THE GAUNTLET OF POLO COUNTDOWN STARTS: TEAMS ANNOUNCED FOR 2024
12 January 2024
The nine teams who will participate in the 2024 Gauntlet of Polo are proudly announced by the United States Polo Association (USPA) and the National Polo Center (NPC). For the sixth year in a row, the esteemed Gauntlet of Polo is back, bringing together the best polo players in the world to compete for the three most coveted American titles: the C.V. Whitney Cup, USPA Gold Cup, and U.S. Open Polo Championship. As in previous year, teams can also enter individually in any one of the three competitions. One team will take advantage of this chance, competing only in the USPA Gold Cup and U.S. Open Polo Championship. Teams are able to participate in individual events within the series, but they are not allowed to win the Gauntlet of Polo if they so want.
Many teams and individuals from last year’s competition are back, including Park Place, the reigning U.S. Open winners. Valiente, the five-time C.V. Whitney Cup champions, and Scone, the 2023 USPA Gold Cup winners, will also triumphantly return. Pilot, the only team to win the Gauntlet in the first season of 2019, will try to ascend back to the top of the podium for the first time since 2022. Chip Campbell, the former chairman of the USPA, is back in the game with a new club, Clearwater. Since he played for Cessna in 2021, Campbell has not participated in the Gauntlet tournament. The sole female competitor scheduled for the series, Gillian Johnston, hopes to win the Gauntlet after taking first place in the 2002 U.S. Open Polo Championship. La.
In addition, the sport’s top four 10-goal scorers—Hilario Ulloa, Facundo Pieres, Poroto Cambiaso, and Adolfo Cambiaso—will participate. Following his victory with La Natividad in the 2023 Argentine Open, Facundo Pieres faced the father-son Cambiaso team, who were representing La Dolfina Saudi. In his fourth Gauntlet of Polo season, Poroto Cambiaso will represent Scone, exactly as in 2023, while his illustrious father, Adolfo Cambiaso, will represent Valiente.
The whole list of team rosters as of right now is shown below:
1. Coca-Cola (22): Gillian Johnston (0), Julian de Lusarreta (7), Kristos “Keko” Magrini (6)*, Pablo “Polito” Pieres (9).
2. Pilot (22): Facundo Pieres (10), Santiago Torres (6), Santos Merlos (6), Curtis Pilot (0)
3. The Dutta Corp (22): Mariano “Nino” Obregon Jr. (6), Joaquin Avendaño (4), Tomas Garcia del Rio (8), Timmy Dutta (4)*
4. Park Place (TBA): Hilario Ulloa (10), Andrey Borodin (0), TBA, TBA
5. La Fe (22): Roberto Bilbao (6), Francisco Elizalde (9), Lucas Diaz Alberdi (6), and Louis Devaleix (1)
6. Scone (22): Tomas Panelo (9) with Rufino Merlos (3), David Paradice (0), and Poroto Cambiaso (10).
7. Tamera (22): Diego Cavanagh (8), Matias Torres Zavaleta (8), Alejandro Poma (1), and Segundo Saravi (5)
8. Valiente (22): Paco de Narvaez Jr. (5), Adolfo Cambiaso (10), Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez Jr. (7), Bob Jornayvaz (0)
Team that only participates in the U.S. Open Polo Championship and USPA Gold Cup:
9. Chip Campbell (1), James “Jared” Zenni (6)*, and Lucas Criado of Clearwater (22)
Team that only participates in the U.S. Open Polo Championship and USPA Gold Cup:
9. Clearwater (22): Lucas Criado Jr. (7), Raul “Gringo” Colombres (8), James “Jared” Zenni (6)*, and Chip Campbell (1)
*Timmy Dutta and Kristopher “Keko” Magrini are current members of Team USPA. James “Jared” Zenni is a former member of Team USPA. Aiming to develop the game of polo in the United States, Team USPA is a USPA initiative that finds young, gifted American players and offers them coached training and playing opportunities. This creates a pool of better-rated amateur and professional players who then give back to the game of polo.Every roster is liable to alter.
The NPC season’s first event will be the Gauntlet of Polo in 2024. The C.V. Whitney Cup will kick off the three-part series on February 9–25. The USPA Gold Cup will follow on February 23–24, and the U.S. Open Polo Championship will take place on March 22–24, April 21. The 2024 season’s prize money distribution will adhere to the scheme from the previous year: $100,000 will be given to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship, and $50,000 will be given to the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup.
The USPA Polo Network will be the exclusive broadcaster of every Gauntlet of Polo game at NPC in the C.V. Whitney Cup, USPA Gold Cup, and U.S. Open Polo Championship. broadcast live.
Global Polo Entertainment and USPA Global Licensing extended its historic partnership with ESPN until 2024 to offer the championship matches of the major U.S. polo competitions to ESPN platforms in addition to livestreaming on USPA Polo Network. The ESPN App will offer on-demand access to games, along with distribution on ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPNEWS. The most prominent competitions in North America, such as the U.S. Open Polo Championship, will be featured in the games in 2024.
Visit nationalpolocenter.com to purchase tickets for Sunday Brunch and stadium seating for all Gauntlet of Polo competitions on the U.S. Polo Association Field One.