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Lee Vann Corteza

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Lee Vann Corteza
Lee Vann Corteza at the 2013 U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship
Born (1979-03-01) March 1, 1979 (age 45)
Sport country Philippines
Nickname"The Slayer"
Pool gamesNine-ball, ten-ball, eight-ball, straight pool
Tournament wins
Major2013 World Cup of Pool 2013 China 9-Ball Open
Medal record
Representing  Philippines

Men's nine-ball
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan Singles
Gold medal – first place 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan Team
Silver medal – second place 2001 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Gold medal – first place 2003 Ho Chi Minh City Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Singles

Men's eight-ball
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2001 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Gold medal – first place 2003 Ho Chi Minh City Singles
Gold medal – first place 2005 Manila Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2005 Manila Singles

Lee Vann Corteza, also spelled Lee Van Corteza, (born March 1, 1979, in Davao City, Philippines) is a Filipino professional pool player.[1] He is nicknamed "The Slayer",[2] and started playing pool in 1993.[3]

Early life

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Corteza is the oldest of five brothers. His parents named him after American actor Lee Van Cleef. Corteza first took up pool at age thirteen, after a friend brought him to a pool parlor. Corteza was subsequently blacklisted from the parlor after accidentally damaging a table, but he continued to pursue his passion for the game at other parlors.[4]

Career

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Corteza has won four gold medals and one silver medal at the Southeast Asian Games, and was the winner of the 2004 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour tournament in the Philippines, beating fellow countryman Francisco "Django" Bustamante 13–11 in the final.[5][6]

On March 31, 2007, Corteza won the Philippine National Championship by defeating Marlon Manalo with a score of 13–11. In 2009, Corteza finished runner up in the WPA World Ten-ball Championship losing to Mika Immonen of Finland 11–6 held at Quezon City, Philippines.[7]

In 2010, Corteza beat Taiwanese Lo Li-Wen 13–12, in the final to rule the U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship in Las Vegas. Corteza got the revenge after Lo Li-Wen sent him to the one loss side with 9–6 score. Corteza proceeded to defeat Shane Van Boening 9–8 in order to face Lo in the championship match, winning the title and $20,000 in price money.[8][9]

In 2013, Corteza defeated Fu Che-wei of Taiwan 11–6 to win the China Open Nine-ball Championship and pocketed the top prize of $40,000.[10] Also in 2013, Corteza together with his partner Dennis Orcollo clinched the title in the 2013 World Cup of Pool after defeating the Dutch tandem of Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg, 10–8, at York Hall in London, England. They became the third Filipino duo to win the annual single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball competition after Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco Bustamante won the inaugural event in 2006 and then repeated in 2009.[11]

In 2017, Corteza defeated Thorsten Hohmann 300–183 to win the Dragon 14.1 Tournament.[12][13]

In 2020, Corteza dominated Joshua Filler of Germany, 11–4, to win the Derby City Classic Nine-ball held at Caesars Southern Indiana Casino and Hotel, Elizabeth, Indiana.[14][15]

Corteza has pocketed $16,000 for his efforts, while Filler settled for $8,000. Corteza was also able to reach the final of the bigfoot ten-ball event that year but would lose to Jayson Shaw of Great Britain 11–5.[16]

In 2024, Corteza clinched the Predator Pro Billiards Series Las Vegas Ten-ball Open in an electrifying all-Filipino final, defeating fellow veteran Carlo Biado in two sets with scores of 4–2 and 4–3 at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in the United States.[17]

Corteza took home $30,000 prize money (P1.7 million) for his victory, while Biado received $14,000 (P783,000) for his runner-up finish.[18]

Titles and achievements

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Personal life

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Corteza currently resides Astoria, New York,[38] although he has a house in Davao City and stays there when he returns to the Philippines.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Second time lucky for Van Corteza" [sic] Archived November 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, World Pool-Billiard Association
  2. ^ "Filipino Cue Master Lee Vann Corteza Wins Asian Invitational Championship; Pockets $7,000 - News - AZBILLIARDS.COM". AzBilliards. August 24, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "Player Profile: Lee Van Corteza" Archived November 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, ESPNStar.com
  4. ^ Lerner, Ted. "Next in Line". Billiards Digest. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  5. ^ "San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour Stop" Archived April 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, AZBilliards.com
  6. ^ "Villanueva, Corteza advance to the World Pool tourney" Archived October 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Manila Times (online edition), 2006; retrieved November 29, 2006.
  7. ^ "Immonen wins World 10-ball Championship". azbilliards.com. November 20, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  8. ^ "Corteza slays Lo for US Open 10-Ball Title - News - AZBILLIARDS.COM". AzBilliards. May 23, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Sunnexdesk (May 23, 2010). "Corteza dominates US 10-Ball". SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  10. ^ "CORTEZA CASHES IN!|WPA Pool". Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Fopalan, Renee (September 23, 2013). "PHL duo of Corteza, Orcollo nab 2013 World Cup of Pool title". GMA News Online. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Saberon-Abalayan, Marianne L. (April 16, 2017). "Corteza stuns four-time champ Hohmann for title". Sunstar.com. SunStar Davao. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  13. ^ Luarca, Roy (October 13, 2017). "Corteza makes history". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "Derby City Classic 2020 9-Ball Division - Horseshoe Southern Indiana - January 24 - February 1st, 2020 - Results - AZBILLIARDS.COM". AzBilliards. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Co, Chris. "Corteza kampeon sa 9-Ball Derby Classic". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Saberon-Abalayan, Marianne L. (January 31, 2020). "Corteza second in Indiana event". SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "Pinoy Power: Centeno & Corteza Triumph in Las Vegas Open". Predator Pro Billiard Series. February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  18. ^ Villar, Joey. "Centeno, Corteza rule Las Vegas 10-Ball Open". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  19. ^ "2023 Southeastern Triple Crown of Billiards All Around - Zingales Billiards - March 9 - 13th, 2022 - Results - AZBILLIARDS.COM". AzBilliards. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "2023 Southeastern Triple Crown of Billiards 9-Ball - Zingales Billiards - March 9 - 13th, 2022 - Results - AZBILLIARDS.COM". AzBilliards. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  21. ^ Saberon-Abalayan, Marianne L. (April 16, 2017). "Corteza wins big in 2017 US Open". Sunstar.com. SunStar Davao. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  22. ^ "World Cup of Pool 2013". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  23. ^ "China Open Men's Div. 2013". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  24. ^ "Southern Cl. 2013 9B Div". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  25. ^ "Manny Pacquiao International 10B C'ship". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  26. ^ "SMB Oktoberfest". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  27. ^ "Corteza wins 9 Ball Invitational Championship in Malaysia". www.cuesports.org.tw. August 21, 2011. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  28. ^ "US Open 10-Ball 2010". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  29. ^ "Hard Times 10B 2010". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  30. ^ "Predator 10B 2010 Spain". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  31. ^ "DCC 2009 10B Challenge". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  32. ^ "Turning Stone IX". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  33. ^ a b "Lee Van Corteza". ProPool.info. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  34. ^ "San Miguel Tour 2004 Stop 5". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2004.
  35. ^ "Lee Van Corteza" Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Inside Pool magazine (online edition)
  36. ^ a b "Bata Leads Billiards 'Dream Team' for RP to SEA Games" Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Manila Times (online edition), 2003
  37. ^ a b c "Southeast Asian Games Medallists" Archived December 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Philippine Olympic Committee
  38. ^ "Lee Vann Corteza".
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