First Stand 2026 Match Review: JDG Win A Fierce Battle

After G2 Esports’ win over FearX, they put the pressure on Lyon to perform. Lyon could not win the First Stand series, but they pushed JD Gaming to the limit. Their laning phases improved drastically, with Saint the only player struggling. Berserker and Isles had multiple 2v2 kills over GALA and Vampire. JDG won the series 3-1 and finished second in Group B. They will face Bilibili Gaming in the Semi-Final of First Stand.

First Stand 2026: Game One Review

JDG beat Lyon 3-1 in the final Group B Match at First Stand — Image of JDG beating Lyon, courtesy of LoL Esports

Draft

JD Gaming – Blue Side

Renekton
Xin Zhao
Orianna
Yunara
Karma

Lyon – Second Pick

Gnar
Nocturne
Galio
Varus
Neeko

Inspired Controlled Early and Mid-Game

Inspired outpaths JunJia in the early game. He invades JunJia with the level six advantage and Saint’s Heroes Entrance. Shortly after, Berserker and Isles combine to kill GALA under the Tower. Inspired is involved in all kills except the 2v2 for the botlane kill. He helps Lyon to a 3k gold lead.

A Butchered Soul Fight

Saint pushes the top lane and Teleports in late for the fight. JunJia wins the smite battle, and JDG picks up their first three kills of the game. They then move to Baron to neutralize the gold lead. Lyon tries to make a pick on Xiaoxu while the rest of JDG push botlane. Xiaoxu dies, but not before he kills Inspired. JDG charges down and ends the game.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

Dhokla – 7
Inspired – 7
Saint – 5
Berserker – 6
Isles – 6

JD Gaming

Xiaoxu – 5
JunJia – 6
HongQ – 6
GALA – 5
Vampire – 6

Player of the game – Inspired

First Stand 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

JD Gaming – Blue Side

Rumble
Wukong
Annie
Jhin
Alistar

Lyon – Second Pick

K’Sante
Malphite
Viktor
Corki
Nami

Faster First Kill for JDG

JDG had to wait until the Soul teamfight to get their first kill. HongQ solo kills Saint for the First Blood kill. Berserker and Isles are hard winning the bot lane. Not only do they get a kill on GALA, but he is behind 20 cs. It gets worse for GALA as a freeze turns into him being zoned away from minions under the Tower. Vampire combos in and dies, giving another kill to Berserker. The Lyon AD Carry has a 1.5k gold lead at 9 minutes.

JDG Play Away From Berserker

JDG’s map movements allow them to earn gold without Berserker’s intervention. As a result, they neutralize Lyon’s gold lead. Heading into the mid-game, it is Xiaoxu and HongQ against Berserker. JDG punishes the use of Lyon’s Unstoppable Force and Tidal Wave. They catch Beserker to get a gold lead and deny the Drake stacking.

Trading Blows

JDG wins another mid-lane teamfight, while Saint is pushing the top lane. They get Baron off the play. Lyon wins the Drake fight when Vampire goes early without follow-up. They reset and take the objective to move to the Infernal Soul point.

Lyon Can Not Solve the JDG Teamfighting

JDG continues to force Lyon into uncomfortable positions with their flanks in fights. They eventually get the fight win and move to the Baron. Saint dies trying to contest, and JDG gets the Baron and Infernal Drake. JDG loses three members on the Baron push. Lyon pushes to end and narrowly kills the Nexus.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

Dhokla – 6
Inspired – 5
Saint – 4
Berserker – 7
Isles – 5

JD Gaming

Xiaoxu – 7
JunJia – 6
HongQ – 6
GALA – 4
Vampire – 4

Player of the game – Berserker

First Stand 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

Lyon – Blue Side

Aurora
Ambessa
Ryze
Ezreal
Leona

JD Gaming – First Pick

Zaahen
Vi
Ahri
Xayah
Rakan

Saint’s Laning Improves

Saint turns around his laning fortune with a solo kill on HongQ. There is not much action in the rest of the early game. JunJia spends time on the top side and eventually gets an angle to kill Dhokla.

