It’s not how you start but how you finish, and competitors in the three main events – Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup and Senior Bowl – got down to business on Monday, all with the goal of having their figurative engines running at their best when the round-robin phase of the tournament runs its course Saturday night.
For the Seniors, the end of the round-robin will be the end of the road. Whoever is on top at the end of play next Monday will be the winner.

Teams in the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup are striving to finish in the top eight after the preliminary rounds are completed. Eight teams from each event will start knockout play in the quarterfinal stage.
It didn’t take long for the pre-tournament favorites to assert themselves. Both teams from the USA were doing well, especially USA II, which includes many-time world champion Bobby Wolff. They were leading the round-robin after four rounds. USA I (the Nick Nickell squad) were fourth, surviving a wild third-round match with Norway, also among the leaders in the early going.

In the Venice Cup, USA I had a slim lead over former champions the Netherlands and surprising Venezuela. Germany, the reigning champions, were in the middle of the pack but not far behind.

In the Senior Bowl, USA II and Poland were tied atop the standings.

In a pleasant development for locals, Monaco were holding their own in the Bermuda Bowl, enjoying being on center stage in the vugraph show late Monday against China. They won a close match, xx to xx.