Water polo enthusiasts are in for big time entertainment Dubai later this month when the top eight national sides in the world will contest the Men's Water Polo World League Super Final from June 16-21 at the Hamdan Sports Complex, off the Emirates Road.
The Super Final winner will take home the US$100,000 winner's cheque along with the title of World League winner for 2014.
Of the eight teams competing in the Super Final, three qualified through the European Rounds, with the remaining five qualifying at the Intercontinental Tournament which was held last week in China. The teams competing in the Super Final will be Serbia, Hungary, Montenegro, Australia, the US, Brazil, China and Canada.
The three teams from Europe were decided in mid-April after six rounds of competition commencing in November last year. Defending Super League champions Serbia, along with Hungary and Montenegro won their way to Dubai, and will meet the five top finishers from the Intercontinental Tournament which saw teams from Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania battle it out for the chance to contest the Super Final.
With eight teams contesting the six-day Intercontinental Tournament (Australia, US, Brazil, China, Japan, Canada, Kazakhstan, along with China's second team who were ineligible) only two teams would miss out on a Super Final place so the competition was tough. The first four qualifiers were Australia, the US, Brazil and China, who had secured their places by Day 5.
By Day 6 Japan was yet to score a win but was still in with a chance if they could score an upset win over the US. However the US proved too strong and Japan missed a spot in the Super Final after losing to the US 10-8.
Canada and Kazakhstan then had to fight it out for the final spot, with Canada prevailing by just one point, winning 9 goals to 8. Brazil caused an upset in their final round, defeating Australia 9-6 to take a place in the Tournament final against the US, but couldn't repeat that performance, losing to the US in the gold medal match 7 -11. Australia took the bronze with a convincing win over China, 16-8.
The tight finishes in all games promises a gripping Super Final series. While defending champions and five-time title holders Serbia will be hot favourites, followed by the perennially strong Hungary and Montenegro, the close scores in all the qualifying matches in both the European groups and the Intercontinental Tournament means that no team will have an easy route to the final.
Source: Khaleej Times