La Ensenada and Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were victorious on the last matchdate of the 132nd. Argentine Polo Open at Palermo, that took place on a very hot Thursday December 4. Therefore, La Ensenada claimed their farewell win of the Open, and Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu will play the final against La Natividad La Dolfina, on Sunday.

La Ensenada and La Dolfina II opened fire, in a match that kicked off with a scoreless first chukka. It was La Dolfina II’s Gonzao Ferrari who opened the scores in the second, but La Ensenada replied quickly through Rufino Bensadon’s mallet. A total of five goals were produced in a thrilling second chukka, that ended with La Ensenada 3-2 ahead. The first half was very tight and hard fought, that saw La Ensenada 5-4 ahead by half time.

La Ensenada took off in a remarkable fifth chukka, when they outscored La Dolfina II 4-1, to earn a 9-5 lead. Although Peke Gonzalez and Lucas Criado scored to close the gap to two in the sixth chukka, La Ensenada managed to maintain their four goal advantage  (11-7), through two penalty conversions by Jero del Carril.

Halfway the seventh chukka, a determined La Dolfina II bounced back – Lucas Criado (x3) and Peke Gonzalez scored to close the gap to just one goal (12-11), with only one chukka left.

But La Ensenada quickly sealed the deal in the last chukka. Jero del Carril and Sapo Caset scored two goals each to secure the farewell 16-11 win for La Ensenada. As a result, La Dolfina II were dropped from the 2026 Triple Crown main draw, and La Zeta Kazak will go for the playoff against La Aguada Don Ercole; a contest that will be the rematch of the last game of the Qualification Tournament, and it’s due to be played on Sunday December 7, at 2pm.

The second contest of the day was the semifinal between Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu and La Irenita La Hache. The news was that Pablo MacDonough was back on the saddle after missing two games due to a broken collarbone.

Like in the previous contest, the second semifinal of the Argentine Open started with a scoreless first chukka, until Facundo Pieres converted a penalty in the second chukka to secure his team a 1-0 lead. However, two goals by Hilario Ulloa gave La Irenita La Hache a 2-1 lead at the end of that first chukka. Although Hilario extended the advantage to three goals, after a 40-yards penalty conversion, it was Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu who would eventually took the lead (4-3) following two consecutive goals by Facundo Pieres. The fourth chukka was a completely different story – La Irenita La Hache outscored Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu 4-0, and by half time they were 7-4 ahead, courtesy of Hilario Ulloa (x3) and Fran Elizalde.

La Irenita La Hache remained in full swing in the fifth chukka, when Hilario Ulloa produced another two unanswered goals; that, until Facundo Pieres and Cruz Heguy closed the gap to two (7-9). At the beginning of the sixth chukka, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were trailing by one, after a goal by Facundo Pieres, but Nachi du Plessis widened La Irenita La Hache’s advantage to two (10-8).

But Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were not about to surrender that easily. They bounced back in the seventh chukka, following two consecutive goals – a 30-yards penalty conversion by Facundo Pieres and a remarkable field goal courtesy of Antonio Heguy, to tie at 10-all. But that was not enough – another 30-yards penalty conversion, this time by Gonzalito Pieres, secured Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu a 11-10 lead. And the story repeated – just like in the first semifinal on Wednesday, the second spot in the final was about to be decided in the last chukka… or eventually in OT. Everything was possible.

There was plenty of drama to come in the last chukka, that started with another penalty conversion by Facundo Pieres; now, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were two goals ahead (12-10). However, La Irenita La Hache replied quickly, through a great goal from Pablo MacDonough’s mallet. Again, the gap was shortened to one goal; but Antonio Heguy came up to mark the 13-11 lead for the Pieres-Heguy combo. There was still three minutes to go, and La Irenita La Hache still had chances. But the clock ran very quickly – with only 26 seconds left, Hilario Ulloa converted the penalty that sealed the result. After a hard fought contest, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu won 13-12, and will go head-to-head against La Natividad La Dolfina for the most coveted polo trophy of the year.

LA NATIVIDAD LA DOLFINA AND ELLERSTINA INDIOS CHAPALEUFU WILL PLAY THE 132nd. ARGENTINE POLO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 7 AT 4,30pm.

132nd. Argentine Polo Open Championship – Teams & Fixture

Cover photo, by Matías Callejo / Prensa AAP.