Chinese language esports organisation JD Gaming is the final workforce to qualify for First Stand, the primary worldwide match on the 2026 League of Legends esports calendar.
The workforce locked its qualification after advancing to the grand ultimate of the LPL Break 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 simple run for JDG. After dropping a nail-biting sequence within the higher bracket match towards BLG, the workforce needed to combat by the decrease bracket playoffs, taking down Anybody’s Legend and Weibo Gaming, two prime groups in rivalry for a spot at First Stand.
As soon as once more, JD Gaming head coach Wong ‘Tabe‘ Pak Kan did a formidable job of elevating the workforce’s potential rapidly, regardless of a serious revamp of the roster. Prime laner Xu ‘Xiaoxu‘ Xing-Zu was the one returning member from 2025. The remaining 4 members have been a mixture of veterans akin to Yu ‘JunJia‘ Chun-Chia and Chen ‘GALA‘ Wei, and younger, rising abilities like Tsai ‘HongQ‘ Ming-Hong and Zhao ‘Vampire‘ Zhe-Can.
While the workforce made it to the LPL Break up 1 finals, JD Gaming finally misplaced but once more to Bilibili Gaming 3-1.
Though JD Gaming doesn’t have the strongest particular person gamers, the workforce has been making up the distinction by robust teamplay and composure, a standard trait of groups that fall below 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 workforce will face LCK’s first seed Gen.G within the first spherical of the group stage on Tuesday, March seventeenth.
Apart from Gen.G, the Chinese language workforce is in the identical group because the LCS consultant LYON and Brazilian workforce LOUD. Contemplating Gen.G’s dominance to this point this yr, and the final power of Korean groups, JDG might must contend for second place if it needs to advance.
In accordance with the format, every group must play a double-elimination bracket, that includes Fearless best-of-five sequence. The overall prize pool for the occasion is $1m (~£749,660), with the winners taking house $250,000 (~£187,415).
