It’s an all-new era for League of Legends esports.
South Korea once again stands as the most dominant League of Legends team in the world as Hanwha Life Esports are the inaugural First Stand champions. HLE took down the European underdogs Karmine Corp 3-1 to raise the First Stand trophy on home soil.
It’s a momentous occasion for League of Legends esports in more ways than one.
First Stand is the newest inclusion to the LoL esports competitive calendar in over a decade. Now totaling three international tournaments in a year, both teams and fans have more to look forward to when it comes to finding high-level competition.
This year’s First Stand was also the testing ground for the Fearless Draft format. By limiting the number of times a specific champion can be played, teams are forced to be more creative with their overall planning and preparations. It’s an effort to bring more variety and interesting matches in pro play – an effort that has already borne fruit.
Reception to the Fearless Draft format has been overwhelmingly positive, so much so that Riot Games announced that the rest of the competitive year will be played using Fearless Draft. Many fans believe that the new format rewards teams who are able to adapt instead of relying on overpowered champions.
As for the First Stand champions themselves, it’s undisputed proof that South Korea are the kings of League of Legends. They were already the tournament favorites, but they really emphasized it by finishing the tournament with only three game losses.
For HLE to come into a new tournament with a new format and dominate the way they did, it just goes to show that the rest of the world has a lot of catching up to do.
Of course, that’s just the first major international tournament of the year. We’ve still got two more to go so let’s see if the other regions can shake things up.
Banner photo by Christina Oh / Riot Games.