Skip to main content

Kinnaird Cup Final 2023 Preview

28/03/23: The final of the 2023 Kinnaird Cup in association with Advanta Wealth takes place at Berkhamsted on Sunday, starting at 2:30pm.

This year's match sees Seb Cooley & Tom Dunbar looking to extend their astonishing winning sequence in the competition; they have already won the Kinnaird Cup a record twelve years in a row and are aiming to extend that record even further. They are already first and second in the all time individual list of winners and Tom - in what will be his 22nd consecutive final - will be looking to win for the 19th time.

The challenge facing them this year is a formidable one; Riki Houlden is in his fifth final in six years and continues to improve. This year he has a new partner in fellow Old Westminster Hugo Young, who becomes only the third Old Westminster to play in the Kinnaird final after Riki and TG Lund in 1936. They already have one win over Tom & Seb this year, in the final of the London Tournament back in November and followed it up with success in the Northern Tournament at Shrewsbury in February, where illness to Tom prevented the possibility of the two pairs meeting again. Riki & Hugo have been the form horses all season; can they take the final step this Sunday and finally dethrone the long-term champions? Or can Tom & Seb find their best form at the end of a disrupted season and see off their challengers as they have done so spectacularly for the last twelve years?

The match will be played on the courts at Berkhamsted Prep School on Sunday, starting at 2:30pm. Spectators are welcome and directions can be found HERE.

The match will also hopefully be live streamed from 2:30pm via the Eton Fives Association Facebook group.

To watch the live stream you can use either your mobile phone (Android and iOS), tablet device (Android and iOS) or computer via the Facebook website or application. To watch the video please click the link in the post that will be made in the group on Sunday afternoon. In order to watch the match, you will need a Facebook account to find the Eton Fives Association group page where you will find the link to the live stream. If you are not already a member, you will need to ask to join; this should not take long. Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if this causes any problems.

The match should remain available to watch on the EFA Facebook Group page and will also be uploaded to YouTube at some stage next week.

Most Kinnaird Cup wins

18 Tom Dunbar

12 Seb Cooley

11 John Reynolds

10 Brian Matthews

Tony Hughes

8 Gordon Campbell

8 Robin Mason

5 Denys Firth

5 Jonathan Mole

Jimmy Biggs

Howard Fabian

4 James Toop

Most Kinnaird Final Appearances (not including 2023)

21 Tom Dunbar

19 Tony Hughes

18 James Toop

13 Gordon Campbell

13 Matthew Wiseman

12 Jimmy Biggs

12 Seb Cooley

12 John Reynolds

11 Robin Mason

11 Brian Matthews

8 Denys Firth

8 Jonathan Mole

7 Peter Dunbar

Howard Fabian

7 Andy Gibson

Martin Shortland-Jones

7 Doug Wainwright

7 Ed Wass

6 Jamie Halstead

Dick Kittermaster

6 Robin Moulsdale

David Guilford

5 Malcolm Keeling