The day started with a series of close Quarterfinals as the teams got their first taste of playing live on stage in front of a packed BlizzCon crowd. Players and fans alike were in high spirits after the opening ceremony and ready for the seven hours of intense match-ups that lay ahead. Single elimination best-of-threes would be the order of the day - no second chances here. Only two teams were to be left standing at the end of Day 4, so without further ado let's take a closer look at how the knockout stage of the tournament played out:

Russia vs France - VOD

Temple of Anubis

France attack first in this opening Quarterfinal, but uNFixed dominates early on. DeGuN goes deep getting two with a Dragonblade, but ShaDowBurn gets three with his. Despite Russia's counter-frags, DeGuN had done enough and Mickalow was able to clean up. Point B proves more of a struggle with France losing players early on several occasions. The next France push starts with them getting trapped at the middle entry point in a Graviton Surge, but Russia do not have the follow up. A Nano-Blade from DeGuN converts two early frags and they kill Rubikon before he can use his own Nano Boost. Russia are very spread out and despite a desperate Blizzard from uNFixed France overwhelm them and take Point B.

France looked confident on defence, managing ultimates well and winding down the clock. Russia use their go-to play of Nano Boosted ShaDowBurn Dragonblade, but their talisman gets frozen out. France gain the important pick but find themselves caught in an Anak Graviton Surge followed by a uNFixed Pulse Bomb to secure Point A. Russia struggle on Point B while DeGuN divides and conquers them on every push until they find the pick on AlphaCast and clean up the rest of France. DeGuN respawns and drops a Blizzard, but just as all Russia's good work looked like it was about to unravel, that man again, ShaDowBurn, cleans up with a Death Blossom.

Russia attack again, only one minute left for them to make anything happen. AlphaCast gets caught out by uNFixed, producing Russia's best chance of securing this short round, but France rallies and a Nano Boost on to Mickalow gives them enough firepower to get Russia off the point. France have two minutes to complete the upset and they catch out both DPS heroes up top, leaving Russia unable to convert any frags. Russia's lack of discipline on defence lets them down again. 1-0 France.

Eichenwalde

Another map prone to upsets and France are on a high after clinching the first map. Russia recover well though, getting to the second point in steady time, but are stopped in their tracks after getting through the gate. We've seen so many promising offences get shut down at the gate. Interestingly Kryw opts for defensive McCree despite how strong the Mei/Reaper combo has proven at those tight doors. Russia burst through on their next attempt and slay France, they keep the pressure going and finish the map with 29 seconds to spare.

It's always an uphill battle, quite literally, on Eichenwalde when your opponent has capped to completion, and showing no mercy Russia put on a dominant display on defense. uNFixed has been much better on McCree today than we saw on Day 3 and has been picking apart France. Finding themselves in a healthy ult economy, Russia start spending liberally, but France waste their own ultimates and are unable to capitalise. Russia tie things up 1-1.

Lijiang Tower

Control Center: France take the point first and quickly move to a forward hold, locking Russia out for a 99% lead. Finally when France run out of ultimates, letting the Russian menace back in, they are treated to a taste of their own forward hold medicine, but trigger-happy ultimates from Russia allow France to recontest the point. A prolonged fight breaks out but France has the numbers and Kryw keeps racking up the frags before a DeGuN Blizzard seals the deal.

Garden: Russia takes first control and dominates from there on with a lot of ultimates at their disposal. Russia uses a Nano-Blade to win one fight but then waste the other four of their ultimates. However, this wastefulness allows France to get the better of the next fight, but there is not enough time for France to get on the point. Russia take round two.

Night Market: France win the first fight but take a long time to capture, not getting much of an advantage before Russia take it back. From there ShaDowBurn bullies the French supports, taking them down early in most fights. This makes it easy for the rest of the Russian team to clean up. Russia take the lead.

Control Center: Russia dominates early and builds up a big lead as France continues to push bridge side running into a Russian brick wall. France briefly regains control thanks to a well executed push, wrapping all the way round the point to unleash a Nano-Blossom. Russia had the benefit of a lot of ultimates in the bank making their retake of the point and victory inevitable.

Russia become our first Semifinalists and looked pretty strong in the process. France had some good moments and made a good effort of shutting down ShaDowBurn. When the Russian Genji main switched to Reaper and Russia started playing more as a unit the difference in quality became apparent. There are still some doubts over Russia, uNFixed seems inconsistent on DPS and as a team Russia are sloppy defensively. This is why you see them struggle on the Assault maps where one mistake can cost you the point. While still formidable, Russia definitely has weaknesses to exploit.

