First Stand 2026: G2 Esports Creates a Shockwave Against GEN.G

Following their resounding victory over BNK FearX yesterday, G2 once again proved themselves the "LCK Slayer" by surprisingly defeating GEN.G with a 3-0 score.

G2 asserts its dominance against GEN.G

Before the First Stand 2026 tournament, GEN.G delivered an incredibly impressive performance at the LCK Cup 2026. They only lost two games before clinching the championship trophy and securing their spot in the First Stand. This led many to believe that GEN.G was the top contender for the championship, despite the presence of other contenders like BLG, JDG, and even G2.

When the tournament officially began, GEN.G was still the overwhelmingly superior team, easily sweeping aside JDG and LYON. Then, seeing G2 secure their place in the semifinals, most expected another 3-0 victory for the LCK representative. However, on a day when all five of G2's players were eliminated, even the reigning LCK Cup 2026 champions couldn't achieve anything.

From the opening game, G2 showed their prowess in the laning phase. SkewMond, with his tactics of harassing Canyon's jungle, quickly made it difficult for GEN.G to execute their strategy. In particular, both Hans Sama and Labrov outperformed Ruler and Duro – opponents who were considered stronger.

On the top lane, Kiin failed to dominate BrokenBlade, and Chovy couldn't even create a significant advantage over Caps as he usually does. From there, G2 began to snowball and gradually pushed GEN.G into a stalemate. Ultimately, victorious team fights secured G2's opening victory against GEN.G.

In game 2, things were no different, with G2 still having the advantage over GEN.G. Losing the laning phase left Canyon with almost no way to provide support, only able to try and secure major objectives. However, in crucial team fights, GEN.G was still at a disadvantage. G2 even went on to lead GEN.G by 10,000 gold, something no other team had ever achieved before.

GEN.G collapses at First Stand 2026.

Although GEN.G made a tremendous effort to win a team fight while G2 had the Baron buff, it was ultimately just a brief resistance before they fell 0-2. Facing a desperate situation, in game 3 GEN.G decided to have Ruler pick  Yunara,  Kiin pick  Gwen,  and Chovy pick  Azir.  These should have been their strongest picks to regain the fans' trust. But they were met with a "resurgence" from Caps, who   dominated the game with Akali .

Furthermore, SkewMond continued his excellent performance with  his Jarvan  pick , consistently dominating his opponents. Even with  BrokenBlade's Shen pick  in the top lane, SkewMond felt more comfortable picking off GEN.G members. As the game progressed, GEN.G became increasingly frustrated, unable to stop Caps' power surge. BrokenBlade even pulled off an incredibly impressive solo-kill against Chovy. Ultimately, the inevitable happened: GEN.G was defeated 0-3, creating a major upset in Sao Paulo.

Thus, G2 Esports officially became the first team to advance to the First Stand 2026 Grand Finals. They repeated Karmine Corp's achievement from last year, even more impressively, by single-handedly defeating two LCK representatives. Let's wait and see whether G2's opponent will be JD Gaming or Bilibili Gaming, and whether the sole Western representative can deliver a fitting victory.