The latest edition of The Queen’s Cup took place at Guards Polo Club, with King Power Foxes claiming the title. The win gave Facundo Pieres his third consecutive Queen’s Cup title, even though he played with a different team this year (he won the last two editions with Zacara).
However, this year’s tournament also stood out for other reasons:
– There were fewer sponsors compared to previous years and less people attended the grand finale.
– Guillermo “Sapo” Caset played two semi-finals in one day: he lost the first with his team Talandracas against King Power Foxes, but won the second, where he played for Dubai instead of an injured Adolfo Cambiaso against UAE. Playing two semi-finals in one day at this level of polo is a very unusual feat.
– The 2015 tournament introduced a new format of play. Some teams went straight through to the quarterfinals, while others had to play a knockout round. Some say that this format favours certain teams, while others support the format as it gives more teams an opportunity to play.
– Dubai uncharacteristically lost their first game by several goals (13-16 vs. UAE). They also lost their last league game against King Power Foxes. However, they still managed to reach the final. Coincidence or good planning by Cambiaso?
– Pablo Mac Donough lost the semi-final with his team UAE, but still played the deciding match; he replaced Cambiaso in the final.
– It is agreed that one of the most outstanding features of the event was that not a single game was played in the rain; the only time rain affected the tournament was when Sifani faced Somerton, where play was delayed due to the weather. When play started, however, the rain had stopped.
– Facundo Pieres was named MVP; he was also the top goal scorer of the tournament, converting 43 goals. The top-scoring amateur was José Araya Jr. with 12 goals.
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