The highly anticipated international League of Legends tournament, First Stand, is set to debut at LoL Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Monday, marking the first major event to feature the acclaimed Fearless Draft system.

Riot Games announced that the tournament will run from Monday, March 10, to Sunday, March 16, at the LCK Arena in LoL Park. The event brings together the regional kickoff champions from five major pro leagues under the revamped league format introduced this year.

Hanwha Life Esports, the reigning LCK Cup champions, secured their spot by defeating Gen.G in a nail-biting 3-2 finals after a hard-fought playoff series that also saw wins over T1 and Dplus KIA on February 23. Hanwha Life Esports will join four other regional champions: TOP Esports from China’s LPL; Karmine Corp. from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa’s LEC; Team Liquid from North America, Latin America, and Brazil’s LTA; and CTBC Flying Oyster from Asia-Pacific’s LCP.

Each team is expected to bring formidable competition. While TOP Esports and Team Liquid claimed their titles without upsets in the LPL and LTA, respectively, Karmine Corp. and CTBC Flying Oyster overcame dominant opponents – G2 Esports and Talon Esports – in their respective regions.

The tournament will kick off Monday with a match between Team Liquid and Karmine Corp., followed by Hanwha Life Esports facing TOP Esports on the same day. After a rest day on Tuesday, Hanwha Life Esports will play CTBC Flying Oyster on Wednesday, Karmine Corp. on Thursday, and Team Liquid on Friday. In the round-robin stage, played in a best-of-three format, the lowest-ranked team will be eliminated while the top four advance to the tournament stage. Saturday will feature the first day of best-of-five series, with the winners set to clash in the finals on Sunday.

The tournament boasts a total prize pool of USD 1 million (approximately KRW 1.45 billion), with USD 300,000 (around KRW 436 million) awarded to the champion. In addition, the winning region will secure an automatic slot in the main event of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) scheduled for July.

Notably, First Stand is the first international tournament to implement the Fearless Draft, a system that bans champions used in previous sets from being picked again in the same match. This draft format, which has already garnered acclaim in the LCK Cup and other regional events, is expected to foster diverse team compositions and strategic gameplay. An update in patch 25.05, which prevents attack path switching, is also anticipated to widen the range of champions seen in action. As teams prepare to adapt to the Fearless Draft’s unique demands, fans and analysts alike are eager to see how the shift in drafting strategy will influence the competitive landscape of international League of Legends play.