Chinese esports organisation JD Gaming is the last team to qualify for First Stand, the first international tournament on the 2026 League of Legends esports calendar.
The team locked its qualification after advancing to the grand final of the LPL Split 1 Playoffs, and will head to São Paulo, Brazil, as the second seed from the Chinese region.
Despite qualifying, it wasn’t an easy run for JDG. After losing a nail-biting series in the upper bracket match against BLG, the team had to fight through the lower bracket playoffs, taking down Anyone’s Legend and Weibo Gaming, two top teams in contention for a spot at First Stand.
Once again, JD Gaming head coach Wong ‘Tabe‘ Pak Kan did an impressive job of raising the team’s potential quickly, despite a major revamp of the roster. Top laner Xu ‘Xiaoxu‘ Xing-Zu was the only returning member from 2025. The remaining four members were a mix of veterans such as Yu ‘JunJia‘ Chun-Chia and Chen ‘GALA‘ Wei, and young, rising talents like Tsai ‘HongQ‘ Ming-Hong and Zhao ‘Vampire‘ Zhe-Can.
Whilst the team made it to the LPL Split 1 finals, JD Gaming ultimately lost yet again to Bilibili Gaming 3-1.
Even though JD Gaming doesn’t have the strongest individual players, the team has been making up the difference through strong teamplay and composure, a common trait of teams that fall under Tabe’s guidance.
First Stand 2026 Groups Draw Results
Following the LPL Finals, the group draw for First Stand 2026 has also taken place.
With JDG ending as the LPL’s second seed, the team will face LCK’s first seed Gen.G in the first round of the group stage on Tuesday, March 17th.
Aside from Gen.G, the Chinese team is in the same group as the LCS representative LYON and Brazilian team LOUD. Considering Gen.G’s dominance so far this year, and the general strength of Korean teams, JDG may have to contend for second place if it wishes to advance.
According to the format, each group will have to play a double-elimination bracket, featuring Fearless best-of-five series. The total prize pool for the event is $1m (~£749,660), with the winners taking home $250,000 (~£187,415).
