End of the Esports World Cup quarterfinals: after Anyone's Legend and G2 Esports advanced yesterday with wins over Hanwha Life Esports and Bilibili Gaming, 18 July's matches wrapped up the round. T1 edged out Movistar KOI 2-1, followed by a dominant Gen.G victory over FlyQuest. The freshly crowned MSI champions will now face G2, while the reigning Worlds and EWC champions take on AL in the other semifinal.

KOI did try to challenge T1 in this best-of-three. In Game 1, with T1 on Blue Side, KOI made the bold decision to leave both Pantheon and Azir open. T1 instantly locked in Pantheon, while KOI responded with a Poppy jungle and a Taliyah mid, clearly aiming to pre-empt Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok’s Azir. Despite a tough lane phase, T1 maintained control throughout the match and secured a clean win. KOI responded well in Game 2 with a strong draft around David "Supa" García’s Jinx—once the resets came in, they dominated teamfights and tied the series.

In the deciding game, T1’s draft proved decisive. With picks like Jax, Skarner, and Viktor, along with a botlane of Varus and Tahm Kench, the reigning world champions locked in comfort across the board. Their execution matched their draft, and KOI couldn’t keep up with the pace. T1 closed out the series and advanced to the EWC semifinals, where they will face Anyone’s Legend—the same team they defeated at MSI.

Korean dominance

T1 took down KOI 2-1, while the job was even easier for Gen.G against FlyQuest. In Game 1, both teams went for fairly standard drafts, with the MSI champions once again playing heavily around their AD Carry. For the second game, the LTA North champions tried to shake things up with a Sett, Lillia, and Cassiopeia composition. FlyQuest held on for a while but ultimately couldn't force a Game 3. They now exit the tournament with disappointment, as head coach Alfonso "Mithy" Aguirre Rodríguez summed up: “Very disappointing showing this tournament. I know we can do way better than this.”

KOI and FlyQuest exit the tournament with just over 5% of the prize pool each, taking home $110,000. Gen.G and T1, meanwhile, advance to the semifinals set to be played on Saturday, July 19. The day will kick off at 11 AM CET with a best-of-three between Anyone's Legend and T1—a rematch of the MSI Lower Bracket Final that ended 3-2 in favor of the Korean squad. Later, Gen.G will face off against G2 Esports, another MSI rematch from the opening round, where the LCK champions secured a convincing 3-1 victory.