13th Valartis Bank Snow Polo World Cup Kitzbühel 2015 Final
Team DWB Holding formed by Sebastian Schneberger, Philipp de Groot and Valentin Novillo Astrada have won Kitzbühel. As enthusiastic follower and succesful polista, Sebastian Schneberger has participated this tournament since eight years. For him, it is the second victory in Kitzbühel. With a score of 8,5:4 team Kitzbühel Country Club/Transgourmet could not beat Schneberger’s team. Under blue skies and sunshine, a full house and enthusiastic fans, this event could not have turned better, a great success for the organiser Lifestyle Events.
The game started with DWB Holding leading the game straight from the beginning and this leadership continued to grow. The sensational player Valentin Novillo Astrada was the highlight of the game, with his quick and precise technique. The Dutch Philipp de Groot bravely played in spite of a leg injury and was selected as Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
The subsidiary final was played between team Bernd Gruber and Tom Tailor, resulting on a win for the first team by 5:4. Both polo amazons Eva Brühl and Steffi von Pock with the Argentinean Adrian Laplacette put up a great fight resulting on the defeat of Tom Tailor formed by Uwe Schröder, Gastón Maíquez and the young talent from Hamburg Heinrich Dumrath. The match for the fifth place between Audi and Valartis Bank finished with a score of 7,5:5, a victory for team Audi. The first two games of Sunday Finals were very close matches where the players put up a tough fight.
Referee Caspar West from the Beaufort Polo Club, England: “The Snow Polo Tournament here in Kitzbühel has become an obliged date of the snow polo season. All the teams wish to win here which raises many emotions. All the players set themselves under pressure and gave their best. When this produces the best polo possible, we are satisfied. We really enjoyed first class polo today. Kitzbühel 2015 was great fun and great polo.”
Tito Gaudenzi, team captain of Valartis Bank: “Exceptional teams met here in Kitzbühel. We reached a higher level of polo in this new edition than ever before. Approximately 15.000 spectators have witnessed the matches. We are very happy with the absolutely positive feedback from our sponsors. All of them have already announced their participation for next year.”
The celebrities Hansi Hinterseer, Kai Pflaume and Ireen Sheer visited the polo event this weekend. The three of them are recognised polo fans. Local and international media have widely reported and accompanied the Snow Polo World Cup worldwide. Sky TV has broadcasted parts of the finals from Sunday and they intend to keep in contact with the sport of polo, becoming one of the first broadcasters to support the sport. This new media partner could raise 8.000 Euro in a charity auction, as it was announced during the gala dinner on Saturday night.
The participating teams of the 13th Valartis Bank Snow Polo World Cup 2015:
Team Valartis Bank (+11)
Stefan Proietti / Andreas Bihrer (+1)
Matthias Vial (+7)
Tito Gaudenzi (+3)
Team Tom Tailor (+13)
Uwe Schröder (+1)
Heinrich Dumrath (+4)
Gastón Maíquez (+8)
Team KCC / Transgourmet (+10)
Henk van Druten (+1)
Maurice van Druten (+3)
Mathias Maiquez (+6)
Team Bernd Gruber (+11)
Steffi von Pock (+1)
Eva Brühl (+3)
Adrian Laplacette jr. (+7)
Team Audi (+10)
Estelle Wagner (+1)
Patrick Maleitzke (+4)
Tatu Gomez Romero (+5)
Team DWB Holding (+10)
Sebastian Schneberger (+2)
Philip de Groot (+2)
Valentin Novillo Astrada (+6)