LONG BEACH, Calif. (May 2, 2026) – The stage is set for a thrilling finale at the 61st Congressional Cup as the final four teams were confirmed today on the penultimate day of racing in Long Beach, CA. After the completion of the double round robin qualifying series, Cole Tapper and his Kairos Racing team from Sydney, Australia secured the last remaining semi-final berth to join USA’s Chris Poole, Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson, and Switzerland’s Eric Monnin in the championship event’s knockout stage.
By day’s end, the semi-finals were already delivering high drama, with USA’s Chris Poole/Riptide Racing taking a commanding 2-0 lead over Tapper, while Berntsson also surged ahead 2-0 against Monnin, leaving both trailing teams facing must-win races tomorrow.
With three past Congressional Cup champions already guaranteed their places in the semi-finals after yesterday’s results, all eyes were on the battle for the fourth and final spot. Tapper entered the day needing victories in his last two round robin matches but suffered two defeats, opening the door for Denmark’s Jeppe Borch.
Borch responded brilliantly by defeating defending champion Monnin, leaving himself one win away from forcing a tie with Tapper on ten victories. But French skipper Aurélien Pierroz produced a decisive performance to deny Borch in the final race, sealing Tapper’s passage to the semis.
As overall winner of the qualifying series, Poole earned the right to choose his semi-final opponent and selected Tapper, leaving Monnin to face Berntsson in the second pairing.
Principal Race Officer Randy Smith then launched the opening semi-final races in ideal afternoon sea-breeze conditions. Berntsson struck first against Monnin before extending his lead in race two after the Swiss team suffered a costly spinnaker issue at the leeward gate, ending their challenge and handing Berntsson a dominant advantage.
“It was a hard race and we had to push hard,” said Berntsson. “We had a tough tacking duel with Eric and managed to force a penalty before their spinnaker problem. From there, it was fortunately our race to win.”
In the second semi-final, Poole showed why he topped the qualifying stages, taking the opening match before capitalizing on a careless spinnaker drop from Tapper in race two to move within one win of the final.
With both semi-finals now poised at 2-0, the pressure is all on Tapper and Monnin. Each team must win two straight races tomorrow to force deciding matches against two of the most accomplished skippers in Congressional Cup history.
Semi-final racing resumes tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. local time at Belmont Pier to be followed by the petit-final and final. All competing teams will also feature in a separate fleet race and parade of sail. Spectator viewing is free at the Congressional Cup Stadium.
For more information, visit www.thecongressionalcup.com and www.wmrt.com.
CONTACT
LBYC Race Office
Cameron MacLaren: raceoffice@lbyc.org
Instagram: @lbycconcup
Facebook: @congressionalcup
World Match Racing Tour:
Contact: media@wmrt.com
Instagram: @worldmatchracingtour
Linked In: World Match Racing Tour
Facebook: @worldmatchracingtour
ABOUT LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB
Established in 1929, Long Beach Yacht Club is recognized as a leading organization in the international yachting community for its commitment to excellence in yacht racing and innovation in race management. In addition to hosting the Congressional Cup and numerous other local, national and international yachting events, the Club’s member families enjoy a year-round calendar of social, yachting and junior activities at its beautiful clubhouse on the shore of Alamitos Bay. www.lbyc.org
ABOUT WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body –World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors. www.wmrt.com
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ABOUT LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB
Established in 1929, Long Beach Yacht Club is recognized as a leading organization in the international yachting community for its commitment to excellence in yacht racing and innovation in race management. In addition to hosting the Ficker Cup and Congressional Cup and numerous other local, national and international yachting events, the Club’s member families enjoy a year-round calendar of social, yachting and junior activities at its beautiful clubhouse on the shore of Alamitos Bay. www.lbyc.org
ABOUT WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body –World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors. www.wmrt.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]