After months of preparation for the Barcelona edition of the America's Cup and after multiple regattas since August, the definitive stage finally arrives. Emirates Team New Zealand and Ineos Britannia begin the competition final this Saturday.
The New Zealanders face the final as title defenders, while the British look at the trophy known as the Auld Mug as the trophy of British origin that the United Kingdom has never managed to win.
Since the competition began in 1851, it was held by the New York Yacht Club for 132 years, until it lost it in 1983 to Australia. Since then, only teams from the United States, Switzerland, and New Zealand have won the Cup.
Thus, the British look at this final as an opportunity to win for the first time this trophy that originated on their coast. The New Zealanders, for their part, face the final with the will to revalidate the title, which would open the possibility for the current organizers of the competition to bet on Barcelona again for the next edition.
The final match race will feature a maximum of up to 13 races, in which the team that first achieves seven victories will win. The winner of each regatta will add one point, and the victor will become the defender of what will be the 38th America's Cup. And the America's Cup is a regatta where there is no second place; as it has been for more than 170 years, you either win or you lose.