MINSK, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The XV Christmas international amateur ice hockey tournament opened here on Thursday.

The traditional Christmas tournament is held in Minsk from January 3 to 7.

12 teams compete for the trophy, including teams of the Baltic States, the Balkans, China, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belarus, and the team of the International Ice Hockey Federation.

On the first day, hockey players from Slovakia defeated Switzerland with a score 10-4, the UAE team beat the Balkans'team 9-5, Belarus defeated the team of the International Ice Hockey Federation 13-7.

The national team of Belarus won Christmas tournament 11 times. Russia crowned three times in 2007, 2011 and 2015 respectively.