First Stand LoL Preview & Betting Options

Parimatch UK Editorial Team |

13/03/25
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League of Legends is one of the world’s most-watched and best-funded Esports ecosystems, courtesy of game developer Riot Games. The first major tournament of 2025 is the aptly named First Stand, which will take place in Seoul, South Korea, this March.

With $1,000,000 in prize money up for grabs and each team vying for a strong start to the 2025 LoL season, we expect exciting action and big moves in Seoul. Read our complete LoL First Stand preview and learn how to bet on the action at Parimatch Sportsbook.

Introducing League of Legends (LoL) First Stand

First Stand is the first, and one of the biggest, Esports competitions on the League of Legends (LoL) calendar. It is a multi-region event, with one team from each of the five regions, resulting in a contest between the top League of Legends teams worldwide.

A $1,000,000 prize pool will be split between just five teams. Each team competes in an initial round-robin phase before the top four advance to the playoffs (a knockout round).

Organised by Riot Games, First Stand is one of the most competitive tournaments in the LoL ecosystem. As well as walking away with decent prize money, the competing teams will secure seeding at the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitation (MSI).

The 2025 tournament will use Fearless Draft as its primary system and Fearless Bans as a secondary system. Riot Games adopted the Fearless Draft system to ensure that each match requires a fresh strategy and new champions in each game.

This system ensures that, as soon as a champion is selected and used in the game, it becomes unavailable to that team for the rest of the series. Such a ruling was initially seen as controversial, but the Riot community has widely approved it, and many LoL fans agree that it adds to the strategic element of the gameplay in major competitions.

When and Where is LoL First Stand 2025?

League of Legends’ First Stand gets underway on March 10th, 2025. The round-robin stage runs from March 10th to March 14th, and the knockout stage is scheduled for March 15th. The First Stand LoL Final will be on March 16th, 2025.

The tournament will be held at League of Legends Park Arena in Seoul, South Korea. The stadium is close to the heart of South Korea’s capital and is one of the best-known Esports arenas in the world, home to other tournaments like LoL Champions Korea.

If you watch the tournament at LoLesports.com and sign in with your Riot ID, you can access drops rewards, including 2025 Esports Capsules and an “I AM FUMING!” emote to use in future games.

LoL First Stand Teams & Format

By Esports standards, First Stand is a small tournament, with only five teams competing. One team from each major professional League of Legends region (China, South Korea, Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific) has qualified for First Stand. Here are the teams that you can watch in Seoul this March:

  • Top Esports (China)
  • Hanwha Life Esports (South Korea)
  • Karmine Corp (Europe)
  • Team Liquid (Americas)
  • CTBC Flying Oyster (Asia-Pacific)

The first round round-robin stage will feature single-elimination matches in the best-of-three format. At the end of the round-robin phase, the top four teams will progress to the knockout stage of the First Stand. This is also a single-elimination format, but the matches will be best-of-five, not best-of-three. The top two will compete in the final on March 16th 2025, to become the First Stand 2025 champions.

LoL First Stand Prize Money

For such a small tournament, First Stand boasts an impressive prize pool of $1,000,000. The winning team walks away with $300,000. Just by qualifying, each team is guaranteed at least $130,000, highlighting the draw of League of Legends in the global Esports landscape.

Below are details of the prize money up for grabs, depending on each team’s finishing position:

Position Prize Money 
1 $300,000
2 $225,000
3-4 $172,500
5 $130,000

 

How to Bet on LoL First Stand at Parimatch

You can bet on all matches in League of Legends First Stand in 2025 by creating an account at Parimatch. Signing up is free, quick, and easy, and you can begin by clicking the “Sign Up” button on the Parimatch homepage.

Complete the registration form, then visit our offers page to see if you can access a special offer to bet on Esports. Right now, we offer an Esports welcome bonus, which gives you £40 in free bets when you deposit and wager £15 on selected Esports – terms and conditions apply.

To fully enjoy betting on League of Legends First Stand and other Esports, please remember to gamble responsibly. You should visit our Safer Gambling Portal to learn how to use responsible gambling tools like deposit limits to stay in control.

LoL First Stand Betting Options & Markets

There are several ways to bet on League of Legends First Stand at Parimatch Sportsbook. The easiest option is to bet on the team you think will win the fixture. But we also offer the following markets for all League of Legends events at Parimatch:

  • Maps handicap: Bet on the team you think will win with a maps handicap applied. For instance, you could bet on Team Liquid to beat Karmine Corp with a -1.5 handicap.
  • Correct score: Bet on the correct score between two teams in the First Stand, be it 2-0 or 2-1 in a first-round game.
  • Total maps: Bet on the total number of maps played in a match, over or under 2.5.

Following First Stand, check out our other Esports markets at Parimatch. We offer competitive odds and many markets for all major events in Counter-Strike, VALORANT, and other Esports, alongside League of Legends.