Riot Games has revealed details for the 2026 First Stand Tournament, confirming that the international League of Legends competition will take place in São Paulo, Brazil from March 16th–22nd.

According to a release, the week-long event will be held at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo and will feature eight teams — an increase from five in its inaugural edition last year.

First Stand is an annual international tournament that opens the League of Legends esports season. Launched in 2025, the event brings together top teams from each major region early in the competitive calendar, offering an early indication of regional strength ahead of the year’s other global events.

Expanded format and regional representation

For 2026, Riot Games — the developer and publisher of League of Legends — has expanded the tournament’s format. The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) and China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) will each send two teams, while the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), League of Legends Championship of the Pacific (LCP), League Championship Series (LCS) and Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) will each be represented by one team.

Representing the LCK are Gen.G and BNK FearX. Confirmed teams from other regions include G2 Esports (LEC), Team Secret Whales (LCP), LYON (LCS) and LOUD (CBLOL). The two LPL representatives will be decided on March 7th, with seeding determined the following day.

The group draw will take place on the evening of March 8th following the LPL Finals. The eight teams will be split into two groups and compete in a double-elimination format within each group. The top two teams from both groups will advance to the knockout stage.

Semifinals are scheduled for March 21st, with the grand final taking place on March 22nd. All matches will be played as best-of-five series using the Fearless Draft system — a format in which champions cannot be reused by the same team within a series.

MSI implications and LCK’s title defence

Beyond the trophy, First Stand carries competitive incentives. According to the release, the region of the winning team will receive a direct berth into the bracket stage of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), bypassing the Play-In stage.

MSI 2026 is set to take place in Daejeon, South Korea.

The LCK enters the event as defending champions, after Hanwha Life Esports secured the inaugural First Stand title in 2025. With both Gen.G and BNK FearX attending this year’s tournament, the Korean league will look to secure back-to-back First Stand victories.

If the LCK wins again, it would mark consecutive years in which the region has claimed all three of Riot’s international League of Legends events — First Stand, MSI and the World Championship — according to the release.

In-game skin revenue sharing and drops

Riot Games also confirmed that revenue from the Warhounds Senna skin and associated bundles will be shared with League of Legends esports teams.

From March 18th through April 15th, a portion of sales from the skin, its Border Bundle and Chroma Bundle will be distributed among teams. Individual chromas will also be available for purchase separately.

Fans watching the event via the official LoL Esports website (lolesports.com) — after logging in with a Riot ID — will be eligible for drops. According to the release, a limited-edition Evelynn emote will be available during the grand final, alongside additional drops created in collaboration with the Esports World Cup and Secretlab.

The 2026 edition of First Stand is supported by several global partners, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco, Coinbase, Esports World Cup (EWC), Globant, HyperX, Mastercard, Oppo, Opera GX, Secretlab and Verizon.

LoL Esports’ international calendar

Since 2025, Riot Games has operated three annual international League of Legends tournaments: First Stand in March, the Mid-Season Invitational in June–July, and the World Championship in October–November.

The LCK, which officially launched in 2012, is one of six major regional leagues worldwide. The Korean league moved to a single-season format running from April to September in 2025 and features ten teams competing for the domestic title.

With eight teams, MSI implications and revenue-sharing initiatives tied to in-game cosmetics, First Stand continues to expand its role within the broader League of Legends esports ecosystem as the season’s opening international benchmark.