First title defense after 20 years - Team Intocast rounds off the perfect polo-weekend with a win
Until late at night the guest and players of the Polo Player’s Gala on Saturday evening danced at the VIP-tent. After a delicious four course menu the band Cookies and Cream created an electric atmosphere for the 600 guests. Fast beats only started the evening. Best mood on the dancefloor, also with DJ Erok, who managed to keep the heat up with some latino remixes.
The teams of Casablanca and World Polo still were fit to compete on Sunday morning. The decision of that highly competitive game was just made in the last minute by the match-winning goal by American Nic Roldan, who plays the highest handicap of the tournament (+9). In the end Team World Polo League wins the game for the 7th place with 7-6.
Team BOOOST and team Engel & Völkers took a while to gather momentum. Peter Cromms team then started the “boost” in the second chukker and wins the Kitzbühel Country Club Cup for the 3rd place with 6-2.
The Casablanca Cup was played by team Veuve Clicquot and team Bendura Bank. The 1.5-goal residue because of their better handicap was no problem for the French team Veuve Clicquot, they already were in front after the first chukker. In the other chukkers team Bendura Bank fought back, but Patrick Paillol alone already scored 5 goals in this match for his team and secured them a 7 to 5.5 win. This means the team is placed 5th in this years Bendura Bank Snow Polo World Cup.
The final promised to be thrilling and it didn’t disappoint. After the first chukker the scoreboard showed a 1-1 between last years winner Intocast and Bentley Berlin. Up until the last chukker Melissa Ganzis team Bentley was in front by only one goal. The last chukker was thus the one that was decisive: Matthias Normann, Micky Duggan and Martin Donovan never lost their sight on defending their title and managed to equalize in the last chukker to a 6-6. Almost with the last whistle Martin Donovan scored the match-winning goal and got voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. Also the Best Playing Pony was chosen from the winning team Intocast: the 10 year old mare Carta.
Results Sunday, 14th January 2024
10.30 AM 7th & 8th place: Casablanca vs. World Polo League – 6-7
11.45 AM Kitzbühel Country Club Cup – 3rd and 4th place:
BOOOST vs. Engel & Völkers – 6-2
1.00 PM Casablanca Cup Finals (Runners Up) – 5th and 6th place:
Veuve Clicquot vs. Bendura Bank – 7-5,5
2.15 PM Bendura Bank Finals – 1st and 2nd place: Intocast vs. Bentley Berlin – 7-6
Winner 2024: Intocast (TC Matthias Normann +1 AUT, Micky Duggan +5 ARG, Martin Donovan +6 ARG // Team HCP: +12)
2nd place: Bentley (TC Melissa Ganzi +0 USA, Martin Jauregui +5 ARG, Alejandro Novillo Astrada +7 ARG // Team HCP: +12)
3rd place: BOOOST (TC Peter Cromm +0 GER, Nicolas Ruiz Guiñazu +5 ESP, Adrian Laplacette Jr. +7 ARG // Team HCP: +12)
4th place: Engel & Völkers (TC Johannes Wimmer +0 GER, Agustin Kronhaus +5 ARG, Manolo Fernandez Llorente +7 ARG // Team HCP: +12)
5th place: Veuve Clicquot (TC Sebastian Aguetan +1 FRA, Matthieu Delfosse +5 FRA, Patrick Paillol +6 FRA // Team HCP: +12)
6th place: Bendura Bank (TC Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius/ Niclas Johansson +1 SA/SE, Pelayo Berazadi +6 ESP, Tito Gaudenzi +3 CH // Team HCP: +10)
7th place: World Polo League (TC Maria Curtichs +0 ESP, Santos Bollini +2 USA, Nic Roldan +9 USA // Team HCP: +11)
8th place: Casablanca (TC Glenn Lostritto +0 USA, Juan Redlich +5 ARG, Naco Taverna +6 ARG // Team HCP: +11)
Best playing pony: Carta (Team Intocast)
MVP: Martin Donovan (Team Intocast)