First Stand 2025 tiebreaker explained: How Karmine Corp can qualify for Playoffs

First Stand 2025 is heading towards its last day of the Group Stage, meaning teams near the bottom of the table have one last chance to secure their spot in the Playoffs.

In true EU style, LEC Champions Karmine Corp have lost their series against some of the weaker teams at First Stand, while looking far more competitive against the strongest squads and tournament favorites. Naturally, KC's inconsistencies have completely thrown Group Stage standings off, causing chaos before the last day of matches.

So, to make things easier for everybody, we have decided to go over the way the tiebreaker rules work at First Stand 2025, as well as take a look at what needs to happen for each team to qualify for First Stand Playoffs.

First Stand 2025 Tiebreaker Explained

The inaugural edition of First Stand does not allow for tiebreaker matches to be played under any condition. Instead, this is how the standings are decided in the event that two or more teams are tied at the end of the Group Stage, as per the First Stand 2025 rulebook:

• Head to Head Match Record (across all tied teams)
• Total Game Win/Loss Percentage (only within matches involving tied teams)
• Total Game Win/Loss Percentage (full event)
• Average Game Victory time (only within matches involving tied teams)
• Average Game Victory time (full event)
• Coin flip

*Note that rule number 2 only applies if teams still remain tied after rule number 1 is applied, and so on.

Now that the rules are clear, let's go over how each of the three teams currently tied for last place - Karmine Corp (KC), Team Liquid (TL), and Top Esports (TES) - can qualify to the Playoffs. As for Hanwha Life Esports and CTBC Flying Oyster, both teams have already secured their spot in the next stage of competition.

For reference, these are the last two matches left to be played at the First Stand 2025 Group Stage:

• CTBC Flying Oyster vs Top Esports [Friday, March 14th - 9 am CET]
• Team Liquid vs Hanwha Life Esports [Friday, March 14th - 12 pm CET]

How Karmine Corp make it:

• Karmine Corp need Top Esports to lose their last match of the Group Stage against CTBC Flying Oyster. This is because:
  • If TES lose and TL win: KC and TES are tied for last place, but KC hold the head-to-head win.
  • If TES lose and TL lose: All teams tie for last place, but KC hold the Total Game Win/Loss over TES.
• If Top Esports win their match against CTBC Flying Oyster, Karmine Corp are immediately eliminated from First Stand.

How Team Liquid make it:

• As long as either one of Team Liquid or Top Esports win their match, then Team Liquid qualifies for Playoffs:
  • If Team Liquid win tomorrow, they immediately qualify for Playoffs.
  • If Team Liquid lose but Top Esports win: TL holds the head-to-head over KC and qualify for Playoffs.
• If both Team Liquid and Top Esports lose, then TL has the worst Total Game Win/Loss in the three-way tie and are therefore eliminated.

How Top Esports make it:

• If Top Esports win, they immediately qualify for Playoffs.
• If Top Esports lose, however, then they depend on the result of Team Liquid's match:
  • If Top Esports lose and Team Liquid lose: TES has the second-best Total Game Win/Loss in the three-way tie and qualify for Playoffs.
  • If Top Esports lose and Team Liquid win: TES lose the head-to-head to KC and are eliminated from First Stand.

With stakes this high, you won't want to miss any of the action on the last day of the Group Stage at First Stand 2025. To find out which teams will qualify for Playoffs at the first international tournament of the year, tune in to the official Twitch and YouTube channels for First Stand 2025 on Friday, March 14th, starting at 9 am CET.

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Featured image credit: Christina Oh/Riot Games

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