Ian Williams sailing with Richard Sydenham, Jon Gundersen and Gerry Mitchell won the inaugural Macao Match Cup.
Williams’ Pindar by Manuport Logistics Team defeated New Zealand’s Nick Egnot-Johnson and his Knots Racing crew 3-1 in a tense final at the opening event of the 2025 World Match Racing Tour. The win continues the British skippers’ winning streak following his eighth match racing world championship win in Shenzhen last month.
USA’s Chris Poole’s Riptide Racing team finished third after defeating Gavin Brady/ True Blue Racing 2-0 in the Petit-final.
The day opened with the completion of the final match in both semi-finals, with Egnot-Johnson securing a 3-0 over USA’s Gavin Brady, and Williams with a straight 3-0 over the USA’s Chris Poole.
As the two match racing world champions came together in the final in a repeat of last month’s tour final in Shenzhen, it was Williams with the first win crossing the line with a solid 100m lead in the first-to-three points match.
Things heated up in the second match with a pre-start collision forcing a penalty on Williams. On the final run to the finish, Williams slowed to set a trap for Egnot-Johnson, but the Kiwi skipper was able to gybe and stay clear to even the match at 1-1.
After another tense pre-start in match 3, Williams was able to carve a narrow lead by the final mark and a slow spinnaker hoist from Egnot-Johnson allowed Williams to take the score 2-1.
The final race was an all or nothing chance for Egnot-Johnson who couldn’t afford a mistake.
In the pre-start, Egnot-Johnson was in a confident position but Williams used the race committee boat as a cover to position themselves for the start.
On this first upwind leg, Williams gained a lift to the right side of the course, and was able to point higher to lead around the mark less than a boat length ahead.
Williams built his lead to round the final mark with a solid five boat length lead to cross the finish line with a 120m lead and clinch the first Macao Match Cup title and a USD30,000 prize cheque.
“An amazing win for our Pindar by Manuport Logistics team” commented Williams “We have been able to sail well all week and I’m delighted for us to come away with the win at also the first ever Macao Match Cup.”
