It’s the final countdown for the 129th. Argentine Open, as the road to the much anticipated championship match of the year begins. The league deciders or perhaps “virtual semifinals” are due to be played on Friday November 25 and Sunday November 27, at Palermo. The Argentine Open, the most important polo tournament in the world and the hightlight of the Argentine season, sees ten teams up to 39 goals in participation.
League A will be decided on Friday November 25, with the clash between reigning champions, La Natividad, and La Irenita Grand Champions, the latter one really nice surprise indeed; although La Irenita participated in the Triple Crown on a couple of occasions (2001, 2016), this is the first time the MacDonough family’s team is so close to the final. Meanwhile, La Natividad, with Nachi du Plessis back on the saddle, and already a winner of the Tortugas Open, will go for their second consecutive final at the Open, clearly aiming to retain the title they claimed in 2021. In addition, this game has some extra spice: it will be the rematch of the semifinal of the Hurlingham Open, that saw Pablo MacDonough and Co. victorious.
In the meantime, the League B, which will be played on Sunday November 27 is quite a more complicated, since there are three teams that can qualify to the final: La Dolfina Saudi, Ellerstina and Cría La Dolfina. La Dolfina Saudi, with Pelón Stirling’s comeback, have the easy task, because they only need to win in the derby of polo, against Ellerstina. The latter, who lost to Cría La Dolfina last week, are obliged to defeat La Dolfina Saudi by three goals and score eight or more, in order to earn a spot in the final. There’s a little hope for Cría La Dolfina, as well – they need a win from Ellerstina over La Dolfina Saudi by a handful of goals, a maximum of seven for Ellerstina and a maximum of four for La Dolfina Saudi.
The previous games with the sight on 2023.
Prior to the league deciders, there will be two crucial games that aim to earn points to remain in the 2023 Triple Crown. La Irenita GSquared and La Hache both need a win in order to achieve it, as well as La Esquina and La Irenita Clinova. These matches are due on Friday November 25 and Sunday November 27, respectively.
129th. ARGENTINE OPEN
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25
2pm: LA IRENITA GSQUARED vs. LA HACHE
La Irenita Gsquared: Santiago Loza 8, Segundo Bocchino 7, Martín Podestá 7, Felipe Dabas 7. Total: 29.
La Hache: Juan Ruiz Guiñazú 8, Carlos María Ulloa 6, Santiago Cernadas 7, Joaquín Pittaluga 7. Total: 28.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Gonzalo López Vargas. Third man: Martín Aguerre.
5pm: LA IRENITA GRAND CHAMPIONS vs. LA NATIVIDAD
La Irenita Grand Champions: Juan Britos 9, Francisco Elizalde 9, Pablo Mac Donough 10, Juan Martín Zubía 8. Total: 36.
La Natividad: Camilo Castagnola 10, Pablo Pieres 10, Bartolomé Castagnola Jr 10, Ignatius du Plessis 9. Total: 38.
Umpires: Martín Pascual & Guillermo Villanueva. Third man: José Ignacio Araya.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27
2pm: LA IRENITA CLINOVA vs. LA ESQUINA
La Irenita Clinova: Facundo Fernández Llorente 8, Tomás Fernández Llorente Jr. 8, Bautista Bayugar 8, Isidro Strada 8. Total: 32.
La Esquina: Pascual Sáinz de Vicuña 6, Cristian Laprida 8, Lucas James 7, Ignacio Laprida 8. Total: 29.
Umpires: Matías Baibiene & Martín Pascual. Third man: Martín Aguerre.
4pm: LA DOLFINA SAUDI vs. ELLERSTINA
La Dolfina Saudi: Adolfo Cambiaso 10, David Stirling 10, Adolfo Cambiaso Jr. 9, Juan Martín Nero 10. Total: 36.
Ellerstina: Facundo Pieres 10, Hilario Ulloa 9, Gonzalo Pieres Jr. 9, Nicolás Pieres 10. Total: 38.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Gonzalo López Vargas. Third man: José Ignacio Araya.
The final of the 129th Argentine Open is set to be played on Friday, December 2.