Chinese language esports organisation JD Gaming is the final crew to qualify for First Stand, the primary worldwide event on the 2026 League of Legends esports calendar.
The crew locked its qualification after advancing to the grand closing of the LPL Cut up 1 Playoffs, and can head to São Paulo, Brazil, because the second seed from the Chinese language area.
Regardless of qualifying, it wasn’t a straightforward run for JDG. After dropping a nail-biting series in the upper bracket match against BLG, the crew needed to struggle by means of the decrease bracket playoffs, taking down Anybody’s Legend and Weibo Gaming, two prime groups in competition for a spot at First Stand.
As soon as once more, JD Gaming head coach Wong ‘Tabe‘ Pak Kan did a powerful job of elevating the crew’s potential rapidly, regardless of a significant revamp of the roster. High laner Xu ‘Xiaoxu‘ Xing-Zu was the one returning member from 2025. The remaining 4 members had been a mixture of veterans comparable to Yu ‘JunJia‘ Chun-Chia and Chen ‘GALA‘ Wei, and younger, rising skills like Tsai ‘HongQ‘ Ming-Hong and Zhao ‘Vampire‘ Zhe-Can.
While the crew made it to the LPL Cut up 1 finals, JD Gaming in the end misplaced but once more to Bilibili Gaming 3-1.
Regardless that JD Gaming doesn’t have the strongest particular person gamers, the crew has been making up the distinction by means of robust teamplay and composure, a typical trait of groups that fall underneath Tabe’s steerage.
First Stand 2026 Teams Draw Outcomes
Following the LPL Finals, the group draw for First Stand 2026 has additionally taken place.
With JDG ending because the LPL’s second seed, the crew will face LCK’s first seed Gen.G within the first spherical of the group stage on Tuesday, March seventeenth.
Except for Gen.G, the Chinese language crew is in the identical group because the LCS representative LYON and Brazilian crew LOUD. Contemplating Gen.G’s dominance to date this yr, and the final energy of Korean groups, JDG could should contend for second place if it needs to advance.
Based on the format, every group should play a double-elimination bracket, that includes Fearless best-of-five collection. The full prize pool for the occasion is $1m (~£749,660), with the winners taking residence $250,000 (~£187,415).
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