G2 and Hanwha Life Esports advance to Worlds 2025 Knockout Stage

Round four of the 2025 League of Legends World Championship Swiss Stage has kicked off, with G2 Esports and Hanwha Life Esports securing a place in the quarterfinals.

Both series featured back-and-forth battles for a spot in the knockout stages. Complete with nonstop fights that had fans on their feet both in the arena and at home. However, in the end, G2 Esports toppled FlyQuest while Hanwa Life Esports emerged victorious against CTBC Flying Oyster (CFO).

Whilst Hanwa Life Esports and G2 have secured a spot in Worlds 2025 Knockout Stage, the tournament is far from over for CFO and FlyQuest. Both teams will have one last chance to advance to the quarterfinals in round five.

The match between FlyQuest and G2 was tense even before both teams stepped on the Rift. With a quarterfinals spot and regional pride on the line, North America’s FlyQuest had beaten G2 at MSI a few months ago, so the LEC representative was looking for revenge.

While FlyQuest and G2 came out strong throughout the series — trading fights and objectives across the map — both also made a lot of mistakes, keeping fans on edge.

FlyQuest played proactively yet patiently in the first game, heavily punishing G2’s mistakes. The LEC Summer Split champion had an early lead thanks to a kill and dragon advantage, yet gave it all up as the LTA North (soon to be LCS) team moved with smart rotations and strong teamfighting.

FlyQuest controlled the tempo of the game with objective plays, picking off G2 members whenever it overextended, and made sure to keep its gold lead growing throughout the mid-game. The team’s patience and precise coordination allowed the organisation to close the game confidently and take an early series lead.

In the second game, the LEC team played more methodically, taking towers, controlling dragons, and building up strong vision around objectives. G2 secured the Baron and the Infernal Soul while forcing favourable fights to pick off key FlyQuest members and securing a stable lead.

Although FlyQuest tried to trade objectives, G2’s superior map control and team coordination eventually allowed it to push into the opposition’s base. The EMEA team evened the series, setting up a winner-takes-all final game that fans couldn’t miss.

With one game separating one of these teams from the quarterfinals, both G2 and FLY pushed to the limit. The last game was a non-stop action, featuring fight after fight from the start. By the 15th minute, kills, gold, and dragons were even between the two teams.

Securing the first major objective, G2 started the Rift Herald and claimed it. However, FlyQuest struck back after taking its second drake, winning a mid-lane fight to even the game again. G2 then grabbed Atakhan, and turned a fight that FlyQuest started, nearly acing the LTA representatives.

The back-and-forth continued as FlyQuest took the first Baron after a disastrous fight for G2, and moved to push top and mid. But G2 then immediately caught most of the LTA first seed in the mid lane, winning the fight despite the Baron buff. 

By 29 minutes, G2 led in kills, gold, and were at dragon soul point, but FlyQuest kept fighting and a few minutes later secured a second Baron uncontested. Nevertheless, G2’s coordination was flawless in the following teamfight — which was so fast the reply from the previous one was still going on broadcast

After taking down four FlyQuest members, G2 pressed onward towards the Nexus to claim the win and lock in a quarterfinal spot. For the first time in three years, an LEC team made it to the Quarterfinals, leaving fans hoping for more.

CTBC Flying Oyster has been one of the biggest surprises of League of Legends Worlds 2025, outperforming expectations and pushing every opponent to its limits.

Even if Hanwa Life Esports (HLE) entered the series as the favourite, many questioned whether it could finally show the form expected from an LCK powerhouse. For much of the match against CFO, Hanwa Life Esports had to fight hard to prove it.

CTBC Flying Oyster came out swinging from the start, diving into fights early to grab a kill and gold lead in the first game of the series. However, HLE stayed calm under pressure. Peanut and Delight’s two-man gank caught HongQ for first blood. Meanwhile, Zeka’s Azir began to take over the map. CTBC Flying Oyster kept forcing teamfights, but Zeka’s sharp roams and massive Emperor’s Divides flipped fights in HLE’s favour.

Hanwa Life Esports turned the game around with clean teamfights and smart setups. Zeka secured a K/D of 5/0 by 13 minutes, and the LCK team slowly built its gold lead. CFO kept trying to single out Hanwa Life Esports members in skirmishes, yet the team’s coordination held strong. A final fight around Baron wiped CTBC Flying Oyster, and HLE closed the game in just over 30 minutes.

Nevertheless, CTBC Flying Oyster didn’t slow down in the second game. CFO’s JunJia predicted Peanut’s jungle pathing perfectly to grab first blood, and CFO’s early dives gave the team control of the top side. The LCP representatives built a steady gold lead, looking much sharper than the game before. However, Hanwa Life Esports started to fight back around 20 minutes, setting up better vision and forcing CFO into bad positioning during fights.

The turning point came during the 24th minute with a teamfight in front of the dragon pit. CTBC Flying Oyster focused on the objective, but HLE played the fight perfectly and nearly aced the LCP team. CFO’s lead vanished in seconds.

Shotly after, Hanwa Life Esports claimed Baron, broke open CFO’s base and ended the series 2–0.