First Stand 2026 is Facing a Reality That the Audience Finds Hard to Accept
At this point, First Stand 2026 has reached the final matches, and the top teams vying for the championship are starting to emerge. As the first international tournament of the year, featuring the top 1-2 teams from their respective domestic leagues, First Stand 2026 was expected to deliver “heart-stopping” matches that would keep fans on the edge of their seats until the very end. However, it seems that the tournament has yet to… fulfill its mission, even heading into the upcoming Semifinals and Losers’ Finals.
According to statistics, except for the opening match between BLG – BNK, LYON – LOUD, and recently LYON – JDG, all other matches in First Stand have concluded with a score of 3-0. This is not only due to the teams playing flawlessly but also reflects the significant power disparity between top teams from regions like LCK or LPL and the rest.
Even G2, when facing BLG, was gradually choked out and suffered a surprising 0-3 defeat. Just recently, in the JDG – LYON match, the LCS representative only needed to make a mistake for 3 minutes, and JDG only needed to win one team fight in the entire 30 minutes of play to secure the match. In some matches, the two teams simply farmed, traded control of the game, and quickly ended with a single decisive team fight.
– Is the BO5 format reasonable when there is no excitement, no surprises?
– Gen.G will likely win this tournament without losing a single game.
– They keep talking about the viewers, but even LPL teams play like LCK, and LCP doesn’t engage in fights or bring any breakthroughs, so it’s hard to say.
But it seems Riot will find it hard to change the BO5 format for First Stand in the future.
Despite mixed opinions based on the results, it is unlikely that Riot will change the BO5 format. The main reason: the tournament has a very short duration, and adding more BO3 matches would be quite redundant. Moreover, the power disparity was something that could be anticipated. Therefore, although the results may seem somewhat monotonous, overall, it’s not a serious issue as there are still some interesting surprises, such as Diable’s two pentakills or G2’s recent miracle.