Updated on March 5, 12:43 p.m. (GMT+8): Added schedule.
Updated on March 3, 12:21 p.m. (GMT+8): Updated qualified teams.
The 2025 League of Legends esports season ignites with the inaugural First Stand Tournament, the first international tournament of the year.
This high-stakes competition showcases top regional teams vying for the First Stand trophy and crucial seeding advantages at the Mid-Season Invitational.
First Stand Tournament 2025 theme
The First Stand Tournament 2025 theme is “Yours for the taking.”
“Forge a new path to victory; whether it be through brute force, elite mental, sheer creativity or deft mechanics. This is your chance to find the joy of invention and show the world, and yourself, what you’ve got,” Riot Games explained.
First Stand tournament dates and schedule
First Stand Tournament 2025 takes place from March 10-16 at LoL Park in Seoul, Korea.
| FIRST STAND TOURNAMENT 2025 STAGE | DATE | TIME |
| Round Robin Stage | March 10-14 | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET |
| Knockout Stage | March 15 | 1 p.m. KST | 12 p.m. GMT+8 | March 14, 9 p.m. PT, 5 a.m. CET |
| Final | March 16 | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET |
First Stand Tournament 2025 format
The First Stand tournament unfolds in two phases.
Round-robin stage
Teams first clash in a round-robin stage, each playing every other team in a best-of-three (Bo3) series.
To maintain impartiality, the side selection for the first game of each series is randomly assigned beforehand. This ensures a balanced distribution, granting each team side selection priority in two of their series, while leaving the other two to chance, Riot explained.
Upon completion of the round-robin, the team finishing fifth is eliminated, and the top four teams progress to the subsequent knockout stage.
Knockout stage
The four highest-ranked teams from this stage then proceed to a single-elimination knockout bracket, battling it out in best-of-five (Bo5) matches to determine the ultimate champion.
The top seed from the round-robin stage clashes with the fourth seed, while the second and third seeds battle in the other semifinal.
The victors of these matches advance to a decisive championship match on March 16th, where the inaugural First Stand champion will be determined.
Fearless Draft format
After each game, any champion played, by either team, is removed from both sides’ selection options for the remainder of the series.
This Fearless ban system operates alongside the standard 10 pre-game bans, ensuring a constantly shifting strategic landscape.
- Game 1: 10 Standard Bans
- Game 2: 20 bans total (10 Standard Bans + 10 Fearless Bans)
- Game 3: 30 bans total (10 Standard Bans + 20 Fearless Bans)
- Game 4: 40 bans total (10 Standard Bans + 30 Fearless Bans)
- Game 5: 50 bans total (10 Standard Bans + 40 Fearless Bans)
Teams qualified for First Stand Tournament 2025
| TEAMS QUALIFIED FOR FIRST STAND 2025 | REGION |
| Top Esports | LPL |
| Hanwha Life Esports | LCK |
| Karmine Corp | LEC |
| Team Liquid Honda | LTA |
| CTBC Flying Oyster | LCP |
First Stand Tournament 2025 schedule
March 10 (Monday)
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| Team Liquid | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET | Karmine Corp |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 8 p.m. KST | 7 p.m. GMT+8 | 4 a.m. PT | 12 p.m. CET | Top Esports |
March 11 (Tuesday)
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| CTBC Flying Oyster | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET | Karmine Corp |
| Team Liquid | 8 p.m. KST | 7 p.m. GMT+8 | 4 a.m. PT | 12 p.m. CET | Top Esports |
March 12 (Wednesday)
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| CTBC Flying Oyster | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET | Hanwha Life Esports |
| Karmine Corp | 8 p.m. KST | 7 p.m. GMT+8 | 4 a.m. PT | 12 p.m. CET | Top Esports |
March 13 (Thursday)
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| Team Liquid | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET | CTBC Flying Oyster |
| Karmine Corp | 8 p.m. KST | 7 p.m. GMT+8 | 4 a.m. PT | 12 p.m. CET | Hanwha Life Esports |
March 14 (Friday)
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| CTBC Flying Oyster | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET | Top Esports |
| Team Liquid | 8 p.m. KST | 7 p.m. GMT+8 | 4 a.m. PT | 12 p.m. CET | Hanwha Life Esports |
March 15 (Saturday) — Semifinals
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| TBD | 1 p.m. KST | 12 p.m. GMT+8 | March 14, 9 p.m. PT | 5 a.m. CET | TBD |
| TBD | 6 p.m. KST | 5 p.m. GMT+8 | 2 a.m. PT | 10 a.m. CET | TBD |
March 16 (Sunday) — Final
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| TBD | 5 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET | TBD |
Which patch is First Stand Tournament played on?
First Stand Tournament is played on LoL patch 25.5.
How to get stream drops during First Stand tournament
Live viewing on lolesports.com with your Riot ID grants access to exclusive Drops.
Pentakills and Baron steals each trigger a 2025 Esports Capsule drop. Then, in the knockout stage, any full five-game series guarantees the same coveted reward.
Secure the limited-edition “I Am FUMING” First Stand Brand emote by watching the live finals broadcast on March 16. This exclusive reward is available only during the live event.
Where to watch First Stand
Riot Games official Twitch channel, YouTube channel, LoL Esports website, and official co-streamer channels.
READ MORE: League of Legends patch 25.5 notes preview — 8 champions nerfed in preparation for First Stand
