Tariq Albwardy and the Desert Palm team win the Dubai leg of the Maserati Polo Tour

The Maserati Polo Tour 2016 moved to Dubai last week with the first Maserati Dubai Polo Challenge taking place at Ali Albwardy's Desert Palm Resort and Polo Club. The winning team Desert Palm found a home advange and produced an impressive performance to win this inaugural tournament.

Played over five days, four talented teams, featuring both professional and amateur players from the UK, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina, produced competitive and entertaining polo, much to the delight of the many gueests, including those from individual team sponsors Gulfstream, Scavi & Ray and Desert Palm.

The winning team, featuring patrons Tariq Albwardy (UAE, Handicap 1) and Sam Instone (UK, 0) as well as Martin Gandara (ARG, 4) and Matias Machado (ARG, 4), narrowly won the final, only going ahead to win the match in the last chukka. Their opponents, Team Maserati, put up a strong fight on Desert Palm’s impressive hotel ground, but could not force the game into extra time. Third place was claimed by Gulfstream, who beat Scavi & Ray in the subsidiary Trident Trophy.

The Maserati Most Valuable Player prize was awarded to Nacho Gonzalez from the Maserati Team, while Castora, played by Matias Machado in the second chukka, was named the Equestrio Arabia Best Playing Pony.

The Maserati Dubai Polo Challenge was supported by the world's leading supplier of polo equipment, La Martina. Enrico Roselli, CEO of La Martina, said: "The Maserati Polo Tour always creates strong emotions. It is a celebration of our origins and our passion for the sport. Our partnership with Maserati and Guards Polo Club highlights the prestigious character of the event, showing once again the success of the combination of luxury and performance.”

The Maserati Dubai Polo Challenge also marks the start of a series of La Martina and Maserati #PoloStories videos revealing the secrets of polo from the unique perspective of top polo players. Ebe Sievwright, an Official Commentator at Guards Polo Club and co-founder of the Guards Polo Academy, was chosen as the ambassador and protagonist for the first episode of the series. The videos will unveil the limited edition polo shirts dedicated to each leg of the Maserati Polo Tour and will be available exclusively on the digital platforms of Maserati and La Martina.

In conjunction with the Dubai Polo Challenge, the two brands presented the spectacular “24K Gold Dubai Polo” - a unique polo shirt which blends sportswear with luxury: the stretch piquet fabric is embroidered with a 24-carat gold thread.

Desert Palm after winning the Maserati Dubai Polo Challenge (copyright Gillian Hughes Photography).