NPC 16-GOAL CHAMPIONSHIP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The NPC 16-Goal Championship (formerly the Florida Circuit 16-Goal Super Series Championship) developed from an innovative effort spearheaded by the USPA Tournament Committee to draw more teams and participation into medium-goal competition. In a true testament of collaboration, participants are able to experience 16-goal competition at multiple clubs in qualifying events, while also vying for the opportunity to compete for the championship at the National Polo Center - Wellington (NPC).
Held across South Florida, four prestigious national tournaments served as qualifiers for the NPC 16-Goal Championship including the Joe Barry Memorial hosted by Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida, alongside the Ylvisaker Cup, Iglehart Cup and Outback Cup, led by Patagones Polo Club in Wellington, Florida and a series of private fields falling under the Wellington Polo Tour (WPT) umbrella.
In 2023, the finale of the Florida Circuit 16-Goal Super-Series Championship brought together a dominant Iconica team (Maureen Brennan, Mariano "Peke" Gonzalez Jr., Lucas "Luckitas" Criado Jr., Santos Merlos) against La Fe (Rufino Merlos, Roberto "Robi" Bilbao, Francisco Elizalde, Louis Devaleix). Generating an early lead in the second chukker, Iconica kept their eyes on the prize and never wavered, maintaining the lead throughout the remainder of the game to earn the 14-11 victory and cap-off an incredible season with a 16-1 record. Read article here.
Following four months of fierce competition, BTA, Clearwater, Forbes Plunkett and La Fe/Dazos have each secured their spot in the NPC-16 Goal Championship and will battle to determine who takes home the prestigious title in the final on NPC's BTG Pactual Field 2.
To reinforce the idea that all participation is encouraged, players were able to compete in as many events as they would like on either the same team or on different teams, however, qualifying teams must maintain at least two of their original members in order to play in the championship. In this vein, winning both the Joe Barry Memorial with Forbes Plunkett and the Outback Cup with Copperline Farms, Nicolas "Nico" Escobar, Felipe "Pipe" Vercellino and Lucas Escobar have elected to compete for Forbes Plunkett.
In accordance with the NPC 16-Goal Championship Tournament Conditions, each team participating in a qualifying event will earn points towards eligibility for the Championship. Teams that win a qualifier are awarded 25 points, second place teams in a qualifier receive 5 points and a team that comes in third or fourth place receive 1 point. Following the conclusion of the final qualifying event, La Fe/Dazos have been selected on the basis of points and team availability as the fourth team to compete for the Championship.
Representing Team USPA is Active Member Lucas Escobar (Forbes Plunkett), Kristos "Keko" Magrini (La Fe/Dazos), Graduating Member Nicolas "Nico" Escobar (Forbes Plunkett) and alumnus Steve Krueger (BTA).
Photo: 2023 Florida Circuit 16-Goal Super-Series Championship winners: Iconica - Maureen Brennan, Mariano "Peke" Gonzalez Jr., Lucas "Luckitas" Criado Jr., Santos Merlos. ©David Lominska
