Day 4 of the Mid-Season Invitational saw the first team eliminated from the Main Stage — Europe's second seed, G2 Esports, who were clean swept by a sharp and clearly superior FlyQuest side. The second series of the day took place in the Upper Bracket, as Gen.G faced off against Anyone’s Legend in a high-stakes clash between the LCK and LPL first seeds. After five intense games, Gen.G came out on top with a 3-2 victory, securing their spot in the Upper Bracket Final, where they’ll face the winner of Bilibili Gaming vs T1.

The next day of MSI features two key best-of-five matchups. First, CTBC Flying Oyster will face Movistar KOI in an elimination match at 9 PM CET on July 5. Right after, T1 take on Bilibili Gaming in a high-stakes LCK vs LPL clash for a spot in the Upper Bracket Final against Gen.G. The loser of that series will drop down to face FlyQuest, while Anyone’s Legend await the winner of the CFO vs KOI matchup. Every game now carries major weight in the road to the MSI title.

The best team in the West

FlyQuest put on a dominant display against G2, showing both creative drafting and solid execution. Game 1 saw standout plays from the North American squad, with Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau finding a solo kill on Rasmus "Caps" Winther and Fahad "Massu" Abdulmalek stealing Baron with his Varus, giving FlyQuest early momentum in the EU vs NA clash. In Game 2, Fly doubled down on their bold approach, drafting a Garen top and Bard support for Alan "Busio" Cwalina. Despite a strong early game from G2—including a double kill for Steven "Hans Sama" Liv’s Corki and a solo kill by Caps—FlyQuest held firm, scaled patiently, and took over late to secure a 2-0 lead after a 39-minute slugfest.

Game 3 was all FlyQuest. A top-side pairing of Yorick and Trundle gave Bwipo and co. complete control of the map, and G2 couldn’t keep up. Team fights and side lanes went decisively in FlyQuest’s favor, and the LTA North representatives closed out the series with a dominant and clinical win—the shortest game of the three. The 3-0 sweep eliminates G2 from MSI, marking a disappointing end to their tournament run. Europe’s second team will now have to wait for the Esports World Cup to get another shot at international redemption.

First clash between China and South Korea

The long-awaited matchup between the LCK and the LPL finally took place, featuring the two top seeds from the strongest regions in the world—and it lived up to the hype. In Game 1, the LPL champions completely dominated Gen.G, with Wang "Hope" Jie shining on Kai’Sa and Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong taking over the map on Pantheon. Anyone’s Legend struck first in what promised to be one of the highest-level best-of-fives of the year.

In Game 2, Cui "Shanks" Xiao-Jun drafted Twisted Fate—a champion that had yet to win a single game at MSI, and that trend continued. Gen.G tied the series, helped by a strong performance from Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon on Azir. In Game 3, Shanks bounced back with an explosive Akali, but it wasn’t enough to break through Gen.G’s comp. With Ambessa Vi and Rakan providing great engages, Gen.G reached match point. In Game 4, AL surprised both Gen.G and the audience with a toplane Smolder for Li "Flandre" Xuanjun. The pick scaled early, and the draft’s wombo combo—Jarvan IV, Galio, and Neeko—was simply too much to handle, forcing a Game 5.

The LCK champions took an early lead in the final game after a fight around Grubs, but a triple kill from Shanks quickly closed the gold gap. From there, Gen.G grouped tightly around Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk’s Xayah and committed fully to protecting their star AD Carry. Kim "Kiin" Gi-in also delivered a standout performance on the tournament’s first Camille pick. Gen.G closed out the series 3–2, advancing to the Upper Bracket Final. They are now just one best-of-five away from both the MSI Grand Final and securing a fourth seed for South Korea at Worlds 2025.