Spain vs Finland - VOD

King's Row

Spain were dominant early on until a Graviton Surge and Dragonstrike helped Finland wipe them. Spain look strong throughout the streets stage, but with Taimou now on McCree, Finland are able to edge their way forward. Spain were all over the place defensively on the final stage, allowing Finland to get a lot of distance only managing to stop them just before the final checkpoint. Spain's attack looks good, setting a faster time on the opening two stages but they end up stalled out on the final bend. hymzi finally gets off Roadhog and goes Reaper and it works wonders for Finland. They consistently dominate fights as mafu starts getting the better of Pescanova on Zarya and from there Spain struggle to get anything going and Finland take the map.

Hanamura

Spain dominates Finland throughout and do not concede the first point. Eventually mafu switches it up to Winston and this works out better but this was only done for the last push and it is too little too late.

Spain on attack end up giving Finland the complete run-around, baiting them forward and letting Finland over-commit for HarryHook. Getting two thirds of the cap before Finland can even re-engage them, from there a Blizzard seals the deal and completes a quick map win for Spain.

Lijiang Tower

Garden: hymzi and Taimou turn up in a a big way on this stage. The Finnish pair are stamping their authority on this game and Spain cannot keep up as Finland take the first round.

Control Center: A very back and fourth game where Spain took the lead. Finland came back in force with Taimou now on Reaper.

Night Market: Finland have found their stride and take the round 100-0. Taimou continues to shine alongside hymzi and helps secure the lead for Finland. A very dominate performance and Taimou is playing on a different level at the moment; his team are playing around him much better than in the group stage.

Control Center: Taimou continues his unstoppable form giving Finland a 70% lead before a good use of ultimates allows Spain to retake the point. Spain gets great time on the point holding forward and shutting Finland out. As it comes down to the final fight Spain are in control and have a Nano Boost and Death Blossom to help maintain their forward hold. Spain use both and get nothing for it allowing Finland to bust in and make the fight chaotic, from there some wonder Reinhardt play from LiNkzr allows Finland claim their spot in the Semifinal.

Spain were not able to recreate the form they had in the group stage that allowed them to upset Sweden. Spain impressed to get to this stage, but when Finland started enabling Taimou you saw the difference between a top tier DPS and one who is among the best in the world. Now facing Russia in the Semifinal, Finland will have a tough time dealing with their Genji-centric play, but in Taimou they have a McCree who should be able to shut him down.

South Korea vs United States - VOD

Temple of Anubis

South Korea dominate the first point, Miro is proving that he is most definitely the best Winston in the world. As it went towards overtime the USA finally broke the hold thanks to some great Pharah play from Talepsin, but an awesome use of Graviton Surge allows zunba to come back in and secure South Korea the point.

South Korea only needed a single point and to win the first map and they do it within a minute. Miro is an absolute monster again, no one can handle this man on Winston and he leads the charge as South Korea storm to victory.

Eichenwalde

USA stall out well, but Gods on Roadhog feeds ArHaN too much ultimate charge for a quick Nano-Blade that allows South Korea to take the first point. A back and forth second stage eventually sees South Korea get the capture point, but the USA are set up as the gate closes and it looks like the end of South Korea's progress. South Korea have other plans though, Miro gets Nano Boosted through the door and the USA move to shut down the choke point. It was just a distraction though as some creative jumping from zunba's Zarya see him floating through the top window to drop his Graviton Surge, trapping most of the Team USA and allowing South Korea to clean up. One of the most impressive plays I have seen in Overwatch in terms of timing, creativity and execution, but still not enough to finish Eichenwalde. USA eventually stabilise and the South Koreans are forced to settle for an impressive distance finish .

ryujehong runs to the enemy spawn to try and hear what heroes USA are on but gets stuck behind a chair and cannot move. Now trapped at enemy spawn, he tries to deathmatch his way out, but inevitably goes down. The early Ana death gifts the USA the first point, but a strong series of holds just after the gate, including a spectacular four man Deadeye from EscA, allows South Korea to burn a lot of time. The USA remain determined though, they have to win this map to stay in the tournament. MESR impresses on Winston and helps open up the second stage, allowing the USA to get to the gate. In the final stretch it becomes very scrappy with frags being traded often. The USA gets the better of the messy engagements and are pushing for the win, zunba has managed to back off and hold on to his Graviton Surge though and sets it up just before the USA pass South Korea's distance. A respawning ArHaN on Genji clutches the defence with some Dragonblade clean up and from there the USA are out of time and out of luck as South Korea move on with a dominant showing.

