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T O R T U G A S O P E N , H U R L I N G H A M O P E N A N D A R G E N T I N E O P E , A R G E N T I N A , N O V E M B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6
throughout the tournament against the
lower rated teams.
Both teams claimed their respective
leagues and made it to another high-goal
final. The titleholders aimed to win their
11th consecutive trophy within the Triple
Crown, but they weren’t able to fulfil their
goal. Ellerstina made a fantastic comeback
and produced three unanswered goals in
the last chukka to send the match into
overtime. Then, Gonzalito Pieres picked the
ball at 60 yards and ran at full speed towards
the posts to score the winning goal.
At the end of the day, Ellerstina had the
rematch they’ve been waiting for since their
last win at the Argentine Open final, back in
2012. In addition, La Dolfina lost their
winning streak of 39 consecutive matches.
With both teams having won one
tournament apiece, the 123rd Argentine
Open kicked off. The tournament featured
the same eight teams who played the
previous contest at the English-born club,
but with a new system of play. There were
two leagues with four teams each. The
winners of each league play the semi-finals,
while those placed second and third would
play crossed quarter-finals: the second in
league A versus the third in league B, and
vice versa. The winners of these games
already played with the league winners.
In both leagues’ qualification stages, due
to the new system of play, which included
four additional match days, all the teams
needed more horses to play this first round
to avoid repeating. They all had in mind that
they would have to decide each league in
a few days – whether to play the quarter-
finals or the semi-finals.
There were two big surprises in this first
round, specifically in the two matches that
determined third place. The two teams that
emerged from the qualification, Cría Yatay
and La Irenita, won their respective games
against two superior squads: Washington
(33) and El Paraiso (35). In these two games,
the newcomers demonstrated attitude,
determination and good foresight; they were
solid, better at stick-and-ball, fought hard to
retain the ball, and most importantly, won
the throw-ins. Their wins allowed them to
play the quarter-finals with the second-
placed teams of each league.
Alegría and La Irenita met up in the first
quarter-final. Alegría had to fight to beat La
Irenita by 13–11. But the biggest surprise
came in the second quarter-final: 29-goal
Cría Yatay displayed fast play by defeating
the seasoned La Aguada Las Monjitas
foursome (35) by a four-goal difference.
The six teams who will play the 2017
Triple Crown emerged just before the
semi-finals: it is no longer chosen by
handicap, but rather determined by the
standings of the previous Argentine Open.
The new rules also specify that the teams –
