First Stand 2026 Match Review: The North Gets a Win Over the South

Draft

Lyon – Second Pick

• Gnar
• Pantheon
• Ahri
• Yunara
• Lulu

Loud – Red Side

• Renekton
• Jarvan IV
• Mel
• Ezreal
• Neeko

Trading Mid-Lane

Envy goes for an early ward, but Inspired and Saint are ready to burn his flash. The First Blood kill goes over to Inspired as he baits Envy’s reflect early while his flash is down. He then makes a mistake on a follow-up play and dies solo to Envy. Unlike Lyon in LCS Lock-in, Inspired prioritizes early objectives. He secures the first Drake and Grubs while impacting the mid-lane.

A Replica of the First Series

Gen.G Esports dominated the second Drake fight against JD Gaming in the first two games of the series. Lyon took a page from Gen.G’s book as they crushed the second Drake fight of this game. They earn four kills and a 4k gold lead. Lyon controls the mid-game and late-game. The only plays that go Loud’s way are the ganks on Dhokla. Besides that, Lyon dominated to win game one.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

• Dhokla – 8
• Inspired – 9
• Saint – 8
• Berserker – 8
• Isles – 8

Loud

• Xyno – 3
• YoungJae – 4
• Envy – 4
• Bull – 4
• Redbert – 4

Player of the game – Inspired

First Stand 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

Lyon – Blue Side

• Vayne
• Dr. Mundo
• Cassiopeia
• Ashe
• Seraphine

Loud – First Pick

• Sion
• Aatrox
• Ryze
• Kalista
• Renata Glasc

Early Game Trades

In game one, Loud had an early lead. However, this game is all Lyon as the lanes dominate. Inspired is at the scene of the first two kills for Lyon. Loud gets kills back. Dhokla dies to Xyno with Envy behind him. YoungJae visits the bot lane to earn two kills. However, Saint stops the bleeding and kills both bot lane members.

YoungJae Running the Rift

YoungJae is pivotal for Loud as they build a lead in the mid-game. He ganks Saint multiple times getting kills for himself and his team. Lyon struggles to fight back against Loud as they fall behind in gold.

Overplayed Mid Play

Loud overplays their hand on the mid-lane. They dive past the mid tower, but it fails. Lyon chases them down in response and earns two kills. They use the advantage to take the Baron.

Loud Wins the Pivotal Fight

Despite the previous fight loss, Loud is on Hextech Soul point. They manage to win the teamfight with five kills to two. They earn the Hextech Soul. The gamble from Lyon to give up early Drakes does not pay off. Redbert’s flash Hostile Takeover guarantees another Loud fight win and their first Baron of the series. Lyon thinks they caught Envy, but he turns and one-shots two players.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

• Dhokla – 4
• Inspired – 6
• Saint – 5
• Berserker – 5
• Isles – 4

Loud

• Xyno – 7
• YoungJae – 9
• Envy – 7
• Bull – 6
• Redbert – 7

Player of the game – YoungJae

First Stand 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

Lyon – Second Pick

• Garen
• Wukong
• LeBlanc
• Lucian
• Braum

Loud -Red Side

• K’Sante
• Qiyana
• Aurora
• Sivir
• Alistar

Slow Early Game

There is some action around the map, but nothing amounts to a kill. Inspired earns the First Blood kill in 12 minutes thanks to Saint’s setup. Right after the play, Envy solo kills Saint.

Mid-game Control Seesaws

Dhokla manages to get a solo kill on Envy, but that is all Lyon gets in the mid-game. Xyno solo kills Saint and responds to Dhokla’s solo kill by teleporting to the top lane. Minutes later, YoungJae helps to kill Dhokla again and secures the First Blood tower.

Lyon stops Loud’s lead through a teamfight win on the Ocean Soul point fight. They continue to make plays across the map. They shift the gold from being behind 2k to being ahead 2k.

Lyon Have Ocean Soul

The teams stare down on the Ocean Soul teamfight. Lyon eventually baited Loud into a fight and won, earning Ocean Soul. Any hope for Loud evaporates as Lyon controls around the Baron. Once they have an advantage, they take the objective and turn to win the fight and the game.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

• Dhokla – 7
• Inspired – 8
• Saint – 6
• Berserker – 6
• Isles – 6

Loud

• Xyno – 5
• YoungJae – 4
• Envy – 5
• Bull – 5
• Redbert – 4

Player of the game – Inspired

First Stand 2026: Game Four Review

Lyon – Blue Side

• Rumble
• Maokai
• Jayce
• Jhin
• Poppy

Loud – First Pick

• Ornn
• Nocturne
• Akali
• Miss Fortune
• Leona

Another Slow Early Game

Game four sees another late First Blood kill. Every Lyon lane, besides botlane, builds a gold lead in isolation until the eleventh minute. Saint gets the first two kills of the game, along with his lane lead. Loud responds in a follow-up play to get the shutdown kill on Saint. However, YoungJae dies after the kill.

