Home city team London Knights dominated at the magnificent Royal Hospital Chelsea for today’s GCL London, with Ben Maher and Nicola Philippaerts taking pole position for Saturday’s showdown.

The Knights are currently in the lead of the overall rankings, however with every score counting and the pressure on to qualify for the GCL Super Cup at the GC Playoffs, each of the 19 teams will be strategising to secure maximum points as the Championship accelerates towards its climax in Doha.

With tactics at the forefront of everyone’s minds, four teams head into tomorrow on a clear score, with the Cannes Stars, Miami Celtics and Berlin Eagles joining the Knights in the best possible position. A further nine teams sit within two poles of each other, highlighting the high calibre of sport and the drama that could unfold for Saturday’s showdown.

Ben spoke about the Knights' round, but kept the team’s tactics for tomorrow close to his chest: “We’re very happy with today. We were drawn first which isn’t the start we’d have liked, but we went in, did our plan and now the others have to chase! There were one or two options, which were quite risky, but we took the safe option with the team in mind, and it paid off. The horses feel good. It’s important to go towards the end, the objective is to try and jump two clear rounds again. We’ll probably have one change, but we’ll have a discussion later and make a decision for tomorrow.”

Nicola agreed: “{Chilli Willi] felt great today, then Ben made a great time so it was a very good start today. There is more pressure for sure, and here it is our home show, so hopefully we can do it again tomorrow."