PINOY PRIDE
Corteza, Centeno rule 2024 Las Vegas Open
It was a clean sweep for Filipino cue artists in the 2024 Las Vegas Open.
Lee Vann Corteza defeated Carlo Biado in the all-Pinoy final, 4-2, 4-3, to capture the 10-ball crown Sunday at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 44-year-old pool master not only took home the shiny trophy but also filled his pocket with a hefty purse of $30,000 or roughly P1.6 million.
Centeno, on the other hand, also got the same lion’s share of the cash prize after sweeping China’s Siming Chen, 4-2, 4-2, in the final of the women’s division.
“I’m very happy because I didn’t expect to win this match because she’s (Chen) a good player,” Centeno, who swept the tournament, said.
The 2023 WPA World Ten-ball Championship went undefeated in her run to the final.
Centeno, 24, swept American Emilyn Callado, 4-0, 4-0, to start her campaign and took down Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, 0-4, 4-1, 4-3, in the winner’s qualification.
She then beat Allison Fisher, 4-2, 4-3, in the Last 16 before carving out a 4-3, 1-4, 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Chieh-Yu Chou of Chinese Taipei.
Centeno barely made it through the tough challenge of South Korean Seoa Seo, 4-3, 0-4, 3-3 (4-3) in the semifinal to set up a showdown against Chen for all the marbles.
Corteza, a six-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, was on fire heading into the finale.
In the Last 32, Corteza bested another compatriot Roland Garcia, 4-2, 4-3, before a close call over American Skyler Woodward, 4-0, 2-4, 3-3 (4-3), in the Last 16.
He went on to decimate Greece’s Alex Kazakis, 4-0, 4-3, in the quarterfinal before breaking Ko Ping Chung of Chinese Taipei, 4-3, 4-0, in the semifinal to set up a championship match with Biado.
Corteza blanked Maximinio Martinez of the United States, 4-0, 4-0, in the first round before edging out Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, 4-2, 1-4, 4-2.
Corteza’s only loss came from American Fedor Gorst — a 3-4, 4-2, 3-4 result in the winners’ qualification round.
He bounced back with a 4-3, 2-4, 4-2 win over Sullivan Clark of New Zealand in the loser’s qualification.
Biado, meanwhile, settled for the $14,000 or P783,090 runner-up consolation prize.