Day four of the Esports World Cup 2026 is over, with two more playoff slots confirmed alongside two more eliminations.

Here is how groups C and D sorted themselves out on day four.

Group C

The first team from Group C to reach the playoff stage was decided in a match between Gentle Mates and Nongshim Redforce.

Lotus would start the series, and marteen showed off exactly why he was considered one of the best Duelists in the world heading into the Masters that Nongshim ended up winning. On Raze, he tore through the Masters Santiago champs, ending the first half with 16 kills and a 10-2 lead.

Nongshim had to perform a big comeback to take map one, and as soon as M8s reached map point, Nongshim fought back to go from 12-2 to 12-12. Francis and Rb stepped up for this ten-round streak, and suddenly the match went to a close overtime despite a dominant start from M8s. Overtime stretched until Nongshim completed the comeback at 17-15, taking the series lead.

Haven was next, with mirror double-Duelist compositions facing off against one another. Nongshim took the first pistol, but M8s kept the map close in the first half. An amazing starxo clutch pulled M8s to a 7-5 deficit at the half. M8s earned the next pistol, but the map stretched as both teams made plays to fight for the lead. After 9-9 and 10-10 ties, M8s clutched it out 13-10 to force map three.

Ascent would decide who made it to the playoffs from Group C, and despite a Nongshim pistol win, M8s looked in control to start the map. Entering the half up 9-3, M8s just had to prevent another comeback like map one. This time, the team stayed stalwart, winning Ascent 13-3 and the series 2-1.

The elimination match from Group C was between G2 Esports and Xi Lai Gaming, a familiar rematch from Masters London at the EWC. Starting on Lotus, G2 saw a different composition out of XLG and still took the lead early on. Just as XLG looked to try and recover the half, jawgemo said no with a 1v3 clutch retake.

jawgemo wins a 1v3 with an Operator retake as Raze on Lotus.

Rarga did his best to pull the map back within reach with an eco ace after a G2 pistol win, but G2 ended up matching its victory scoreline from London over XLG on Lotus, completing the map 13-7.

Map two was Breeze, and when XLG earned the pistol and bonus, it was now XLG with an early lead, with G2 struggling to adapt to the double-Duelist of XLG. Both leaf and BABYBAY eventually started to heat up and brought the half back to a 7-5 deficit. After a G2 win, the map turned tense, but XLG failed to hold A site well as leaf lurked his way to a 13-9 victory. G2 swept XLG 2-0, and kept themselves alive in Paris.

Group D

The winner's match of Group D was between MIBR and Team Heretics, two teams with a ton of talent looking to make the playoffs and potentially add another trophy to the cabinet.

Map one was Lotus, and it was an entertaining map from start to finish. Both teams ran different variations of double-Duelist, with the most notable choice being aspas playing Waylay alongside zekken 's Raze. Even with that firepower, the Turkish duo from Heretics fought hard to earn 7-5 and 11-5 leads. MIBR forced overtime, but three iterations of OT ended with Heretics taking map one 16-14.

Ascent was next, with Heretics once again starting strong. Wo0t , back on Jett, looked like his Masters Shanghai self, tearing through the Americas squad to jump out to a 10-2 lead at the half.

Thankfully for MIBR, this wasn't an elimination game, as the series ended quickly with a 13-2 on the team's own map pick. Heretics defeated MIBR 2-0, qualifying for the playoffs and continuing the path to a repeat EWC championship.

The elimination game of Group D was between All Gamers and Global Esports, and it shared an entertaining map one with the MIBR and Heretics match. Global won both pistols on Sunset while PatMen fried his opponents on Fade, but Shr1mp and Bai matched that skill alongside AG on gun rounds to force OT.

Bai earns an ace against Global in OT.

Unlike the winner's match, only one group of OT rounds was needed as AG took Sunset 14-12 to put Global on the brink.

Split would be the first map for Global to stay alive, but AG opted for f4ngeer and K1ra double-Duelist Jett and Raze, which took some time for Global to adapt to. After a 6-6 tie at the half, AG took the second pistol and, while Global fought hard, the team ran out of time as the Chinese representatives took Global out 13-10 on Split. That officially meant Global was eliminated from the EWC, losing the second series 2-0 and exiting the tournament without a map win.

Up next

Only two more days of the group stage remain, with no more dual streams. These matches are up next at EWC 2026: