Final four determined at the 2025 Detroit Cup
by Bayview Yacht Club 24 Aug 2025 00:52 BST
21-25 August 2025
Today in moderate to brisk conditions sailed in front of the Bayview Yacht Club on the Detroit River, the final four teams were determined for tomorrow's battle for the 2025 edition of the International Match Race for the Detroit Cup, a Grade 2 event on the World Match Racing Tour.
After two Round Robins and a first-to-three-point Quarter Final stage among eight teams, Ryan Seago (USA), Tom Picot (AUS), James Pinder (GBR), and Christian Prendergast (USA) have qualified for the Semi-Finals of this final stop of the USA Grand Slam Series.
Round Robin racing started on Thursday and continued on Friday in near-perfect light to moderate conditions throughout both days, with Seago leading the pack on a 13-1 record. In today's slightly breezier conditions, the Quarter-Final pairings were as follows: Seago prevailed against Savannah Taylor (CAN) 3-0, Prendergast defeated Will Donovan (USA) 3-0, Picot beat Megan Thomson (NZL) 3-1, and in a fiery 5-match contest Pinder bested Michael Kirkman (USA) 3-2.
In the Consolation Round Robin, Thomson won 3-0 for 5th place overall, Donovan sailed 2-1 for 6th place, Kirkman won 7th place on a 1-2 record, and Taylor placed 8th on a 0-3 scoreline.
With the breeze building and a packed spectator crowd on the lawns and decks of the Bayview Yacht Club, organizers decided to extend the race course and hold one flight of the Semi-Finals, pairing Seago with Pinder and Prendergast with Picot. In the high-speed Ultimate 20s used in this event, the teams had intense pre-start battles, short but fast upwind legs, and thrilling downwind legs due in part to the prevailing 2-3 knot current of the Detroit River.
Drawing first blood in this first flight was Seago, followed by Picot, with both earning their first point in their quest to win two more tomorrow and advance to the Finals. The current forecast looks promising with another day of perfect 8-12 knot westerlies ready to produce more exciting match race action here in Detroit.
"We could not be happier about the great conditions and the outstanding efforts made by the race committee, umpires, support staff, and the competitors themselves to complete 77 matches held in 3 days," said Dr. Gary Shoemaker, Chairman of this year's Detroit Cup. "We're looking forward to one more day of the same tomorrow, and who will be crowned the new champion of this year's Detroit Cup?"
Racing format updates and results are posted at www.matchracingresults.com/2025/detroit-cup
For other information, visit the event website at www.detroitcup.com/index.cfm.