Cartier and BMW though to final of St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow

Cartier and BMW though to final of St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow

Following BMW’s success this afternoon, they will face Cartier in tomorrow’s final for the Cartier Trophy. The last three adrenaline-fuelled days have had spectators on the edge of their seats, with four of the six leagues matches going into extra time, proving how well matched all of the teams were this year.

With Ralph Lauren winning this morning, they were still in contention for a place in the final. Had BMW lost to Cartier this afternoon, three teams – Sal. Oppenheim, BMW and Ralph Lauren – would have been on level pegging and the umpires would have had to work out the second finalist by goal difference. With Cartier already winning their first two league games, they were already through to the final – irrespective of whether they won or lost this afternoon.

So, tomorrow we will see three British professionals face three Argentine professionals. Both patrons – Andreas Knapp Voith for BMW and Jonathan Munro Ford for Cartier – made their debut here in St Moritz this year. Munro Ford has one more game up his sleeve in terms of experience, having played all three of the league games while Knapp Voith sat out his first game due to injury.

Today’s loss for Cartier will no doubt spur them on to play an even stronger game tomorrow. The six-goal Argentines – Bautista Ortiz de Urbina, Lucas Labat and Ignacio Tillous – have strong tactics and with fast ponies underneath them the British boys will have to work hard to shut down their play. Equally, BMW will need to keep a watchful eye on the Chris Hyde, Max Charlton and Nacho Gonzalez combination. Hyde, who is a nine-goaler in the arena and no stranger to the snow, is one of the most experienced players in the tournament. Backed up by the speed of Charlton and accuracy of Gonzalez, they are a hard formation to crack.

At 11am, Ralph Lauren will play Sal. Oppenheim in the subsidiary final. The two sides faced each other this morning in a very close battle. Despite Sal. Oppenheim losing, there is little between the two teams so it could go either way tomorrow.

Sunday 27 January

11am (Deutsche Bank Trophy):
Sal. Oppenheim vs Ralph Lauren

Sal. Oppenheim (18): Richard Davis 0; Jonny Good 5; Eduardo Novillo Astrada 9; Tarquin Southwell 4
Ralph Lauren (18): Michael Bickford 1; Jamie Morrison 4; Nacho Figueras 6; Marcos Araya 7

2pm (Cartier Trophy):
BMW vs Cartier

BMW (18): Jan-Erik Franck (replacing Andreas Knapp Voith) 0; Bautista Ortiz de Urbina 6; Lucas Labat 6; Ignacio Tillous 6
Cartier (18): Jonathan Munro Ford 0; Max Charlton 6; Nacho Gonzalez 6; Chris Hyde 6