St. Moritz, 31 January 2015. In a thrilling match set against the backdrop of the
magnificent Engadine Valley below a bright blue sky, Team Cartier went on to victory
against Team Badrutt’s Palace and is set as the first participant of tomorrow’s finals.
The day had awoken to excellent ground conditions after a bitingly cold night.

 

In the first chukker of the Etihad Cup, Richard Le Poer Beresford (Badrutt’s Palace) and pro
Chris Hyde (Cartier) shot their teams to scores level at 2 : 2. Then, Team Cartier, thanks to a
superior Chris Hyde, got ahead of their opponent and increased their lead to 3 : 5. But Team
Badrutt’s Palace, who on Friday had lost against Team BMW with just half a goal difference,
were not ready to accept defeat.
Quick and decisive actions, notably by Richard Le Poer Beresford (+6) and James Harper
(+6), brought the scores back to a tie. The score board showed 5 : 5 at the start of the fourth
chukker—which, so far, has been the most fascinating chukker of the tournament. With the
prospect of an even score at the end of the regular chukkers, a fifth chukker and a so called
«golden goal» was about to decide on which team made it into the finals. Time was running
out…Once again, in the last 30 seconds after the first bell, merely 10 seconds before the
extra time, the incredible Chris Hyde scored a power goal bringing the title defendant, Team
Cartier, into the finals.
The second finalist was decided in the match for the Kempinski Trophy between the teams
Trois Pommes and BMW. Both teams had played in close matches the day before—Team
Trois Pommes with the two Swiss Cédrid Schweri and Thomas «Tutti» Wolfensberger and
Argentine pros Pepe Riglos and Piki Diaz Alberdi, as well as Team BMW with the two pros
Dario Musso (+7) and Lucas Labat (+6), beautifully in tune with each other, the German
Paolo Netzsch, and the Italian team captain Rommy Gianni.
Team BMW entered the battle for the Kempinski Trophy fiercely, being, at the same time, the
decisive match for the qualifications into the finals. By the start of the third chukker, BMW
had gained a lead of 3 : 0; one very elegant goal having been scored by team captain
Rommy Gianni (+1). Early on in the third chukker, Team Trois Pommes was presented with
the opportunity to close the gap. Piki Diaz Alberdi, six-time winner of the St. Moritz
tournament, scored two 30-yarders into the undefended goal and, for a few hopeful
moments, at the score of 2 : 4, it seemed that Team Trois Pommes might win back a tie after
all. But the duo Musso-Labat, playing supremely well, left the Swiss-Argentine team no room
for manoeuvre and increased their team’s lead to a final score of 6 : 4 for Team BMW.

Two very strong teams will be facing each other in tomorrow’s finals—and they won’t be
giving way easily. Exhilarating anticipation for yet another day of great polo at the Snow Polo
World Cup St. Moritz—hopefully to a packed house again, as today