The Meier brothers at last!
Laplacette sweeps the honours in Gstaad
Press release – Gstaad, Sunday 23 August 2026
It took four finals for the Meier brothers to finally lift the giant watch, the trophy of the Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad. Playing under the colours of Albinati Aeronautics, the two Swiss players defeated Kielder Agro Group (8–7) at the end of a final that remained undecided for much of the match. Alongside them, Adrian Laplacette did even more than win: Best Professional Player, leading scorer of the tournament and rider of the Best Playing Pony, the Argentine almost swept the board.
That was essentially the feeling shared by the Meier brothers and Adrian Laplacette at the end of a final that reflected the tournament as a whole: fiercely contested from start to finish. After Saturday’s two semi-finals had both been decided by a single goal, one of them in overtime, it was difficult to imagine the final being any different. And it wasn’t.
Albinati Aeronautics and Kielder Agro Group remained locked together for much of the match. It was 2–2 after the first chukker and 3–3 at half-time, with neither side able to gain a real advantage. It was not until the end of the third period that Albinati finally found an opening and established the first significant gap of the match (6–4).
Kielder, of course, had not said their last word. Led by a very active Juan Pepa, whose long-range hitting from midfield regularly put the opposing defence under pressure, Saturday’s golden-goal semi-final winners came back to threaten Albinati once again in the final period. But this time Fabio and Luca Meier’s team held onto their advantage, preserving until the final whistle the slender one-goal margin worth a Gold Cup: 8–7.
It was also a victory that rewarded perseverance. For Adrian Laplacette, this was his third appearance in Gstaad. The Argentine had already experienced the bitter taste of losing a final here two years ago. The Meiers had been chasing this trophy for even longer.
“I really wanted to win it. For me, it was my third time playing here and I had already lost a final two years ago. So to finally win it is incredible. And the guys had already played four finals: at the fourth attempt, they finally did it! It shows that you have to keep trying, keep going.”
A philosophy reminiscent of the famous maxim attributed to William the Silent: “It is not necessary to hope in order to undertake, nor to succeed in order to persevere.” This time, perseverance paid off.
Finally the Gold Cup… and almost everything else
And as this was very much Adrian Laplacette’s day, the individual honours were added to the trophy. The Argentine was named Best Professional Player of the tournament, while Ombucito El Padrino, whom he rode in the second half of the third chukker of the final, received the Best Playing Pony award as the outstanding horse of the final.
With 17 goals over the course of the tournament, Laplacette also finished as the leading scorer of this edition, ahead of Gonzalito Pieres with 16. A statistic that sums up his influence throughout the week and adds even greater significance to his first victory in Gstaad.
On the other side, Juan Pepa did not leave empty-handed. Outstanding throughout the tournament, particularly for his defensive work and long clearances from the back position, the Kielder Agro Group captain was named Best Amateur Player.
Pieres salvages third place
A few hours earlier, Gonzalito Pieres had ended his first appearance in Gstaad with a victory. Beaten by the narrowest of margins in Saturday’s semi-final by eventual winners Albinati after a remarkable 11–10 battle, the three-time Argentine Open winner led Hublot to third place with a 7–5 victory over Gstaad Palace.
Trailing 2–1 after the first chukker, Hublot gradually took control, moving 4–3 and then 6–4 ahead before maintaining their two-goal advantage until the final whistle. Once again, Pieres was the driving force behind his team, scoring five of Hublot’s seven goals, including one penalty.
Hublot thus repeated their opening-day victory over the same opponents and allowed their Argentine star to leave Gstaad on the podium. With 16 goals in three matches, Gonza more than lived up to expectations on his first appearance in the Saanenland.
Laplacette_R…
The favourites fell, matches were decided by the finest of margins, the final by a single goal, and the identity of the tournament’s leading scorer remained undecided until the final day: the 2026 edition maintained the suspense right to the very end.
And around the cancha, the atmosphere matched the sporting spectacle. Bright sunshine, a large crowd and the green mountains of the Saanenland as a backdrop: after the concerns caused by occasionally capricious Alpine weather, tournament president Pierre Genecand could finally relax. The one major concern he had expressed before the event had disappeared when it mattered most.
And so the Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad 2026 comes to an end. Four days of sport, suspense, horses and encounters, with that special atmosphere that makes Gstaad a place people come to as much for the polo as for everything surrounding it.
The horses can now leave this unique cancha, set alongside Gstaad Airport. But the dates are already set for 19–22 August 2027, for an edition that is certain to be special: the 30th. Thirty editions of history — and already the promise of a new chapter waiting to be written.
STATISTICS
THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF
TEAM HUBLOT: Rupert KNAUF – GER, 0, Gonzalo PIERES – ARG, 7 (5 goals, including 1 penalty), Alfonso NERO – ARG, 1 and Bautista BEGUERIE – ARG, 6 (2 goals)
TEAM GSTAAD PALACE: Markus GRAEFF – CH, 0, Thommy GRAEFF – CH, 3 (2 goals), Santiago LOZA – ARG, 7 (3 goals, including 1 penalty) and Facundo KELLY – ARG, 4 (2 goals)
Score progression – Team Hublot: 1-2 / 4-3 / 6-4 / 7-5
FINAL
TEAM ALBINATI AERONAUTICS: Luca MEIER – CH, 1 (1 goal), Fabio MEIER – CH, 1 (1 goal), Adrian LAPLACETTE – ARG, 6 (5 goals, including 2 penalties) and Facundo RETAMAR – ARG, 6 (3 goals)
TEAM KIELDER AGRO GROUP: Juan PEPA – IT, 2 (1 goal), Antonio MANZANO – ARG, 0, Manuel FERNANDEZ LLORENTE – ARG, 6 (3 goals) and Horacio FERNANDEZ LLORENTE – ARG, 6 (3 goals)
Score progression – Albinati Aeronautics: 2-2 / 3-3 / 6-4 / 8-7
MVP AMATEUR : Juan Pepa
MVP PROFESSIONAL: Adrian Laplacette
BEST PLAYING PONY: Ombucito El Padrino – bay gelding, born 18 October 2015, bred by El Ombucito S.A. – Sire: Final Meeting; Dam: Ombucito Pasajera – played by Adrian Laplacette in the second half of the third chukker.