South Korea look like the team to beat at this tournament now. The USA were a strong opponent, but the Koreans barely had to break a sweat. Every single player on South Korea is performing well, but what is most remarkable is how good their teamwork is considering their limited play time. South Korea have incredible timing and constantly have each other's backs. As ster mentioned in his tweet, he wishes the USA practised more. South Korea definitely looked like the more organised and structured team.

China vs Sweden - VOD

King's Row

China cause some solid delay on their opening defence, but iddqd gets Nano Boosted and opens up the first point, ensuring the capture with a Death Blossom. It is the same story for the rest of the map as iddqd keeps mowing down wave after wave of Chinese defences on Reaper. China were never able to stop him and with a classic Nano-Blossom from high ground iddqd clears up China one more time to complete the map and put China in a very difficult position.

Throughout the attacks China keep taking aggressive engagements with Sweden, getting in their faces, but the quality of the Swedish side is too much. Everything China try is neutralised and a comfortable Map 1 win for Sweden is completed.

Hanamura

Sweden take the first point with ease and roll straight into Point B, they dominate early, but China are able to delay with their staggered spawns. Sweden stays alive though, and continue to clean up until they finish the point with 5:50 left.

China struggle for a long time while Sweden look confident. China find a way through and roll straight to Point B with a really good effort. They look like they will take it but TviQ gets on the corner of the point and uses Ice Block to buy enough time for the Swedish respawners to come in. China struggle to finish the frags and a wasted Graviton Surge from MengMao completes the failed push. From there China continued to have ineffective ultimate usage as they did on Day 3 and this meant Sweden looked comfortable on the Point B hold. iddqd continued to excel, this time on McCree and Sweden closed out the map to earn the spot against South Korea in the Semifinals.

Sweden looked better than Day 3 here but China also seemed noticeably weaker not just in terms of mechanical skill but tactically and in ultimate usage too. While none of the Swedish players had to go huge to secure this win, they all looked to be in good form... and going in to the Semifinal against Korea they would need to be.

Semifinals

Russia vs Finland - VOD

Dorado

Finland start with a really aggressive hold that is eventually broken. As Finland regroup and re-engage just before the first checkpoint a ShaDowBurn Nano-Blade gets his team some opening frags and they clean up. Russia were not delayed much during the second stage as Finland wasted several ultimates, first mafu then Taimou, letting the Russian team push largely uncontested. LiNkzr throws away an Earthshatter at the end too. Finland finally stabilise, but Russia's trademark strategy of Nano Boosting the Genji strikes again. Russia are rolling in for the win when Taimou respawns, coming from behind to get four kills from nothing but pure aim and surviving on 1HP. Despite the god like play from Taimou to salvage what should have been a hopeless situation the Nano Boosted Genji arrives again and ShaDowBurn finishes two quickly then deflects Taimou's ultimate back in his face to complete the map with 37 seconds to go.

Defence has often been Russia's weakness, but they opt for a more standard hold than Finland tried and win the early engagement with uNFixed's Blizzard. Russia get forced out of the first point but repush well, throwing all their ultimates to combo stuns and clean up the defence. mafu is on Winston and it is working well. Not just containing ShaDowBurn, which is the primary goal, but leading the pushes and initiating. It helps that Taimou continues to play well and this secures a quick stage two as Finland make up much of the time they lost of the first stage. As Finland start to run out of time on Stage 2 they have gotten so close to the final point but Redzzzz hits the perfect Earthsatter to allow Russia to clean up. 30 seconds left for Finland to stay in this first map and Finland's final push is stopped by another uNFixed Blizzard.

King's Row

A difficult first point for Finland but they are successful after several scrappy fights. Russia then delay Finland massively at the gate, with hymzi eventually switching from Roadhog to Winston. Russia are using their ultimates frequently at this stage, but the three tank set up form Finland allows Russia to build their ultimates so quickly they stay neck-and-neck with Finland. Finland finally build up ultimates and break through the streets hold, but not before losing valuable time and as Finland approach the second checkpoint they are already in overtime. Another one of uNFixed's super-effective Blizzards helps Russia close out their defence.

