Two of the skippers due to compete in next week’s Argo Group Gold Cup will contest today’s final of the Match Race France on the Mediterranean Coast.Past Gold Cup winner and reigning Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) champion Ian Williams and William Tiller advanced to the final after prevailing against Keith Swinton and Laurie Jury in yesterday’s semi final matches.Englishman Williams won the King Edward VII Gold Cup in 2006 and the AWMRT for the third time last year with his GAC Pindar team mates. The 2012 Tour Card Holder is also a past ISAF World Champion.This year marks Williams, who gave up his profession as a lawyer to sail professional on the AWMRT, sixth Gold Cup appearance.Williams’ AWMRT title defence received a massive boost after Tour leader Bjorn Hansen was eliminated during the qualifying stage in France earlier this week. Swede Hansen held a six-point lead over Williams going into the regatta.Williams and Hansen will likely be the top seeds at this year’s Gold Cup and fall into different groups.Kiwi Tiller is currently ranked tenth on the ISAF World Rankings and one of the most promising non-Tour Card Holders on the AWMRT.Both skippers and their teams are expected to be in Bermuda ahead of Monday’s Gold Cup practice session.Although this year’s Gold Cup field has been reduced from 24 to 21 teams due to post-deadline cancellations and scheduling difficulties, the regatta still boasts the largest number of participants for a Tour event.The schedule and format has been modified to accommodate the reduced field.This year the teams will be divided into two groups of 10 and 11 teams determined by AWMRT officials and the organisers at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club based on international rankings and other performance factors. Each group will sail a round robin with their top four teams moving directly to the quarter finals.In recent years the first stage of the event saw three groups of eight teams fighting for the first six slots in the quarter finals and the final two quarter final slots being filled through a six-boat round robin sail-off or repechage.Representing Bermuda in the 2012 Argo Group Gold Cup, to be held October 2-7, are local skippers Blythe Walker and Lance Fraser.