NEWS

This Sunday, February 26, Valiente was crowned the first victor of the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, defeating Pilot 10-9 in the C.V. Whitney Cup Final. Already looking forward, the USPA Gold Cup draw took place Thursday, February 23, to determine the brackets for the upcoming second leg of the prestigious three-part series.

Established in 1974, the elite competition moved to the International Polo Club Palm Beach (Wellington, Florida) in 2007, where it has remained since. A groundbreaking year for the National Polo Center – Wellington, this edition of the USPA Gold Cup will mark the first time the contest is hosted by the venue.

The 2023 USPA Gold Cup will see all 12 C.V. Whitney Cup teams return to competition as well as one additional team, Shack Attack 2, that will compete exclusively in this leg of the Gauntlet. Making a splash in their first Gauntlet of Polo already, Valiente has amassed an impressive five wins in this tournament over the last decade and seeks a triumphant sixth victory.

Regardless of Sunday’s result, Pilot will be a heavy favorite in the event as well. After sustaining a hand injury prior to the start of the C.V. Whitney Cup, Matias Gonzalez will rejoin Pilot in place of substitute Lucas Escobar. His return to Pilot will be his first since 2019, when he swept the Gauntlet of Polo alongside teammates Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres and Curtis Pilot.

La Elina will also be a team to watch in the tournament. The All-American four-some will look to elevate their play throughout the USPA Gold Cup in preparation for the international Westchester Cup, which will take place on Friday, March 31 at NPC.

Utilizing the same prize money distribution as the C.V. Whitney Cup, the USPA Gold Cup will offer $50,000 in prize money to the winning team. Similarly, U.S. Polo Assn. will continue to provide a $2,500 donation to the winning and runner-up teams of each Gauntlet of Polo final to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.

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

Bracket I
Aspen (22) - Francisco “Pancho” Bensadon (7), Nicolas “Nico” Saenz (5), Rufino Bensadon (8), Stewart Armstrong (2)
Dazos (21) - David Farache (0), Dylan Rossiter (6), Nicolas “Nico” Pieres (9), Santiago “Santi” Torres (6)
Pilot (22) - Curtis Pilot (0), Facundo Pieres (10), Matias Gonzalez (4), Matias Torres Zavaleta (8)

Bracket II
Shack Attack 2 – Matias Magrini (7), Martin “Facha” Valent (3), Kris Kampsen (6), TBA
La Fe (22) - Francisco Elizalde (9), Louis Devaleix (1), Lucas Diaz Alberdi (6), Roberto “Robi” Bilbao (6)
Park Place (22) - Hilario Ulloa (10), Juan Britos (9), Andrey Borodin (0), Jason Wates (3)

Bracket III
La Elina (22) - Jared Zenni (6), Jeff Hall (6), Matt Coppola (5), Nicolas “Nico” Escobar (5)
Dutta Corp/Show+ (22) - Joaquin Avendaño (4), Mariano “Nino” Obregon (6), Timmy Dutta (4), Tomas Garcia del Rio (8)
Valiente (22) - Adolfo Cambiaso (10), Bob Jornayvaz (0), Lucas “Luckitas” Criado (6), Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez (6)

Bracket IV
Scone (22) - Cody Ellis (4), David “Pelon” Stirling (9), David Paradice (0), Poroto Cambiaso (9)
Two Trees By Jefferies (21) - Juan Sánchez Elia (5), Mariano Aguerre (7), Miguel Novillo Astrada (8), Will Johnston (1)

Bracket V
Tamera (22) - Alejandro Poma (1), Diego Cavanagh (9), Pedro “Pedrinho” Zacharias (7), Segundo Saravi (5)
Shack Attack (22) – Kristos "Keko” Magrini (5), Santiago Toccalino (8), Santino Magrini (4), Ignacio “Nachi” Viana (5)

The USPA Gold Cup will begin on Thursday, March 2. C.V. Whitney Cup semifinalists have been seeded in positions 3, 6, 9 and 13. Brackets I, II and III will play within their bracket. The top two teams will play the first game, the loser will then play the third team, then the winner will play the third team. Each team will play two games. Brackets IV and V will play cross bracket. The top teams in each bracket will play each other, then the bottom teams in each bracket will play each other. The winner of the first game will play the loser of the second game, then the loser of the first game will play the winner of the second game. Each team will play two games.

After the first round, all teams will be ranked 1-13 based on win-loss, then net goals then gross goals. The top three teams will advance directly to the quarterfinals. Teams ranked 4-13 will have a playoff game. There will be ten teams and five playoff games. Teams ranked 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 will draw from teams ranked 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Playoff winners will advance to the quarterfinals. Teams ranked 1-3 will draw from the five playoff winners. The winners of the quarterfinals will then draw for semifinal pairings. Winners of the semifinals will advance to the final.

Thursday, March 2
10:00am ET- Shack Attack 2 vs. La Fe
3:00pm ET- Aspen vs. Dazos

Friday, March 3
10:00am ET – Two Trees by Jefferies vs. Shack Attack
3:00pm ET – La Elina vs.Dutta Corp/Show+

Saturday, March 4
11:00am ET – Scone vs. Tamera

Sunday, March 5
10:00am ET - Loser Game 2 vs. Pilot
3:00pm ET- Loser Game 1 vs. Park Place

Monday, March 6
11:00am ET – Loser Game 4 vs. Valiente

Tuesday, March 7
10:00am ET – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
3:00pm ET – Loser Game 5 vs. Winner Game 3

Wednesday, March 8
11:00am ET – Winner Game 2 vs. Pilot

Thursday, March 9
10:00am ET – Winner Game 4 vs. Valiente
3:00pm ET – Loser Game 5 vs. Park Place

Saturday, March 11
10:00am ET – Playoff
3:00pm ET – Playoff

Sunday, March 12
10:00am ET – Playoff
3:00pm ET – Playoff

Monday, March 13
11:00am ET – Playoff

Friday, March 17
10:00am ET – Quarterfinal
3:00pm ET – Quarterfinal

Saturday, March 18
10:00am ET – Quarterfinal
3:00pm ET – Quarterfinal

Wednesday, March 22
10:00am ET – Semifinal
3:00pm ET – Semifinal

Sunday, March 26
3:00pm ET – Final

The 2023 Gauntlet of Polo will conclude with the U.S. Open Polo Championship, March 29-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, fieldside 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 preliminary games of the USPA Gold Cup will be recorded by the USPA Polo Network and available on-demand at uspolo.org and on YouTube. These non-livestreamed games will be presented using a single center camera and minimal production. The quarterfinals, semifinals and final of the USPA Gold Cup will be livestreamed and available on uspolo.org, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch free of charge. Livestreamed games will be presented using multiple cameras and full USPA Polo Network production. Discover more about livestreaming in 2023 here.

In addition to livestreaming on 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 USPA Gold Cup 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.

All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.