AG.AL, Gen.G, Bilibili, Hanwha Life barge into LOL World Cup quarters

AG.AL International, Gen.G, Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life claimed the top four spots in the quarterfinals during League of Legends action at the Esports World Cup on Thursday in Paris.

Each of those teams won one-off upper-bracket finals in the group stage to punch their tickets to the final eight of the $2 million tournament.

The four teams that lost in the upper bracket moved into the lower bracket for best-of-three matches that sent the winners to the quarterfinals and the losers home. Two of those four teams -- T1 and JD Gaming -- recovered from their upper-bracket loss to advance. The other two -- G2 Esports and Sentinels -- lost again to be knocked out of the competition.

The playoffs start Friday and conclude with Sunday's best-of-five grand final. The winning team takes home $600,000 and 1,000 Esports World Cup club points. The MVP will earn an additional $25,000.

AG.AL claimed the Group A crown by defeating G2 Esports in 32 minutes on blue. China's Cui "Shanks" Xiaojun led the way with eight kills and 12 assists versus two deaths.

Gen.G also needed 32 minutes on blue to defeat Sentinels for the Group B title. South Korea's Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu posted a 7-0-4 KDA to pace Gen.G.

Bilibili Gaming secured the Group C upper-bracket final in 32 minutes on red over T1. China's Zhuo "Knight" Ding paced Bilibili with six kills and 11 assists versus two deaths.

Hanwha Life required just 26 minutes on red to knock off JD Gaming for the Group D title. South Korea's Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo notched seven kills and six assists with no deaths.

All four of Thursday's best-of-three elimination matches were 2-0 sweeps. Dplus handled G2 Esports for the second Group A spot, Karmine Corp eliminated Sentinels in Group B, T1 bounced GAM Esports in Group C and JD Gaming erased MIBR.LOS in Group D.

The Esports World Cup features competition in 25 titles and a $75 million prize pool. Other events this month include DOTA, PUBG, EA Sports FC, Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Rocket League, Counter-Strike 2 and Fortnite.

The tournament continues Friday with four best-of-three quarterfinal matches:

--Hanwha Life vs. T1

--AG.AL vs. Karmine Corp

--Gen.G vs. JD Gaming

--Bilibili Gaming vs. Dplus

Esports World Cup League of Legends prize pool (money, EWC club points)

1. $600,000, 1,000 -- TBD

2. $340,000, 750 -- TBD

3. $220,000, 500 -- TBD

4. $140,000, 300 -- TBD

5-8. $90,000, 200 -- TBD

9-12. $55,000, 0 -- G2 Esports, Sentinels, GAM Esports, MIBR.LOS

13-16. $30,000, 0 -- FURIA, Team Secret, Movistar KOI, LYON

--Field Level Media