The FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final kicked-off yesterday at the Aquatic Palace of Ruza, Russia, to see eight international teams competing for the prestigious trophy over a five-day tournament.
Entering their first big event after the 2016 Olympics in Rio, water polo powerhouses will definitely take this floor to rehearsal for the FINA World Championship in Budapest.
The competition format is traditional as the eight competing squads are divided into two groups.
Group A sees Pan-American reigning champion and 2016 WL Super-final runner-up Team USA, all-round crown Serbia, Kazakhstan and Italy.
Group B, respectively, is represented by 2017 World League Intercontinental tournament winners Australia, Olympic silver medallists Croatia, Japan, and host Russia.
The first three days of the event features a round-robin tournament, after which cross-over match-ups will be held to decide the semi-finalists en route to the medal clashes.
Croatia and Japan opened the tournament on Tuesday June 20, and the Balkan team defeated Japan 13-5.
The Serbians then beat Kazakhstan 15-7, while Italia narrowly beat the USA 9-7 after penalty shootout.
The host Russia played Australia in the last game of the opening day and won 11-5.
FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final 2017
Results Summary / Day 1 20 June, 2017
Game 1. CRO 
vs. JPN 
13-5 (4-2, 3-0, 1-2, 5-1)
Game 2. SRB 
vs. KAZ 
15-7 (3-0, 6-4, 3-2, 3-1)
Game 4. USA 
– ITA 
7-9 (1-0, 2-0, 2-3, 0-2, penalty shoot-out 2-4)
Game 3. AUS 
– RUS 
5-11 (2-2, 1-2, 1-4, 1-3)
Ranking after Day 1
Group A: Serbia 3, Italy 2, USA 1, Kazakhstan 0
Group B: Croatia 3, Russia 3, Australia 0, Japan 0