POLO NEWS

This Sunday, March 26, Scone defeated Pilot 8-6 in the USPA Gold Cup Final. Looking ahead to the apex of the Gauntlet of Polo, the draw took place Thursday, March 23, to determine U.S. Open Polo Championship brackets. The most prestigious polo tournament in the United States, the U.S. Open was first played in 1904. In 2004, exactly one hundred years after the tournament’s inception, the U.S. Open relocated to Wellington, Florida, where it has been held ever since. A momentous year for the National Polo Center – Wellington, this edition of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will mark the first time the contest is hosted by the venue.

The 2023 U.S. Open Polo Championship will field the same 12 teams that competed in both the C.V. Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup, as well as one additional team, Palm Beach Equine, that will compete exclusively in this leg of the Gauntlet. Valiente and Pilot enter the U.S. Open Polo Championship with two titles to their names already. Scone follows closely behind with one victory in 2021.

The 10-goalers competing this year are all highly decorated, especially in this elite competition. The group includes nine-time U.S. Open Polo Championship winner Adolfo Cambiaso, six-time U.S. Open champion Facundo Pieres, and three-time title holder Hilario Ulloa.

Joining Aspen, Mariano Gonzalez will replace Nicolas 'Nico' Saenz for the last leg of the Gauntlet. Stoking the flames of familial rivalry, he will compete against his son, Mariano 'Peke' Gonzalez, who has been competing with 2023 C.V. Whitney Cup champions Valiente. Relying on familial strength, Aspen’s Francisco Bensadon and Rufino Bensadon look to work together to achieve greatness. In a similar vein, the father-son Cambiaso duo will clash once again, as Valiente and Scone each have made a strong impression in the first two legs of the competition.

The addition of Palm Beach Equine will also see Scott Swerdlin, Raul ‘Gringo’ Colombres and Christian ‘Magoo’ Laprida make their 2023 Gauntlet debut.

Raising the stakes, the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will receive $100,000 in prize money. Once again, in partnership with USPA Global Licensing, each of the teams will select a charity of their choice from 10 polo nonprofits and both charities of the winner and runner-up will receive a $2,500 donation.

The list of participating teams in their newly announced tournament brackets are available below:

Bracket I
1. Aspen (22) - Francisco “Pancho” Bensadon (7), Mariano Gonzalez (5), Rufino Bensadon (8), Stewart Armstrong (2)
2. Two Trees By Jefferies (21) - Juan Sánchez Elia (5), Mariano Aguerre (7), Miguel Novillo Astrada (8), Will Johnston (1)
3. Park Place (22) - Hilario Ulloa (10), Juan Britos (9), Andrey Borodin (0), Jason Wates (3)

Bracket II
4. La Elina (22) - Jared Zenni* (6), Jeff Hall (6), Matt Coppola* (5), Nicolas “Nico” Escobar* (5)
5. Dazos (21) - David Farache (0), Dylan Rossiter (6), Nicolas “Nico” Pieres (9), Santiago “Santi” Torres* (6)
6. Pilot (22) - Curtis Pilot (0), Facundo Pieres (10), Matias "Colo" Gonzalez (4), Matias Torres Zavaleta (8)

Bracket III
7. Shack Attack – Santiago Toccalino (8), Santino Magrini* (4), TBA, TBA
8. La Fe (22) - Francisco Elizalde (9), Louis Devaleix (1), Lucas Diaz Alberdi (6), Roberto “Robi” Bilbao (6)
9. Dutta Corp/Show+ (22) - Joaquin Avendaño (4), Mariano “Nino” Obregon (6), Timmy Dutta* (4), Tomas Garcia del Rio (8)

Bracket IV
10. Valiente (22) - Adolfo Cambiaso (10), Bob Jornayvaz (0), Lucas “Luckitas” Criado Jr. (6), Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez (6)
11. Scone (22) - Cody Ellis* (4), David “Pelon” Stirling (9), David Paradice (0), Poroto Cambiaso (9)

Bracket V
12. Palm Beach Equine - Scott Swerdlin (0), Raul “Gringo” Colombres (8), Christian ‘Magoo’ Laprida (8), TBA
13. Tamera (22) - Alejandro Poma (1), Diego Cavanagh (9), Pedro “Pedrinho” Zacharias (7), Segundo Saravi (5)

The U.S. Open Polo Championship will have five brackets with USPA Gold Cup semifinalists Park Place, Pilot, Dutta Corp/Show+ and Scone seeded in positions 3, 6, 9 and 11. There will be a minimum of three games played per team for a total of twenty-five games in the tournament.

