CHANNEL TROPHY: THE DANES AND THE ENGLISH DOMINANT

Team Bridge • January 20, 2026

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January 20, 2026

The Channel Trophy is THE end-of-year event for young champions from four countries bordering the English Channel: France, England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In 2025, the Pieterman Bridge Club in Leuven, Belgium, east of Brussels, was chosen as the venue for this traditional competition.

Three French teams participated: the U21, U26, and U26 Women. The U21 team consisted of Blanche Legras, Robin Farissier, Théo Exbrayat, Grégoire Duterte, Xavier Roullé, and Costa Benguigui. The players in the U26 team were Margaux Kurek-Beaulieu, Farès Ait Mouhoub, Pierre Bedouet, Léo Rombaut, Arthur Libbrecht, and Romain Bloch, with both teams captained by Donatella Halfon.

The team in the Women’s Under-26 category was captained by Marion Canonne and included Ninon Bens, Eulalie Bonin, Maeva Bultel, Saveria Garcia, Zoey Mauberquez, and Élise Nugues Blouvac.

In the end, the French teams finished second in both the U26 Women’s (where Denmark dominated) and U26 categories, while our U21 team had to settle for bronze. In both the U26 and U21 categories, the English teams emerged victorious, while the young Belgians demonstrated that they still have some way to go to emulate their illustrious predecessors (averaging less than 1 point per game in the U21 category).