Lee Vann Corteza
Lee Vann Corteza, also spelled Lee Van Corteza, (born 1 March 1979 in Davao City, Philippines) is a Filipino professional pool player.[1] He is nicknamed "Van Van", and started playing pool in 1993.[2]
Lee Vann Corteza at the 2013 U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 1 March 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport country | Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Van Van" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Major | 2017 World Tournament | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Champion | 2013 World Cup of Pool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking info | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
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.[3]
Career
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 Bustamante 13–11 in the final.[4][5]
On March 31, 2007, Corteza won the Philippine National Championship by defeating Marlon Manalo with a score of 13–11. Corteza finished runner up in the 2009 WPA World Ten-ball Championship.[6]
Lee Vann Corteza is currently managed by Jonathan Sy of the Negros Billiards Stable and JSY Sports.
In 2017, Corteza defeated Thorsten Hohmann 300–183 to win the World Tournament, becoming the first Filipino and Asian to do so.[7][8]
Titles and tournament achievements
- 2020 Derby City Classic 9-ball Champion
- 2017 World Tournament[7]
- 2017 U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship[9]
- 2013 World Cup of Pool (with Dennis Orcollo)[10]
- 2013 China Open[11]
- 2013 Southern Classic 9-Ball Division[12]
- 2011 Manny Pacquiao International 10-Ball Championships[13]
- 2011 San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest 9-Ball Open[14]
- 2011 3rd Golden Break 9-Ball Invitational Championship[15]
- 2010 US Open Ten-Ball Championship[16]
- 2010 Hard Times 10-Ball Open[17]
- 2010 Predator International 10-Ball[18]
- 2009 Derby City Classic Ten-Ball Challenge[19]
- 2007 Turning Stone Classic IX[20]
- 2007 Philippine National Championship[21]
- 2006 All Japan Championship[21]
- 2004 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour (Manila Leg)[22][23]
Other achievements
- 2006 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Championship - Last 32, defeat versus David Alcaide[24]
- 2004 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Championship - Last 64[1]
- 2003 Southeast Asian Games - Eight-ball Singles[25]
- 2003 Southeast Asian Games - Nine-ball Doubles[25]
- 2003 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Championship - Last 32[1]
- 2002 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Championship - Last 64[1]
- 2001 Southeast Asian Games - Eight-Ball Singles[26]
- 2001 Southeast Asian Games - Nine-Ball Singles[26]
- 1999 Southeast Asian Games - Nine-Ball Singles[26]
References
- "Second time lucky for Van Corteza"[sic] Archived 2006-11-27 at the Wayback Machine, World Pool-Billiard Association
- "Player Profile: Lee Van Corteza" Archived 2006-11-11 at the Wayback Machine, ESPNStar.com
- Ted Lerner. "Next in Line". Billiards Digest. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
- "San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour Stop" Archived 2006-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, AZBilliards.com
- "Villanueva, Corteza advance to the World Pool tourney" Archived 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, Manila Times (online edition), 2006; retrieved November 29, 2006.
- "Immonen wins World 10-Ball Championship". azbilliards.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan (April 16, 2017). "Corteza stuns four-time champ Hohmann for title". SunStar DAVAO. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- Roy Luarca (October 13, 2017). "Corteza makes history". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
- Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan (April 16, 2017). "Corteza wins big in 2017 US Open". SunStar DAVAO. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- "World Cup of Pool 2013". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
- "China Open Men's Div. 2013". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "Southern Cl. 2013 9B Div". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- "Manny Pacquiao International 10B C'ship". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- "SMB Oktoberfest". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- "Corteza wins 9 Ball Invitational Championship in Malaysia". http://www.cuesports.org.tw. August 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2012-02-23. External link in
|publisher=
(help) - "US Open 10-Ball 2010". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- "Hard Times 10B 2010". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
- "Predator 10B 2010 Spain". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
- "DCC 2009 10B Challenge". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-12. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
- "Turning Stone IX". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-28. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
- "Lee Van Corteza". Propool.info. Archived from the original on 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- "San Miguel Tour 2004 Stop 5". Azbilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved May 30, 2004.
- "Lee Van Corteza" Archived 2006-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, Inside Pool magazine (online edition)
- "Knock out stages 2006 World Pool Championship" Archived 2006-11-27 at the Wayback Machine, World Pool Billiard Association, 2006
- "Bata Leads Billiards 'Dream Team' for RP to SEA Games" Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine, Manila Times (online edition), 2003
- "Southeast Asian Games Medallists" Archived 2006-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, Philippine Olympic Committee