The team won the semifinal and went on to the final.

[Kumarc]

The team won the semifinal and went on to the final.

Is the usage of "went on to" correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

The team won the semi-final and went on through to the final.

I've made it grammatically correct above. However, it's not necessary to use the second half. It goes without saying that if someone wins a semi-final, the next match they play with be the final.

Is the usage of "went on to" correct?

No. Use "went through to".

 

[jutfrank]

Here's how to use 'go on' in the context of a sports competition:

They won the semi-final comfortably and went on to lift the cup.

 

[Tarheel]

The team won the semifinal and went on to the final.

Is the usage of "went on to" correct?

I don't have a problem with "went on to the final". It would most likely be said in the following way (more or less).

The Tar Heels beat UCLA. They will be playing Villanova in the final.

 

[Skrej]

I agree with Tarheel. The original is fine in AmE. This may be one of those AmE vs. BrE differences, but it's fairly common to use 'go on to' in this way in AmE.

It's not a perfect match since it's not a sporting context, but the usage is as in definition #6., and to some extent #5.

Here are some examples.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think any of us are saying that 'go on' doesn't make sense or is ungrammatical. What emsr2d2 means is that in the context of progressing to the next round of a tournament, the verb is 'go through'.

 

[Skrej]

Yes, but what I'm saying is that in the same context, 'go on' is natural in AmE. Conversely, 'go through' sounds very unnatural in AmE in the context of tournament progression.

Again, I think it's just a variant difference.