League of Legends’ First Stand 2026 was headed to be the one of the worst tournament performances for the West in LoL history. However, G2 Esports have done the unthinkable and put a stop to that by taking down BNK FearX (BFX) 3-0.
With that win, G2 advances to the Knockout Stage and eliminates the LCK’s second seed.
The idea behind this match was simple. BFX has one of the best ADCs in the world and a jungler that’s been running his matches. As for G2, they had to put all their eggs in the mid lane basket and hope that Rasmus “Caps” Winther could finally return to form.
Then, the series didn’t go that way at all. Caps ramped up over the match and finally showed up in the second half. However, it was Steven “Hans Sama” Liv who dominated his lane. Against Nam “Diable” Dae-geun, the ADC prodigy. At the same time, G2’s jungler had one of the best series of his life and put the entire series on his back.
G2 opened game 1 by winning the bot lane before the minions even collided. G2’s bot lane took a trade and pushed BFX’s back, before claiming the first blood after repeat plays. Song “Clear” Hyeon-min was passively generating a lead top lane, but his opponent ended up being more useful as the game went on.
Everything came together as G2 kept taking better fights, and they methodically won the game by claiming every objective on the map.
The second game of the series was a treat for the viewers. Angered by their first loss, BFX came back swinging and quickly blew open the game. Most notably, their jungle and duo tag-teamed to repeatedly put Caps in the dirt over the entire game.
At 25 minutes, a botched tower dive gave some momentum back to G2. The LEC representative immediately rose to the occasion and never let go of it. Caps found play after play despite being 1/7, and Hans Sama played more aggressively than ever before. Once more, G2 handled the fights better, and won the second map with a kill score of 28 to 24 in 36 minutes.
The last map was an all-around stomp by G2. After losing the first drake and the fight around it, they won fights all around the map, looking clean and assured. No longer the shaky team from a collapsed region, G2 was playing with confidence. In 30 minutes, the game and match were Europe’s.
G2 eliminated BFX from LoL First Stand 2026. Image source: Bruno Alvares / Riot Games
With their win against the LCK’s second seed, G2 booked themselves a ticket for their toughest challenge yet. Tomorrow, they will face the best team in the world.
Caps stated in his interview that they were in their comfort zone when facing tournament favorites. With their win, the LEC earns reprieve from being considered a dead region. This is also the West’s first Bo5 win against the LCK since their victory against Gen.G of all teams in 2020.
And it is true that G2 is the Korean kingslayer – but this is Gen.G we’re talking about. The absolute best team in the world with a 26-2 game record in 2026. Winning a single game against them is an achievement.
This series will play out on March 21, 2 pm CET / 6 am PST.
Read also: LEC stays in Berlin for 2027 but Riot is exploring limited online matches
Featured image Ssource: Bruno Alvares / Riot Games
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