The beauty of the World Cup format is that almost every team is in contention, right up until the very end of the pool play rounds. Going into the final weekend of the round robin in this event, 15 of the 16 teams in the tournament still had a chance to make the playoffs if the results broke their way; on the flip side, 15 out of 16 still had a chance to be knocked out. The way this tournament was designed, maximum drama was guaranteed, and indeed, that came to fruition.

Of this weekend's eight matches, three were absolute do-or-die contests where the winner moves on and the loser goes home. Another three were crucial for deciding first-place finishers in their respective groups. Everyone had something to play for, and they played their hearts out.

When the dust settled, we had our final slate of eight playoff teams. Condolences to Thailand, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, the Philippines and New Zealand, all of whom competed well but missed the cut. Starting next week, the remaining eight teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket, culminating in a champion being crowned the weekend of August 15.

Here's a look at the four matchups that await us in the quarterfinals.

PAKISTAN VS. MALAYSIA

How they got here: Pakistan has been the most dominant team in the entire tournament so far - they're one of only two teams that went undefeated in pool play matches, and their record in individual games is 46-29, best in the field. In a brutally tough Group B, the Pakistanis were the toughest of all - they topped Nigeria 14-11, Australia 16-9 and finally South Africa 16-9 to finish the undefeated round robin. Pakistan has been led so far by Syed Imaad Ali, who's 11-4 in his first 15 games, and Hassan Hadi Khan, who's also going strong at 10-5.

As for Malaysia, the road here wasn't so easy, as they lost to the lower-seeded Indian team in the first round. They battled back to 1-1 with a win over Thailand last week, which put them in a deciding third match against the United Kingdom, playoff spot on the line. In the finale, Malaysia won fairly comfortably, 16-9, earning them second place in Group A and a spot in the knockouts. Ganesh Asirvatham has been the star of the show for the Malaysians. He's 11-4.

What happens next: Pakistan and Malaysia will do battle on Saturday at 1 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time - that's 6 p.m. Saturday in Karachi and 9 p.m. Saturday in Kuala Lumpur. The winner will advance to face the winner between the United States and Singapore next week; the loser will be eliminated.

This match will be broadcast live on Twitch, and Aditya Iyengar will be on the call. Give Aditya a follow at twitch.tv/qprfan.

CANADA VS. IRELAND

How they got here: Along with Pakistan, Canada is the other team that went undefeated in pool play, going 3-0 in Group C. Though they didn't exactly do it the easy way. Against Ghana in Week 1, the Canadians started out behind 7-2 after the first nine games; they rallied back and just barely prevailed, 13-12. In Week 3 against Singapore, there was another crazy comeback involved, as Canada started out ahead 9-1 but squandered the lead. Singapore came all the way back to tie it 12-12, before Jesse Matthews finally secured Canada's 13th win in the nick of time. Hey, wins are wins, and the Canucks have three of them! Evan Berofsky has been the standout player for Canada so far with a record of 11-4.

As for Ireland, they had to fight to the very end to secure their playoff spot. The Irish were 1-1 after splitting their first two matches against New Zealand and the Philippines, and they desperately needed a win over the United States in their final match to stay alive. They were trailing early, but a clutch 5-0 run in the third round put them ahead, and eventually they snuck out with a 13-12 win, enough to secure second place in Group D. Kevin McMahon is 10-5 overall, making him Ireland's MVP thus far.

What happens next: Canada and Ireland will face off at 5 p.m. GMT on Saturday. That's 10 a.m. Saturday in Vancouver, 1 p.m. Saturday in Toronto and 6 p.m. Saturday in Dublin. The winner will be back next week, against the winner of India/Australia, while the loser is out.

This match will be live on Twitch as well, with Will Anderson doing the honors. Give Will a follow at twitch.tv/wanderer15.

UNITED STATES VS. SINGAPORE

How they got here: The Americans finished first in Group D, and their lead was never really in doubt. After a dominant 18-7 win over the Philippines in the opener, and another solid win over New Zealand in Week 2, they had a comfortable lead over the field. Even after a 13-12 loss to Ireland in the finale, they were still on top of the standings. Will Anderson has been an equally stellar player in this tournament as he is a Twitch streamer, going 11-4, while Austin Shin has been solid as well, at 10-5.

Singapore started out this tournament in a hole, losing 13-12 to bottom-seeded Kenya in their first match, but they fought their way back into playoff position. A 21-4 shellacking of the Ghanaians in Week 2 gave them a nice spread cushion, and that ended up making the difference. Singapore finished 1-2 after a loss to Canada, but they had the best game record of the 1-2 teams in Group C, so they advance. At 45-30, Singapore is tied with the U.S. for the second-best game record in the tournament. Hubert Wee has been a big reason why, as he leads the entire field with a 12-3 individual mark.

What happens next: The U.S. and Singapore play at 1 a.m. GMT on Sunday. That's 6 p.m. Saturday in San Francisco, 9 p.m. Saturday in New York and 9 a.m. Sunday in Singapore. The winner will face either Pakistan or Malaysia in the semifinals; the loser will be stuck watching on Twitch like everyone else.

Live coverage of this match will be brought to you by... yours truly, on the Collins Coalition Twitch account. Give us a follow at twitch.tv/cocoscrabble.

INDIA VS. AUSTRALIA

How they got here: In a highly competitive Group A, the Indians came out on top. They split their first two matches, beating Malaysia and losing to the UK, setting up a must-win showdown with Thailand in the final weekend. In that one, India prevailed, 14-11. They ended up edging Malaysia by a single game to secure the tiebreaker and win first place in the group. Aditya Iyengar, who like Will is pulling player/streamer double duty, has led the team so far with an 11-4 record.

As for Australia, they were expected to be one of the top overall teams in the tournament, given their 2018 Alchemist Cup title, but their road from Group B to the playoffs wasn't easy. They had a bit of trouble with bottom-seeded South Africa in the first round, eventually squeaking by 14-11, and they lost lopsidedly to Pakistan in Week 2. The Aussies needed a win over Nigeria in the finale to stay alive, and fortunately they got it. David Eldar won four of his five games to lead the way, as Australia won 14-11. David is now the top Australian, at 10-5 in the tournament overall.

What happens next: India and Australia will play in the final match of the weekend, at 5 a.m. Sunday GMT. That's 10:30 a.m. Sunday in Mumbai and 3 p.m. Sunday in Sydney. The winner will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of Canada/Ireland; the loser will do no such thing.

This one is on Twitch as well, courtesy of Jeremy Khoo. Give him a follow at twitch.tv/lordlivgon.

There you have it! Your eight quarterfinalists are all lined up and ready to go. Congrats to all who have made it this far, and good luck the rest of the way.

Hope everyone enjoys the elimination rounds, players and spectators alike. Until then...