Day 2 of First Stand 2026 was slightly less exciting on paper, as no one expected JDG to offer any resistance to Gen.G, and the LYON vs. LOUD matchup is simply not a top-billing one.
Unfortunately, much of this ended up being true. The first match of the day was between the Korean number 1 seed Gen.G, whose players are once again in a very good form, entering the season’s first international tournament as heavy favorites. Against them is a team that used to be very hot-and-cold, but with Wong “Tabe” Pak Kan as a head coach, they seem to have stabilized a bit.
Match 1: Gen.G vs. JDG
In game 1, Ruler showcased why he is considered the best ADC in the world with his picture-perfect Caitlyn performance. Pure dominance throughout the game, and this is precisely why teams pick Caitlyn. JDG wasn’t close to getting any relevant objectives the entire game, aside from the Void grubs that they didn’t even get to utilize.
Games 2 and 3 were much the same, but instead of Ruler’s dominance, it was the Chovy show. First, the enemy team tried to counter his famous Ahri with Veigar, and while the tiny evil magician stalls out the lane, he can do nothing to prevent picks and clutch charms during skirmishes. The game snowballed out of JDG’s control fast, and Gen.G exploded the Nexus in under 25 minutes.
The final game was a bit better for JDG, and they even managed to limit Ruler’s usefulness on his Jhin, but Chovy’s Hwei was so unbelievably oppressive that JDG simply lost slowly.
A very confident and comfortable 3:0 by the LCK Cup champions.
Match 2: LYON vs. LOUD
The second matchup was LYON vs LOUD, two former LTA teams. Just a couple of weeks ago, Brazilian teams from CBLOL embarrassed LCS representatives from NA during the Americas Cup 2026. Especially FURIA, who didn’t lose a single game in three matches against Cloud 9 and Sentinels. This matchup was a chance for payback, as, unlike the Americas Cup 2026, First Stand 2026 has the regional champions.
The entire series was akin to a see-saw, with complete blowouts from each side in their respective wins.
In game 1, Inspired practically embodied the jungle by being everywhere, gaining advantages, and giving Berserker an insurmountable lead on his Yunara.
In game 2, the very same was done by YoungJae, who not only carried the game, but also dealt the most damage, which is very unusual for a jungler.
In game 3, we witnessed a rare Garen sighting, as Dhokla brought him out to counter K’sante. “Big Dhokes” won the matchup and was a constant sidelane menace while Inspired and Saint played a perfect 2v2 game.
Confident in their abilities, LYON made a Jayce mid gambit in game 4, but it did not pay off, as Envy played a masterful Akali game, making crucial picks and staying alive when he should have been dead.
For game 5, the pendulum swung back into LYON’s favor, as Saint decided to bring out lore-accurate Viktor, dealing three times more damage than Envy on Vex (which was a strange pick).
With this win, LYON moves on to face Gen.G in round 2, while JDG and LOUD will play an elimination series.
Today, we’re back to Group A with BLG facing G2 Esports, and BFX playing against TSW.
