Long Beach, California served up another riveting day of match racing on 30 April 2026, with the 61st Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup delivering some of the tightest duels of the regatta in the ongoing fight for the coveted Crimson Blazer. Three former champions occupy the top of the leaderboard: two-time winner Chris Poole (USA) leads with 11 wins and just 1 loss, while defending 2025 champion Eric Monnin (SUI) and 2009 winner Johnie Berntsson (SWE) are locked together in second place, both carrying 9-3 records.
A lively afternoon sea breeze set up ideal conditions for close tactical duelling as all ten world-class teams from six nations wrapped up the first round robin stage. Attention has now shifted to the second round robin, where only four teams will advance to Saturday's semi-finals and every result carries real consequences.
Poole's unbeaten run from day one was ended by Berntsson, who posted five victories across the day and has made himself one of the most credible threats to Poole's title bid. Poole remained composed about the setback. "We had a good race with Johnie, but he was just able to get the right side of us and stay ahead," he said. "I don't care about the losses. I only care about who wins the last race of the regatta."
The day also produced one of the regatta's standout moments when Poole took on Oscar Engström, a first-time Congressional Cup competitor, in a finish few watching will forget. Carrying a penalty as he approached the line with the race slipping away, Poole produced a brilliant last-second manoeuvre to offset the infringement before gybing across for the win. "Things weren't looking good," he said. "Then we pulled a rabbit out of the hat."
Monnin gave every indication that the defending champion intends to make the retention of his Crimson Blazer as difficult as possible for the chasing pack, grinding out four hard-fought comeback victories through the day. "We had to work hard today, but we're pleased with our wins," he said. "We had a tough tacking duel with Scotty Dickson, and against Oscar Engström we had to clear a penalty at the finish with almost no room."
Six races remain for each team in the double round robin, and Friday's final qualifying session carries enormous weight as a result. Racing is scheduled off Belmont Pier from 11:30 a.m. local time, with free spectator viewing available from the Congressional Cup Stadium at the end of the pier. The top four teams from the qualifying stage move into the semi-finals, with competition running through to Sunday.
Round Robin 2 produced its own share of compelling storylines. Chris Poole and Australia's Cole Tapper were the session's joint standouts, both finishing with perfect 3-0 records. Poole worked through Engström, Monnin and Scotty Dickson in sequence. Tapper, sailing under the Kairos Racing banner and ranked third in the world, was equally sharp, accounting for Aurélien Pierroz, Engström and Monnin to push firmly into semi-final contention.
Berntsson and Denmark's Jeppe Borch each went 2-1 through the round, sharing the day's second-best record at 67%. Berntsson accounted for Christian Prendergast and Pierroz before falling to Borch in one of the session's more telling results. Borch's route through was less straightforward, beginning with a loss to Dickson before he recovered to beat Prendergast and then Berntsson.
Five competitors ended Round Robin 2 on a single win apiece. France's Ian Garreta got past Dickson but dropped his races against Monnin and Prendergast. Monnin won against Garreta but was beaten by both Poole and Tapper. Fellow Frenchman Aurélien Pierroz claimed his sole victory against Engström. Prendergast's one win came against Garreta, while Dickson's came in his opening match against Borch.
Engström endured the hardest day in the fleet, losing all three of his Round Robin 2 races to Poole, Tapper and Pierroz.
Results Table
| Sailor | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Poole USA | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| Cole Tapper AUS | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| Johnie Berntsson SWE | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| Jeppe Borch DEN | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| Ian Garreta FRA | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| Eric Monnin SUI | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| Aurélien Pierroz FRA | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| Christian Prendergast USA | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| Scotty Dickson USA | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| Oscar Engström SWE | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Poole's 11-1 record gives him a 92% winning rate and a clear buffer at the top of the overall standings after two complete round robins. Monnin and Berntsson are both at 75%, tied for second as the semi-finals draw closer.
| # | Sailor | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Poole USA | 11 | 1 | 92% |
| 2 | Eric Monnin SUI | 9 | 3 | 75% |
| 3 | Johnie Berntsson SWE | 9 | 3 | 75% |
| 3 | Cole Tapper AUS | 8 | 4 | 67% |
| 4 | Jeppe Borch DEN | 6 | 6 | 50% |
| 4 | Oscar Engström SWE | 4 | 8 | 33% |
| 4 | Ian Garreta FRA | 4 | 8 | 33% |
| 4 | Christian Prendergast USA | 4 | 8 | 33% |
| 4 | Scotty Dickson USA | 3 | 9 | 25% |
| 5 | Aurélien Pierroz FRA | 2 | 10 | 17% |
The ten competing teams at the 61st Congressional Cup represent a broad cross-section of the world's leading match racing talent. Chris Poole leads Riptide Racing (World ranking #1), crewed by Joachim Aschenbrenner, Bernardo Freitas, Mal Parker, Lars-Peter Rosendahl and Harry West. Johnie Berntsson skippers the Berntsson Sailing Team (World ranking #2) with Martin Krite, Johan Bäckman, Bjorn Lundgren, Henrik Walderyd and Daniel Wallberg. Cole Tapper campaigns Kairos Racing (World ranking #3) with Max Brennan, Jack Frewin, Nathan Guliksen, George Richardson, Hamish Vass and coach Jordon Reece.
France fields two crews. Ian Garreta helms Med Racing (World ranking #4), crewed by Calixte Benoit, Simon Bertheau, Thibaut Demal, Pierre Garreta, Gaulthier Germain and Vicenç Girodeau. Aurélien Pierroz leads Match Again by Net (World ranking #5) with Paul Dagault, Jules Ducelier, Hugo Feydit, Camille Pfaff and Sebastien Riot. Jeppe Borch's Borch Match Racing (World ranking #6) comprises Bastian Beach, August de la Cour, Thomas Jorgensen, Matias Rossing and Gustav Wantzin.
Christian Prendergast skippers A Team (World ranking #10) with Sam Gilmour, Connor Mashlan, Peter Nicholas, James Prendergast, Mark Spearman and Justin Wong alongside him. Eric Monnin leads the Swiss Match Racing Team (World ranking #11) with Julien Falxa, Maxime Mesnil, Jean Claude Monnin, Marc Monnin, Ute Monnin Wagner and Cyril Schüpbach. Scotty Dickson campaigns Dickson Racing (World ranking #214), crewed by Danny Bailey, Garret Brown, Jackson Mccoy, Cameron Feves and Matt Whitfield. Oscar Engström rounds out the fleet with Team LIROS (World ranking #8), his crew made up of Filip Karlsson, Emil Wolfgang, Zak Merton, Rasmus Alnebeck and Severin Gramm. All rankings reflect the World Sailing Open match racing rankings as at 1 April 2026.
