T1 are moving to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the matchup against Team Liquid and Fnatic.
The first day of the League of Legends quarterfinals of the Esports World Cup was full of action and bloodshed, with the strongest teams of the LPL and LCK going head-to-head for a slot in the semifinals on Thursday (4 July).
Kicking off the event was an intense match between LPL’s Bilibili Gaming and LoL Worlds 2023 Champions T1, reminiscent of their 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) Quarterfinals clash.
However, in the end, it was T1 who were able to exact revenge against BLG in an unpredictable 2-1 series.
Both T1 and BLG came into the competition as tournament favourites, with a longstanding rivalry between the teams as they frequently eliminated each other at the MSI or at Worlds. And with only eight of the strongest teams in the world competing for the Esports World Cup title, these LoL giants once again faced off in a high-stakes, all-or-nothing opening match. Here's how the games went.
In the first game, T1 surprised BLG with an eclectic draft, taking Zeri for Choi “Zeus” Woo-je in the top lane, Corki for Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok in mid, and Kai’sa for Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong in the bottom lane.
T1 quickly gained control during the laning phase, allowing Zeri to snowball with a couple of kills. Despite BLG’s efforts to close the gap with cross-map counterplays and vision denial, T1 secured the Baron and pushed their advantage.
With Zeus shredding towers in the top lane and the rest of the team overpowering BLG in team fights, T1 destroyed BLG’s Nexus after a 39-minute battle to win the first game.
In the second game, BLG went for comfort picks, taking Corki for Zhuo "knight" Ding in the mid lane and Chen "Bin" Ze-Bin’s signature Camille in the top lane, and closing the draft with a Ziggs in the bottom lane.
The Chinese juggernauts took advantage of their mobility and overpowered T1 with kills in the early game, creating a huge lead that left T1 struggling to catch up.
With an insane wave clear from Ziggs and the damage from Peng "XUN" Lixun’s Brand in the Jungle, the South Korean powerhouse grappled for ways to get back into the game. And despite T1 securing the Baron, BLG still won the team fight leaving only Moon “Oner” Hyeon-Jun to survive.
This led to an 8,000 gold lead which allowed BLG to dominate the rest of the game and eventually march down the mid lane uncontested, taking down T1’s Nexus to win the second game after a 31-minute encounter, and extend the series.
Tournament lives on the line, both BLG and T1 quickly banned the most problematic champions from their opponents.
They began the laning phase aggressively yet carefully, looking for early picks. But it was Bin’s Jax that finally found first blood against Zeus on Gnar, giving BLG the initial upper hand.
Once again, the Chinese juggernauts continued to outplay T1 across the map, slowly building their lead and taking down T1’s turrets.
When it looked like BLG had it in the bag, T1 showed signs of life in the river by the Baron, trapping the Chinese team with Jhin’s Curtain Call and obliterating most members.
Having regained their momentum, T1 took control of each team fight, allowing them to make a comeback and take the Baron to peel BLG’s turrets and harrass BLG on all sides.
With BLG on the run, T1 pushed forward, destroying BLG’s Nexus to take the third game in 30 minutes and win the series.
T1 will move forward to the semifinals where they will face the winners of the matchup between Team Liquid and Fnatic in another best-of-three on Saturday (6 July).
Meanwhile, BLG bowed out of the competition in 5th-8th place.
You can follow all the action on our LoL Esports World Cup tournament page.
Check out the League of Legends Esports World Cup Survival Guide here to know more about the competition. If you're curious to find out which teams to root for at the EWC, click here.
