Updated on March 16, 7:29 p.m. (GMT+8): Added results.

Updated on March 5, 12:43 p.m. (GMT+8): Added schedule.

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.”

High Noon Darius splash art from League of Legends
Credit: Riot Games

“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 STAGEDATETIME
Round Robin StageMarch 10-145 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET
Knockout StageMarch 151 p.m. KST | 12 p.m. GMT+8 | March 14, 9 p.m. PT, 5 a.m. CET
FinalMarch 165 p.m. KST | 4 p.m. GMT+8 | 1 a.m. PT | 9 a.m. CET

First Stand Tournament 2025 format

Mel Season 1 Noxus key visual
Credit: Riot Games

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.

Hanwha Life Esports holding trophy at LCK Cup 2025
Credit: Riot Games

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 2025REGION
Top EsportsLPL
Hanwha Life EsportsLCK
Karmine CorpLEC
Team Liquid HondaLTA
CTBC Flying OysterLCP

First Stand Tournament 2025 schedule

March 10 (Monday)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Liquid2 — 1Karmine Corp
Hanwha Life Esports2 — 0Top Esports

March 11 (Tuesday)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
CTBC Flying Oyster2 — 0Karmine Corp
Team Liquid0 — 2Top Esports

March 12 (Wednesday)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
CTBC Flying Oyster0 — 2Hanwha Life Esports
Karmine Corp2 — 0Top Esports

March 13 (Thursday)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Team Liquid0 — 2CTBC Flying Oyster
Karmine Corp1 — 2Hanwha Life Esports

March 14 (Friday)

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
CTBC Flying Oyster2 — 0Top Esports
Team Liquid1 — 2Hanwha Life Esports

Team Liquid is eliminated.

March 15 (Saturday) — Semifinals

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
CTBC Flying Oyster2 — 3Karmine Corp
Hanwha Life Esports3 — 0Top Esports

CTBC Flying Oyster and Top Esports are eliminated. They finish in 3rd-4th place.

March 16 (Sunday) — Final

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Hanwha Life Esports3 — 1Karmine Corp

Hanwha Life Esports are your First Stand 2025 champions.

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

First Stand Tournament 2025 stream drops
Credit: Riot Games

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