Two teams remain in the quest for the Cartier Queen’s Cup after Scone Polo defeated Monterosso Polo Team 11-8 and UAE Polo Team bested their fellow UAE Polo Team II 13-10. All attention now turns to Sunday at Guards Polo Club when the two teams meet in the final to determine the champion of the prestigious Cartier Queen’s Cup.
Looking to recapture the Cartier Queen’s Cup he won in his debut in 2019, David Paradice leads his Scone Polo team back to the final alongside Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, with Isidro Strada. With their only loss coming in a close loss to Monterosso Polo Team in league play after receiving two yellow cards in the sixth chukka, Scone Polo has been poised to reach the final since then, holding the largest goal differential of any team by scoring 65 goals and conceding just 49 in the tournament. Despite having Adolfo Cambiaso on the roster, Scone Polo has scored by committee with the trio all scoring over 19 goals. Teenager Poroto Cambiaso holds the team lead in field goals with 14, one more than his father for bragging rights. However, shooting accuracy from both the penalty line and the field have been crucial to Scone Polo’s success, ranking third and fourth respectively.
Returning to high-goal play at Guards Polo Club, the UAE Polo Team organization took the tournament by storm, capturing two of the four spots in the semifinals with the HH Sheikha Maitha team emerging on top. Her return to play after missing the first five contests ignited the UAE Polo Team to capture the hard-fought victory. Providing one of the more formidable duos in the tournament in Polito Pieres and Tomas Beresford, UAE Polo Team leads all teams with 72 goals in large part to an accurate attack from open play. Combining for 60 of the 72 goals, Pieres and Beresford are both shooting above 50% to produce a relentless pressure on opposing defenses. The lone Achilles heel for UAE Polo Team has been their penalty shooting, ranking in the bottom half in conversions, but they have consistently won the open play battle to match Scone Polo’s 5-1 record.
Sunday’s final provides an intriguing match-up between two teams who have generated success in remarkably similar ways. Controlling possession has been a common component of each team’s strategy and it begins from the throw-in where UAE Polo Team ranks first, and Scone Polo ranks third. Determined runs down the field have placed opponents in compromising positions resulting in fouls and penalty opportunities, with no two teams collecting more fouls. However, in close games UAE Polo Team has tended to simply outscore the other team, while Scone Polo has relied on a proficient defense to protect any lead and create an interesting dynamic to keep an eye on for the team that grabs the lead first.
After falling short in 2020, Adolfo Cambiaso will look to claim the Cartier Queen’s Cup for the first time with son Poroto, adding to a growing list of titles the father-son duo has accumulated in just a short time, while UAE Polo Team seek their place on top, led by Polito Pieres and Englishman Tomas Beresford. No matter the result, Sunday’s final at 15:30 will be must-watch polo in one of the most anticipated matches of the year.