Defending champions Hampshire sealed their place with a comprehensive win over Worcestershire, while Surrey defeated last year's finalists Lancashire.
Somerset continued their incredible Blast form with a battling win over Nottinghamshire, while Essex beat North Group table-toppers Birmingham Bears.
That means that Hampshire will continue their defence in the first semi final against Essex, with Somerset and Surrey battling it out for the right to face the winner in the Final.
First t20 Blast 2023 Finals Day semi final - Hampshire vs Essex
Hampshire hold the head-to-head advantage over Essex in this year's t20 Blast, having beaten them home and away. Not for the first time, Hawks skipper James Vince was key to both wins.
In the first encounter, at Chelmsford, Hampshire were put in to bat by Essex and racked up 214-8, with the highlight being a typically stunning hundred from Vince, who scored 103 from just 48 deliveries with eight fours and as many sixes.
He was supported by Toby Albert, Joe Weatherley and a late assault from Liam Dawson. In response, it was Dawson who helped do some significant damage. He took 4-21 in four overs as the home side capitulated to 96 all out.
Embed from Getty ImagesScott Currie and Nathan Ellis each claimed three wickets to complete the rout and win by 118 runs, with 35 balls still remaining.
In the second match in Southampton, it was Hampshire who elected to put their visitors in to bat first. Essex got off to a blazing start, with Dan Lawrence dismissed at the halfway point for 70 off 33 balls with 127 on the board.
The momentum slowed as Essex lost wickets consistently and despite Feroze Khushi's 61 from 37 and Daniel Sams' late unbeaten 30, they could only get to 209-7, a disappointment given their flying start.
John Turner, who has risen to prominence in the Blast and was one of the recent wildcard picks for defending Hundred champions Trent Rockets, returned excellent figures of 4-0-19-3.
In response, Vince again got his side off to a solid start but wickets fell around him. When he departed for 76 off 42, 72 were still needed in 38 deliveries with five wickets remaining.
Embed from Getty ImagesJames Fuller played a blinder, scoring 57 off just 29, alongside Benny Howell who finished unbeaten on 34 from 18 as Hampshire completed the double with four balls to spare.
Second t20 Blast 2023 Finals Day semi final - Somerset vs Surrey
The two sides who looked set to be battling for the top two positions in the South Group, until Hampshire pipped Surrey to second place at the death, will meet again in the second semi final.
Surrey count themselves of one of just two sides to have beaten Somerset in the Blast this season, having defeated the South Group winners at Taunton. Somerset, though, avenged that loss in the reverse fixture at the Oval.
At Taunton, Somerset decided to have Surrey bat first and did well in general to keep the visitors relatively quiet. Will Jacks was the star, scoring 60 off 43 with four fours and four sixes. It looked like Surrey were looking at around 175-180 when Jamie Smith was dismissed with 16 balls to go with the score 147-7.
Chris Jordan, though, struck 36 from just 12 deliveries to boost the away side up to 195-9. Ben Green, who is the tournament's current top wicket-taker, took 4-33 from his four while Josh Davey contributed 4-0-32-3.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn reply, Somerset got off to a solid start despite the early dismissals of Will Smeed and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Tom Banton and Tom Abell got the hosts to 99-2 at halfway, looking well-placed for another win.
Abell was out next ball for 39 and Banton followed soon after for 53 from 37. Those two wickets sparked a collapse, with only Ben Green (18 from 12) and Matt Henry at number 11 making double figures.
The chief destroyer was Sam Curran, who took 5-26 in his four overs to drive his way through the Somerset lineup. Gus Atkinson contributed 4-0-19-2, while Jordan picked up two wickets. Sunil Narine, though, conceded 55 in his four.
Again, the winner of the toss elected to field as Somerset were put in by Surrey. Again, Smeed fell early but Banton was in top form. Kohler-Cadmore provided support, before he fell for 39 from 23.
Embed from Getty ImagesBanton's quality innings ended towards the end of the 18th over, with Curran taking a caught and bowled to dismiss him for 84 off just 44 with seven fours and five sixes. Green was the one to also offer support, ending unbeaten on 40 from 24 as Somerset finished 208-5.
Laurie Evans departed early before Narine followed soon after for a quickfire 16. Jacks and Curran then put on 62 for the third wicket as Surrey looked to be going well in their pursuit of the target.
Jacks was dismissed by Ish Sodhi for 50 off just 26, with Surrey losing 1-3 in six balls to swing the momentum towards the visitors. Jamie Overton threatened with some aggressive strokeplay before he went for 30 off 15 with 73 required from 35.
When Curran went for 47 off 36, the Surrey hopes went with him and the hosts eventually reached 190-9, 18 short of the Somerset total, despite another cameo from Jordan. New Zealand internationals Henry and Sodhi took 8-0-63-7 between them.
Notably, Narine is set to miss out for Surrey, having chosen to remain in America for Major League Cricket, the Texas-based franchise t20 tournament that has just started.
He was set to play for Los Angeles Knight Riders in the opening MLC match, fly back to England for Finals Day before almost immediately heading back to Texas to continue with LAKR's campaign.
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