An Even Mid-Game

Despite Lyon’s gold lead, they lose the second Drake teamfight. They lack the correct setup to win the fight, but do win the smite battle on the Drake. Both teams secure picks before the next Drake. Lyon kills Bull and thinks they have a free Drake. However, Loud contests and YoungJae steal the objective.

The Poke Comp Can Not Find Purchase

Lyon’s poke is not effective enough on the Ocean Soul point fight. Once Loud’s teamfight composition executes, Lyon’s players fall. They get the Drake and the Baron. Every player on Loud has their masterwork upgrade from Xyno. Loud crush one more teamfight and tie up the First Stand series again.

Total Apex Series Ratings

Lyon

• Dhokla – 6
• Inspired – 6
• Saint – 3
• Bull – 4
• Isles – 5

Loud

• Xyno – 7
• YoungJae – 8
• Envy – 8
• Bull – 7
• Redbert – 7

Player of the game – Envy

First Stand 2026: Game Five Review

Draft

Lyon – First Pick

• Jax
• Xin Zhao
• Viktor
• Corki
• Rakan

Loud – Red Side

• Ambessa
• Zaahen
• Vex
• Caitlyn
• Nami

An Earlier First Blood

Inspired ganks mid at three minutes to earn a First Blood kill for Saint. Despite that, the early is slow with no one else dying until ten minutes later. Dhokla dies twice, once to a dive and the other solo to Xyno. Each team’s solo laner is ahead around 1.4k at the third Drake fight. Lyon dominates the teamfight and neutralizes most of Xyno’s lead.

A Crushing Ocean Soul Point Fight

Loud is too late on the Ocean Soul point fight. Lyon takes the objective and prevents Loud from entering the mid-lane. Lyon crushes the teamfight and moves to Baron. Loud has one last opportunity on the Ocean Soul fight. Lyon does not give them a chance to contest. The second Baron is enough for Lyon to win the game and close out the First Stand series.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

• Dhokla – 6
• Inspired – 8
• Saint – 8
• Berserker – 7
• Isles – 8

Loud

• Xyno – 6
• YoungJae – 4
• Envy – 4
• Bull – 4
• Redbert – 4

Player of the game – Isles

First Stand 2026: Player Summary

Lyon

Dhokla – 6.2

Dhokla had a strange series. He had good moments followed by awful ones. He died on bad timers and dies solo to Xyno too often.

Inspired – 7.4

Another international series where Inspired proved why many consider him the best jungler in the West. Inspired is the Total Apex player of the First Stand series.

Saint – 6.0

Similar to Dhokla, Saint was not perfect in the series. He had good and bad performances. His Jayce game was his worst, but he followed it up with his best.

Berseker – 6.2

Berserker coasted along during the series. He was rarely the focus of the game. He did his job, but nothing more than that.

Isles – 6.2

Isles looked lost in games two to four. He struggled to find his place in teamfights. However, his start and end to the series were his games.

Loud

Xyno – 5.6

Xyno had a lot of promise coming into the series. Many expected him to deliver on the international stage. He had strong individual plays, but his teamfighting needs to improve.

YoungJae – 5.8

YoungJae stood out for Loud. He was the driving force behind Loud’s success in the games that they won. Unfortunately, he struggled to get value in the final game.

Envy – 5.6

Envy stepped in during the CBLOL playoffs. He has since been a good addition to Loud. He had middling success in the First Stand series. The Vex pick in game five fell flat.

Bull – 5.2

Much like Berserker, the series did not revolve around Bull. He held his own, but did not impact the series at any point.

Redbert – 5.2

Redbert’s flash Hostile Takeover was his best play of the series. Not many expected him to perform, but he delivered, helping push the First Stand series to the fifth game.

More First Stand Content

The articles below will provide more information on the First Stand event and the team’s participation. You can expect further preview and review coverage of all the matches taking place in the coming week.

• First Stand Details
• First Stand Roster and Schedule
• Lyon Preview
• Loud Preview
• Lyon Versus Loud Preview