Denmark’s Jeppe Borch (Borch Match Race Team) and Sweden’s Oscar Engström (Team Liros) made a flying start to the 2026 Bermuda King Edward VII Gold Cup.
With five wins from six matches, the Scandinavian duo are the early frontrunners at the penultimate stage of the 2026 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT).
British skipper Christian Hamilton (Khumbu Racing) has four wins from six races to establish himself among the early contenders, tied in third place with France’s Aurélien Pierroz.
American skipper Chris Pool, the 2026 Tour overall leader, is fifth after three wins from six races.
With eight flights and 32 matches remaining in the round-robin stage, and the top four teams earning direct passage to the quarter-finals, the battle for qualification remains wide open.
This year the iconic International One Design (IOD) boats have been replaced with a Fareast 28R fleet, modified with symmetric spinnakers – replacing the standard asymmetric spinnaker – specifically for match racing.
2026 Bermuda Gold Cup – After Day 1
1= 🇩🇰 Jeppe Borch, DEN – 5pts
1= 🇸🇪 Oskar Engstrom, SWE – 5pts
3= 🇫🇷 Aurelien Pierroz, FRA – 4pts
3= 🇬🇧 Christian Hamilton, GBR – 4pts
5= 🇺🇸 Chris Poole, USA – 3pts
5= 🇸🇪 Johnnie Berntsson, SWE – 3pts
5= 🇫🇷 Pauline Courtois, FRA – 3pts
8= 🇨🇭 Eric Monnin, SUI – 2pts
8= 🇸🇪 Martina Carlsson, SWE – 2pts
8= 🇦🇺 Tom Picot, AUS – 2pts
11= 🇸🇪 Anna Ostling, SWE – 1pt
12= 🇺🇸 Allison Blecher, USA – 0.5pt