Finland are on the ropes now they need a big defence and they have struggled to contain ShaDowBurn's Nano-Blades so far this series. A messy initial fight gives Russia the spawn advantage and then Russia secure the first point with - you guessed it - a Nano-Blade. Russia had a massive time advantage with over four minutes to complete the streets phase. At the gates once again a well-timed Blizzard from uNFixed wins the fight. He has only been using the Blizzard once Finland are committed to the team fight, maximising the frostbitten casualties and allowing Russia to clean up. Russia has too much for Finland and win the next team fight to become the first team to reach the Overwatch World Cup Grand Final.

zappis sums it up fairly well; Finland never looked like contesting Russia. The Russian team set ShaDowBurn up in the same way throughout the entire series and Finland very rarely had an answer. Taimou was not able to contain him in the way many thought he would, mafu did the best job on Winston but this only happened for a few pushes. I am not sure why Finland did not opt to run the Winston for more of the map, but their picks in general were off. Russia were good though, they have based their entire playstyle around ShaDowBurn. This makes it very predictable, but they set him up so well that it still works. If Taimou got the same support maybe the result would have been different.

South Korea vs Sweden - VOD

Route 66

A strong first point offence for Sweden as EscA looks out classed on McCree by iddqd, but South Korea stabilise thanks to an over-extension from TviQ and run the time down. A Nano-Blade from TviQ cleans up and Sweden move forward. Despite being low on time, Sweden have the firepower to capture the second checkpoint in overtime. A Blizzard from ArHaN wastes half of Sweden's time again on the final stage. Aggressive tank play from Miro on Reinhardt keeps Sweden pinned back until the Nano-Blade form TviQ comes in but EscA shuts him down. Early on EscA looked like he would struggle to keep up with the European DPS duo but in the final stretch of the map he has been impressive. Culminating in a three man Deadeye that helps South Korea prevent map completion.

TviQ on the defensive Roadhog finds no hooks in the first fight and Sweden do not follow up on an aggressive charge from cocco properly, allowing South Korea to claim the first stage with ease. It goes from bad to worse for Sweden as they all get caught in a Graviton Surge that sets up ArHaN perfectly to claim six kills. Delay tactics from Sweden come in just before the second checkpoint but achieve nothing of real value. South Korea still have a lot of time to work with. A chaotic ultimate showdown looks like it could go either way, but ryujehong just about gets the Nano Boost on to zunba and the Zarya cleans up the three remaining Swedish players to gets his team across the line.

Eichenwalde

South Korea play with aggression and poise throughout, constantly separating and isolating the Swedish team. This chaotic play makes it hard for iddqd to have an impact on McCree. TviQ is swapping heroes a lot too trying to find what is most effective. South Korea took the streets stages with ease, regardless of what TviQ picked, but were delayed in the final and most difficult part of the map. The final stage is a slugfest; ultimates being traded constantly, but in the end Miro just gets over the Ice Wall in time to Earthshatter the retreating Swedes and gift South Korea the opportunity they needed to clear up and finish the map.

After a couple of picks from TviQ on Hanzo and some great Zarya play from Zebbosai Sweden take first point but get stuffed at the gate shortly afterwards. Miro is back on Winston and this second stage becomes his playground. Sweden whiff a Graviton Surge/Dragonstrike combo and from there on South Korea have the superior ultimate usage. Sweden cannot complete the second stage let alone the map.

I was hopeful for Sweden going in to this fixture but they were outclassed. For Sweden, or any team for that matter, everything would have to go in their favour to overcome South Korea. Perhaps Sweden played the wrong line-up; the fights often became very chaotic and Reaper thrives in those kinds of fights, but we saw very limited Reaper usage from the Swedes. Theorycrafting aside, you simply cannot take anything away from South Korea. Many people have predicted the winner of this Semifinal to win the tournament and after this game it might be hard to imagine any other outcome.

So the Grand Finalists of the first Overwatch World Cup will be Russia and South Korea. A tantalising match-up. Russia have used the Nano Boosted Genji strategy relentlessly. Their opponents were fully aware of what was coming, but the Russians continued to make it work. While on the other side of the bracket we saw South Korea sweep aside anyone who challenged them. Russia will have to be in top form to even stand a chance against South Korea. I think ShaDowBurn will have to keep South Korea guessing and play less Genji as Miro will be all over him on Winston. uNFixed will have to be on top of his Mei play again too, in fact everyone will have to be firing on all cylinders for Russia just to keep pace.

Not to be forgotten is the Bronze match between Finland and Sweden, a showdown many people were looking forward to. Some expected this to be the Grand Final instead of Bronze but it will still be an intense match fuelled by national rivalries. Both teams will be hungry to get one over on their neighbours, not to mention getting their hands on a medal. All the information on matches and streams will be on the match ticker as always.

Xavier 'CommanderX' Hardy is a former top level Team Fortress 2 Caster and Analyst.
Follow @Xavierhardy8