The final four of the 2026 Congressional Cup is down to three previous winners and one relative newcomer — with the semifinals, initially slated to take place on Sunday ahead of the championship match, getting started a day early.
World no. 1 Chris Poole of America, 37; no. 2 Johnie Berntsson of Sweden, 53; defending Congressional Cup champion Eric Monnin of Switzerland, 50, ranked 11th in the world; and No. 3 Cole Trapper of Australia, 23, advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, May 2.
This is the 61st annual Congressional Cup regatta, widely regarded as one of the premier competitions in modern match racing. The Long Beach Yacht Club established the Congressional Cup in 1965, making it the longest-running regatta of its kind in North America. It’s known as the “granddaddy” of match racing — and helped set the standard for world-class match racing across the globe.
Two-time champion Chris Poole maneuvers his American team into position during semifinal action at the Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Spectators watch the Congressional Cup from the Belmont Pier on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Defending champ Eric Monnin’s Swiss team competes in the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Eric Monnin’s Swiss team is right behind Johnnie Berntsson’s Swedish crew during a semifinal match at the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
With defending champion Eric Monnin at the wheel, right, his Swiss team competes in the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach hosts the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, with the downtown skyline in the background. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Umpires watch for contact as Eric Monnin’s Swiss team closely follows Sweden’s Johnnie Berntsson’s crew during a semifinal match at the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Defending champion Eric Monnin skippers his Swiss team during the semifinals of the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Spectators watch as the action brushes up against the Belmont Pier during a semifinal match at the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Poole skippers his crew during the pre-start of the first semifinal match at the Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Umpires watch for contact as Eric Monnin’s French team closely follows Sweden’s Johnnie Berntsson’s boat during a semifinal match at the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Poole’s U.S. team, left, leads the Australian crew skippered by Cole Tapper during a semifinal match at the 61st Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in the waters off Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Two-time champion Chris Poole maneuvers his American team into position during semifinal action at the Congressional Cup on Saturday, May 2, 2026, off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Each year, 10 skippers and their crews descend on Long Beach for the Congressional Cup. Eight are invited to the competition — which is part of the World Match Racing Tour season — while two qualify via the Ficker Cup, which takes place in Long Beach on the weekend preceding the Congressional Cup.
The winner of the Congressional Cup gets to don the Crimson Blazer, similar to the green jacket the winners of golf’s Masters tournament wear.
The first four rounds of the Congressional Cup, which began on Wednesday, sees each team compete against each other in a double round-robin format to determine the final four.
Those semifinalists were determined on Saturday — and there is plenty of pedigree among them.
This is Poole’s eighth Congressional Cup, for example, and he has two Crimson Blazers following his back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024. Berntsson won the Congressional Cup in 2009 and placed second four times in 16 total tries previously. And Monnin won his first Crimson Blazer last year — and is competing in his 12th Congressional Cup.
As for Trapper, this is is third Congressional Cup. He finished third last year.
Typically, the semifinals and finals take place on Sunday. But because of good wind conditions on Saturday, the Congressional Cup started the semis a day early.
Berntsson and Monnin were matched against each other in the first of the best-of-five semifinal match races, while Poole and Trapper are going against each other in the second race.
Berntsson and Poole each took a 2-0 lead over their respective opponents — leaving them one win away from the finals heading into Sunday.