The Evolution Cup, tournament created by the Argentine Association of Polo (AAP) and the Argentine Association of Polo Players (AAJP), came to an end on Tuesday at the AAP grounds in Pilar. The competition, where new rules were evaluated, offered 100.000 USD in prize money.
First up on ground four, La Virgencita beat Pilará Etiqueta Negra 12-11 to claim third place. Due to handicap difference, the former received a goal. La Virgencita were consistent throughout the match and finally managed to take the win thanks to a double goal scored by Santiago Toccalino. Next, on ground three, La Aguada Lavinia made a comeback in the last to defeat Las Praderas by 12 goals to 10. The winner took the title and the grand cash prize.
The 100.000 USD worth of prize money was divided in the following way: Each player received approximately 2.000 USD; the champions received another 40.000; the finalists 20.000, and the team in third place took 8.000.
FINAL: LA AGUADA LAVINIA 12-10 LAS PRADERAS
La Aguada Lavinia: Salvador Ulloa 7 (5 goals, 1 penalty), Alfredo Bigatti 8 (3), Hilario Ulloa 10 (4), Miguel Novillo Astrada 8. Total: 33.
Las Praderas: Tincho Merlos 8 (4 goals), Juan Gris Zavaleta 8 (1), Cubi Toccalino 8 (2), Sebastián Merlos 8 (1 double goal). Total: 32.
Score La Aguada Lavinia: (0-1) 0-5, 3-5, 4-7, 6-9, 7-9, 12-10.
THIRD PLACE MATCH: LA VIRGENCITA 12-11 PILARA ETIQUETA NEGRA
La Virgencita: Manuel Calafell 6 (3 goals + 1 double), Gonzalo Deltour 7 (1), Santiago Toccalino 8 (3 + 1 double), Juan Calafell 6. Total: 27.
Pilará Etiqueta Negra: Segundo Bocchino 6 (3 goals), Juan Agustín García Grossi 7 (1 penalty + 1 double), Alejandro Muzzio 8, Matías Torres Zavaleta 7 (3 + 1 double). Total: 28.
Score La Virgencita: (1-0) 2-4, 2-6, 4-7, 7-7, 9-9, 12-11.
STATS
The Evolution Cup was composed on four matches (each team played two matches). The following stats were recovered from the tournament:
-Team to commit most fouls: La Aguada Lavinia, 19.
-Team to commit least amount of fouls: La Virgencita, 8.
-Player who committed most fouls in the tournament: Hilario Ulloa, 7.
-Polo Players who committed no fouls: Agustín Merlos and Juan M. Nero (played only one match).
-Top Goal Scorers: Agustín Merlos (two goals were worth double) and Salvador Ulloa, 12.
-Team to score most goals worth double: Las Praderas, 4.
-Player who scored goals worth double: Agustín Merlos and Juan A. García Grossi, 2; Miguel Novillo Astrada, Ignacio Toccalino, Sebastián Merlos, Manuel Calafell, Santiago Toccalino and Matías Torres Zavaleta, 1.
It is worth noting that no player had to leave the field due to committing six fouls. The closest player to reach this figure, however, was Juan Gris Zavaleta, when he committed five fouls in one of the semifinals.
Principal Rules of the Evolution Cup:
-A maximum of one 10-goal player is allowed per team; the minimum handicap for a player is six.
-Each team must have at least one substitute ready at all times throughout the match.
-The tournament was based on handicap and matches were six chukkas long.
-Each player can take a maximum of nine horses to the field, and these were declared in writing, in good faith, before every match. To make sure of this there was a person overseeing the horses and the lists in each pony line. The list could be altered up to three times between matches. A fixed base of six horses had to be maintained throughout the tournament.
-If a player commits six fouls in a single match, they must abandon the field permanently and be replaced by a substitute. The third man was in charge of counting the fouls, and if the limit should be reached, he would alert the person in the pony lines. These fouls were not accumulative, not being carried over to following matches.
-Goal sides were not changed after every goal; sides only changed at half time.
-After every goal, the team who conceded the goal would restart the match from the sixty yard line; the umpire would place the ball on the line and allow the opponents to move 30 yards away before calling play.
-Each goal scored from a distance greater than 80 yards was doubled. To judge this, a semicircle, equidistant from the goal, was drawn from board to board as a visual reference.
PICTURE GALLERY:
