First Stand 2025 Faces a “Dark” Future Because of T1
In the current season, Riot Games has made a bold move by creating a new international tournament called First Stand 2025. This tournament includes champion teams from the LTA, LEC, LCK, LPL, and LCP regional leagues. The region that wins First Stand 2025 will gain an extra spot directly into the MSI Play-In stage this year without having to compete from the Play-In phase. As of February 26, three teams, including HLE, TL, and CFO, have qualified for First Stand 2025 after winning their respective regional championships. Meanwhile, with an early exit from the LCK Cup 2025, T1 will be absent from this tournament.
Although it’s a major international tournament, First Stand 2025 is not highly regarded by many experts in terms of media appeal. In fact, Sohu from the LPL region has even stated that this tournament will likely have a “rock-bottom” viewership compared to international tournaments over the past 2-3 years. The reason given is that the absence of T1 in general and Faker in particular will lead to significantly less audience interest in this tournament.
This assessment is indeed reasonable, as the LCK Cup 2025 clearly demonstrates the media appeal of T1 and Faker. It’s important to note that in this tournament, the match between T1 and HLE drew the highest viewership. Furthermore, 3 out of the 4 matches recorded as having the highest concurrent viewers in the tournament also featured T1 (the other match being the finals between Gen.G and HLE).
It should be noted that before the 2025 season began, T1 had a significant transfer “drama” concerning Zeus. Once the season started, the unexpected promotion of Smash to the main roster, along with an attitude deemed inappropriate, further placed T1 in the spotlight. Therefore, T1’s absence from First Stand 2025 will naturally lead to a significant decrease in audience interest.
Without T1, First Stand 2025 Is About to Become Riot’s Failed Experiment
Besides the issue of media appeal, the very significance of First Stand 2025 raises considerable questions. Although it is labeled as an international tournament, it only consists of 5 teams with the sole aim of providing its region with an additional spot in the Play-In stage. In reality, regions like LCK and LPL have strong representatives that significantly outclass others, making it easy for them to secure spots in the Play-In stage. Hence, the priority from winning First Stand doesn’t actually carry much weight.
Additionally, the participation of only 5 teams in First Stand 2025 significantly reduces the level of competition as many strong teams are excluded. As a result, even before it officially takes place, this tournament is at risk of becoming a failed experiment for Riot in the 2025 season. They may even decide to eliminate this tournament next season if First Stand 2025 disappoints in terms of professionalism in the near future.