to 16, and includes two stages of competition.
In the Group Stage, the five teams will compete in a single round-robin format, where all matches are best-of-three. The top four teams from the Group Stage will advance to the Playoffs Stage, while the bottom team is eliminated.
The Playoffs Stage features a single-elimination bracket format, where all matches are best-of-five. LoL First Stand 2025 matches are played with the Fearless Draft mode, enabling diversity in team compositions for each game.
You can view a complete schedule of matches with precise start times in your region via the LoL esports website.
Prize Pool Distribution
Check out the table below to see how much each team stands to win in this tournament.
| Place | Prize Money |
| 1st | $300,000 |
| 2nd | $225,000 |
| 3rd/4th | $172,500 |
| 5th/6th | $130,000 |
| Total | $1 million |
The winning team’s region will receive a bye directly into the MSI bracket stage.
How To Watch LoL First Stand 2025
Fans can watch the First Stand 2025 matches live on Thunderpick via our dedicated LoL section. Select a match and click on the “Live Mode” button. An embedded live stream will automatically appear along with our bet slip, allowing you to bet on the action as it happens. You can also watch all the First Stand 2025 matches live via the official Riot Games Twitch and LoL Esports YouTube channels.
Teams Competing In LoL First Stand 2025
Here’s the lineup of participants in this event and their respective regions in parenthesis:
- CTBC Flying Oyster (Asia-Pacific)
- Hanwha Life (South Korea)
- Karmine Corp (EMEA)
- Team Liquid (Americas)
- Top Esports (China)
Our Predictions For LoL First Stand 2025
We generally provide top-four predictions because eight or 16 teams compete at a majority of the prominent esports events. LoL First Stand 2025 is different, with only five teams competing. We’ve decided to list all five teams with their rosters, predicting their placement when the dust settles in Seoul.
Important note: To make our First Stand 2025 predictions, we considered recent performances from the regional Split 1 events and current team form. Our analysis should not be considered betting advice to act upon. Past performances do not guarantee future results. Always gamble responsibly.
1. Hanwha Life
With legendary toplaner Zeus playing incredibly well lately, our top pick to win the event is Hanwha Life. Zeus won back-to-back World Championships (2023 and 2024) with T1 before moving to Hanwha Life, bringing electrifying plays to his new team that few can dream of matching.
To earn a spot at LoL First Stand 2025, Hanwha Life overcame all the top South Korean teams in the LCK Cup, including T1, Gen.G Esports, and DPlus in the Playoffs, all with 3-2 scorelines. Showing their steady big-match temperament, the squad beat Gen.G for a second time in the thrilling Grand Final (another 3-2 nail biter) to earn a spot at LoL First Stand 2025.
Hanwha Life roster:
- Choi “Zeus” Woo-je (Top)
- Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo (Mid)
- Han “Peanut” Wang-ho (Jungle)
- Park “Viper” Do-hyeon (Bot)
- Yu “Delight” Hwan-jung (Support)
- Choi “DanDy” In-kyu (Coach)
- Lee “Mowgli” Jae-ha (Coach)
- Shin “Shine” Dong-wook (Coach)
2. Top Esports
After barely surviving the Group Stage at the LPL Split 1 event, Top Esports found their form and smashed every team in the Playoffs. They beat Invictus Gaming, NIP, Bilibili Gaming, and JD Gaming with 3-1 scores to earn a spot in the Grand Final, where they dispatched Anyone’s Legend with another 3-1 victory.
With that hot streak in mind, we think this Chinese powerhouse could earn a Grand Final spot at LoL First Stand 2025.
Top Esports roster:
- Bai “369” Jiahao (Top)
- Lin “Creme” Jian (Mid)
- Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok (Jungle)
- Wenbo “JackeyLove” Yu (Bot)
- Liu “Crisp” Qingsong (Support)
- Yu “Ggoong” Byeong-jun (Coach)
- Nam “Ben” Dong-hyun (Coach)
- Li “Chieh” Jie (Coach)
3. Team Liquid
Hailing from the Americas region, Team Liquid dominated at the LTA 2025 Cross Conference event. The squad fought their hearts out in the playoffs to beat Isurus Estral and Cloud9 with 2-1 scorelines. They went on to meet 100 Thieves in the Grand Final, where they didn’t give their opponents an inch.
With Team Liquid’s 3-0 win at the LTA Cross Conference to claim a spot at the First Stand 2025 event, confidence is high. We predict a podium finish for the squad, but they could just as easily go all the way.
Team Liquid roster:
- Jeong “Impact” Eon-young (Top)
- Eain “APA” Stearns (Mid)
- Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon (Jungle)
- Sean “Yeon” Sung (Bot)
- Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in (Support)
- Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin (Coach)
- Jake “Spawn” Tiberi (Coach)
- Simon “Swiffer” Papamarkos (Coach)
4. Karmine Corp
At LEC Winter 2025, Karmine Corp impressed fans with a dominating performance, beating favorites to represent the region at First Stand 2025. They defeated Team Vitality and KOI with 2-0 scores in the Upper Bracket before running into the brick wall that is an on-form G2 Esports.
Showing their fighting spirit and immense skill, Karmine bounced back in the Lower Bracket Final to beat Fnatic (3-2). The squad then took revenge on G2 in the Grand Final with a devastating 3-0 clean sweep. We’ve put Karmine Corp in fourth place because we think the top three listed here may have a slight edge, but anything can happen!
Karmine Corp roster:
- Kim “Canna” Chang-dong (Top)
- Vladimiros “Vladi” Kourtidis (Mid)
- Martin “Yike” Sundelin (Jungle)
- Caliste “Caliste” Henry-Hennebert (Bot)
- Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé (Support)
- Žiga “Apples” Jereb (Coach)
- Rehareha “Reha” Ramanana (Coach)
- Wadi “Wadi” Benarbia (Coach)
5. CTBC Flying Oyster
Apologies to the fans, but we predict that CTBC Flying Oyster, who won the LCP Split 1 event, will finish last at LoL First Stand 2025. That said, the crew put up solid performances against GAM Esports (2-0) and Vikings Esports (2-1) to make it to the Grand Final of LCP Winter 2025, where they beat TALON Esports 3-1.
It’s crucial to remember that predictions are not an exact science, and our rankings may not play out as expected. Given the small playing field and immense talent, LoL First Stand is truly anyone’s guess.
CTBC Flying Oyster roster:
- Hsu “Rest” Shih-chieh (Top)
- Shen “Driver” Tsung-hua (Top)
- Tsai “hongQ” Ming-hong (Mid)
- Yu “JunJia” Chun-chia (Jungle)
- Chiu “Doggo” Tzu-chuan (Bot)
- Ling “Kaiwing” Kai-wing (Support)
- Wong “Chawy” Xing Lei (Coach)
- Liu “Wulala” Sheng-wei (Coach)
Who Will Win This Brand-New LoL Event?
LoL First Stand 2025 is shaping up to be a must-see tournament, with five elite teams battling for glory and a direct MSI bracket-stage spot. While Hanwha Life leads our predictions, anything is possible with Top Esports, Team Liquid, Karmine Corp, and CTBC Flying Oyster in the mix. Plus, the Fearless Draft format adds another layer of strategy, ensuring dynamic lineups and action. Whether you’re watching for the hype, want to place some strategic bets, or a bit of both, you’re sure to have a blast watching these teams compete in Seoul.
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