Brackets I, II and III will each contain three teams and will play within their bracket. Each team in Brackets I, II and III will play two games in the first round. The top two seeded positions will play the first game, with the loser of the first game playing the third team, followed by the winner of the first game playing the third team.

Brackets IV and V will contain two teams and will play cross bracket. Each team in Bracket IV and V will play two games in the first round. The tenth seeded team will face the twelfth seeded team, followed by the eleventh seeded team versus the thirteenth seeded team. The winner of 10 versus 12 will play the loser of 11 versus 13. The loser of 10 versus 12 will play the winner of 11 versus 13.

Following the first round, all teams will be ranked 1-13. Teams will be ranked on win-loss, then net goals, then gross goals. The top three ranked teams will advance straight to the quarterfinals.

Teams ranked 4-13 will play a third game and will draw their opponent. Following the completion of the third game, the top five teams based on win-loss, then net goals, then gross goals will fill the remaining five quarterfinal spots.

Teams ranked 1, 2, 3 and 4 will draw from teams ranked 5, 6, 7 and 8 to determine quarterfinal pairings. The winners of the quarterfinals will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the U.S. Open Polo Championship Final.

Tuesday, March 28
10:30am ET - Aspen vs. Two Trees by Jefferies
4:00pm ET - La Elina vs. Dazos

Wednesday, March 29
10:00am ET - Shack Attack vs. La Fe

Thursday, March 30
11:00am ET - Valiente vs. Palm Beach Equine

Friday, March 31
11:00am ET – Scone vs. Tamera

Saturday, April 1
4:00pm ET – Loser Game 1 vs. Park Place

Sunday, April 2
3:00pm ET- Loser Game 3 vs. Dutta Corp/Show+

Monday, April 3
10:00am ET – Loser Game 2 vs. Pilot

Tuesday, April 4
11:00am ET – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5
4:00pm ET – Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 4

Wednesday, April 5
10:00am ET – Winner Game 3 vs. Dutta Corp/Show+
4:00pm ET – Winner Game 1 vs. Park Place

Sunday, April 9
10:00am ET – Third Round Game

Monday, April 10
10:00am ET – Third Round Game
4:00pm ET – Third Round Game

Tuesday, April 11
10:00am ET – Third Round Game
4:00pm ET – Third Round Game

Saturday, April 15
10:00am ET – Quarterfinal
4:00pm ET – Quarterfinal

Sunday, April 16
10:00am ET – Quarterfinal
4:00pm ET – Quarterfinal

Wednesday, April 19
10:00am ET – Semifinal
4:00pm ET – Semifinal

Sunday, April 23
3:00pm ET – Final

Schedule is subject to change. Please visit the U.S. Open Polo Championship Tournament Detail Page for the most recent updates and information.

The 2023 Gauntlet of Polo will conclude with the U.S. Open Polo Championship March 28 - April 23. All Sunday featured games will be held on NPC’s U.S. Polo Assn. Field One.

Spectating from the NPC stadium, private boxes, fiedside tailgates and special hospitality tents all overlooking U.S. Polo Assn. Field One is an unparalleled experience available for Sunday matches throughout the Gauntlet of Polo series. Tickets can be purchased at nationalpolocenter.com.

All games of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will be livestreamed and available on uspolo.org, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch free of charge. Discover more about livestreaming in 2023 here.

In addition to livestreaming on the USPA Polo Network, Global Polo Entertainment and USPA Global Licensing extended their historic relationship with ESPN for two additional years in order to bring the finals of the top U.S. polo events to ESPN platforms. Games will be distributed on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, and available on-demand on the ESPN App. In 2023, games will include the most prestigious tournaments in North America, including the U.S. Open Polo Championship Final.

To learn more about the Gauntlet of Polo and stay up-to-date on the latest schedule and news about the series, please visit the Gauntlet of Polo landing page.

*Timmy Dutta is an Active Team USPA Member. Santino Magrini, Cody Ellis, Jared Zenni, Nicolas 'Nico' Escobar, Matt Coppola and Santiago 'Santi' Torres are Team USPA alumni. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.