Bridge's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, the Warren Buffett Cup, enters its final day today at the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland's headquarters in Templeogue House.
The inaugural competition began on Monday and will finish with the final individual encounters as Europe and Team USA battle it out.
It runs on a similar basis to the Ryder Cup, with pair, team and individual matches. Six European pairs take on six pairs from the US. Following the Pairs and Team events, Europe had 61.5 points to Team USA's 52.5, but with 132 points still available in the individual events it was still an open contest.
Ireland is represented by Tom Hanlon from Mullingar and Hugh McGann of Fermoy, who finished second in the European Open Teams Championship last month in Warsaw. Hanlon and McGann were as of late yesterday still undefeated in the competition.
There are a number of professional players on both sides. Europe boasts current world champions Norberto Bocchi and Giorgio Duboin from Italy in their team, as well as the world's leading women's pair, Sabine Auken and Daniela von Arnim, from Germany.
The event is being transmitted live on the internet at www.buffettcup.com and www.bridgebase.com and is averaging 4,000 hits a day. Warren Buffett is ranked the second-richest man in the world behind Bill Gates. Both are keen bridge players.