3:38 AM Sat 5 Dec 2009 GMT
The 2009 World Match Championship is at stake here on morning 4, of the Monsoon Cup.
Australian Torvar Mirsky and his MRT crew are number two ranked on the World Match Racing Tour leader board and are 12 points behind New Zealander Adam Minoprio and his Emirates Team New Zealand BlackMatch Racing Team.
If Mirsky is eliminated in the Monsoon Cup quarter finals then Minoprio cannot be beaten and he becomes the World Match Racing Champion.
At the moment Mirsky is down 0-2 against the defending Monsoon Cup champion, the America's Cup and World Match Racing Tour veteran Peter Gilmour.
If Mirsky loses this match and Adam Minoprio, currently on match point to advance to the semi-finals (2-0) wins his battle with Mathieu Richard, then Minoprio is the new World Champion.
Minoprio has his game face on... he nailed the start and was two lengths ahead on the left.
Richard was on the right. The two boats came back fast with Richard having gained on the right. After contact at the top mark and Minoprio was given a penalty; Richard a red flag, meaning he had an immediate penalty because he won control in the clash.
Minoprio extinguished his penalty and went on to win the match. Dockside the Blackmatch skipper was calm, he said 'We were feeling the pressure a little before that last match. The current is very hard to read, its varying with the tide and there are swirls and eddies. You have watch the match ahead of you to see who does best, left or right and then it might not mean much anyway.
Mirsky beat Gilmour in the third race, so its now 1-2.
Mirsky has to win the next match in order to earn a fifth and final match that he will also have to win.
Peter Gilmour will then need to win the Monsoon Cup in order to get a Silver Medal.
Mirsky has to finish sixth or worse in order to lose contention second place. Ben Ainslie also has a sniff at second place if he wins the Monsoon Cup.
The tension on Mirsky boat is palpable. They have to win the next two races to keep their world championship hopes alive. If Gilmour wins then Adam Minoprio is the new World Champion.
Previous New Zealand World Match Racing Champions are Chris Dickson, Russell Coutts and Dean Barker
Ben Ainslie has eliminated Damien Iehl 3-0
Adam Minoprio has eliminated Mathieu Richard 3-0
Phil Robertson is 2-1 against Sebastien Col
Peter Gilmour is leading Torvar Mirsky 1-2
by Rob Kothe
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