Mid-Game Trades

The teams trade kills in the mid-game, with no team gaining a significant advantage. Lyon prevents JDG from getting the second Drake with a fight win. However, it starts to get worse for Lyon. JDG mashes multiple team fights in a row, with the second one giving them Baron. JDG wins one more teamfight and ends the game.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

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

JD Gaming

Xiaoxu – 7
JunJia – 7
HongQ – 6
GALA – 7
Vampire – 7

Player of the game – Xiaoxu

First Stand 2026: Game Four Review

JD Gaming – Blue Side

Sion
Poppy
Mel
Jinx
Thresh

Lyon – Second Pick

Aatrox
Sejuani
Azir
Aphelios
Nautilus

Early Advantage for JDG Bot Lane

Berserker and Isles earn another 2v2 kill on their counterparts. They have a better positioning on the Drake fight as well to earn another kill for Berserker. Despite more kills for Lyon, they are even in gold. Xiaoxu wins in isolation against Dhokla, meaning Aatrox is not a champion in the mid-game.

Lyon Give Up Drakes

Lyon gets the first two Drakes of the game, which gives them a chance to scale. They do not contest the next two. Both teams battle for space on the mid-lane before the third Drake spawn. Saint and Berserker die, but so does GALA. Lyon tries to force Baron, but JDG only half contests. GALA takes the Hextech Soul point. Lyon loses four members around the Baron and loses the Void objectives.

Inspired Saves the End

JDG wins the Hextech Soul fight with a smite win from JunJia. They try to end the game, but Inspired holds the line. Lyon chases JDG into the bot side and uses the tempo to take the Baron. They get the objective and only lose Isles.

A Flip to End the Series

Lyon chunk Xiaoxu to get a position on the Elder Drake. They flip the objective, but JunJia wins the smite again. JDG wins the fight to end the First Stand series.

Total Apex Ratings

Lyon

Dhokla – 4
Inspired – 5
Saint – 5
Beserker – 7
Isles – 7

JD Gaming

Xiaoxu – 8
JunJia – 7
HongQ – 7
GALA – 7
Vampire – 6

Player of the game – Xiaoxu

First Stand 2026: Player Summary

JDG's First Stand Roster — Image of JDG’s First Stand roster, courtesy of LoL Esports

Lyon

Dhokla – 5.5

Dhokla’s laning phase was better in the series. His only bad early game was on Aatrox. He fell behind in the laning phase to Sion.

Inspired – 5.5

Inspired tried his best to impact the early game. He matched or outpaced JunJia in most of the game. However, his teamfighting was lacking.

Saint – 5.0

Saint’s laning phase only came right in the third game. He was often a liability in the series, dying in bad spots in teamfights, and did not output enough damage.

Berserker – 6.5

Berserker locked in the series. He had the better of GALA during the laning phase. Oftentimes, he did not have the frontline. He could have been the best player in the series.

Isles – 5.8

Isles laning was better than against Gen.G. He made massive improvements, but his teamfighting needs work.

JD Gaming

Xiaoxu – 6.8

Xiaoxu was pivotal to JDG’s success. Even though he had a weak game one, he was the one who got the trade on Inspired. He was JDG’s best player in their loss and earned the Total Apex player of the series.

JunJia – 6.5

Inspired kept JunJia quiet in the early games. However, he had the better of Inspired at the smite battles. His smite on the Elder Drake sealed the series victory.

HongQ – 6.3

HongQ had the better of Saint during the laning phase. His only mistake proved pivotal in game two. He overextended and died on the Baron push.

GALA – 5.8

GALA was the better AD Carry in the teamfights. His team had better coordination in the fights. However, he lost out to Berserker in the lane.

Vampire – 5.8

Similar to Vampire, he had a weaker laning phase than his counterpart. However, in the teamfights, he was pivotal alongside JunJia and Xiaoxu.

First Stand Impact

JDG advances to the Semi-Final of the First Stand Knockout Stage. They will play against Bilibili Gaming in that match.

Author

Devin Morris

I am a gaming fanatic from little old South Africa. I have had a passion for gaming and writing from a young age. My early favorites were Age of Empires, FIFA and Need for Speed games. As I grew older I moved into more competitive gaming, focusing on Overwatch, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. I also sink way too many hours into Destiny 2!