BILIBILI GAMING are through to the quarterfinals. A 1-0 win over Karmine Corp in the Swiss stage at Worlds on October 26 sets up a meeting with Dplus KIA on November 5, while KC drop the series but stay alive in the competition.

This one was close on paper. Both sides finished with 11 towers and six dragons apiece, and the kill count read only 14 to 11 in BLG's favour. The difference showed up elsewhere: BLG took the game's only Baron and closed out the 36:21 contest holding 74,962 gold to KC's 66,245, a gap of roughly 8,700.

Knight at the centre of everything

Knight's Orianna was involved in all 14 of BLG's kills, posting a 3/1/11 line and a team-high 24,450 damage. Viper matched that 100% kill participation on Kai'Sa and finished as the richest player in the game, with 19,898 gold. Up top, Bin's Ambessa went 5/1/6, the best kill tally on the server. The one blemish came from Xun, whose Jarvan IV died six times (more than anyone else in the game) but still helped on 13 kills, a line that suggests a jungler happy to take the hits for his teammates.

KC were far from outclassed. Caliste's Jhin went 4/1/4 on 18,296 gold, and Canna's Rumble put out 18,287 damage despite going without a kill. Mid was a quieter story. kyeahoo's Viktor posted a 55% kill participation, the lowest of anyone on either side, and without that Baron the French organisation never turned an even objective count into a win.

Where it leaves both teams

For BLG, it's a recovery after an uneven start to the Swiss stage. They opened with a loss to MKOI before beating TLAW, and this result makes it two wins from three. Next comes Dplus KIA, a quarterfinal that will test whether this version of the side can hold up over a longer series.

KC's tournament has been a long one already. They came through Play-Ins with a 3-2 win over C9 and two sweeps of MVK, then split their first two Swiss games, beating AL and falling to LYON. This loss leaves them 1-2 in the Swiss stage, still in contention but with little room left to work with. Whether that Play-In run left them sharper or simply more tired is the question their next match will answer.