TES First Stand Team Analysis – Can the LPL match the LCK?

After competing at both MSI and Worlds, Top Esports (TES) continue their streak of international presence with First Stand. Can they deliver a strong performance in 2025 and bring an international trophy to the LPL?

TES First Stand Team Analysis – A Roster Built for Versatility

With a roster capable of shifting roles based on draft needs, TES has been able to constantly adapt, regardless of who they went up against. They have found different ways to optimize the players’ strengths and their adaptability, allowing TES to draft creatively without exposing clear weaknesses. In the world of Fearless Draft, this was probably the difference maker that led them to winning the LPL Split 1. Aside from the drafts, however, the players have also stepped up immensely, especially compared to how they were performing at the end of 2024.

369 – The Evolution of a Top Laner

Once considered one of the best weakside players, 369 has turned into a completely new beast in 2025. On top of retaining his defining playstyle, the Chinese top laner is also capable of playing carry-oriented champions to peak levels, as well as champions he previously struggled at (Gragas among all).

TES’ success also comes from 369’s improved gameplay, further adding complexity to TES’ playbook, enabling them to pivot strategies based on the draft. First Stand will tell us whether he is a 3, a 6, or a 9.

Kanavi – TES’ core

Kanavi was the only change during the offseason as he went on to replace Tian in the jungle position. Compared to his predecessor, Kanavi has been able to bring more firepower, adding more damage share and carry champions to the team’s arsenal.

Kanavi also happens to have one of the highest damage shares among junglers, further proving that he can go for different types of picks depending on what the team is planning to do. If TES will have an outstanding performance, he will likely be one of the main reasons.

JackeyLove – is this the best iteration of JackeyLove?

The Chinese ADC has been considered one of, if not the best ADC talent in the past few years. Ever since his Worlds championship back in 2018, JackeyLove was often considered the X-factor capable of elevating teams by a few notches. Those expectations, however, were often met by different levels of inconsistency, especially in key decisive moments.

Well, that version of JackeyLove seems to be gone. The guy has kept a high level of aggressiveness but has heavily dialed down on his int moments, giving extra stability, but most importantly, a reliable threat in the late-game teamfights. With the increasing reliance of hypercarries in the meta, JackeyLove might be a major win condition for his own team.

Is TES better than HLE?

Without seeing the teams in the new patch, it’s a bit tough to give a clear indication on what the gap, if there is any, might be between the two teams.

Based on the analysis we gave for HLE, I believe there are some similarities in how the teams work, especially in the way they play around their own strengths. Their players have shown clear signs of delivering on a large variety of champions, which is why they made it to First Stand.

That being said, I think there are two particular differences and they lie in the jungle and support role. On one hand, you have Kanavi who can play basically anything and is much more comfortable taking carry roles. On the other hand, Peanut has often played a more utility role and only played his carry comfort picks. When the two go against each other, we will see who gets the upper hand.

The same is said with supports. Crisp is notoriously known for his enchanters picks instead of engage picks (aside from Leona) while Delight shines more when he gets those roaming supports with great playmaking potential. Depending on which category of supports is stronger in the meta, we might see a swing in the teams’ values.

Based on what we have seen so far, however, HLE should still be expected to be favorite, considering the lineup of players and their trends on the international stage. TES will likely be coming close in second, but there is definitely a chance where the LPL previals over the LCK, and finally retains an international trophy that has been missing since MSI 2023, when JD Gaming came out on top in London.