Lee Vann Corteza
Lee Vann Corteza at the 2013 U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship
Born (1979-03-01) March 1, 1979
Sport country Philippines
Nickname"Van Van"
Tournament wins
Major2013 World Cup of Pool 2013 China Open 9-ball Championship
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 place2001 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Gold medal – first place2003 Ho Chi Minh City Doubles
Silver medal – second place2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Singles

Men's eight-ball
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2001 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Gold medal – first place2003 Ho Chi Minh City Singles
Gold medal – first place2005 Manila Doubles
Silver medal – second place2005 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 "Van Van", and started playing pool in 1993.[2]

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 "Django" 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]

In 2013, Corteza together with his partner Dennis Orcollo clinched the title in the 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.[7]

In 2017, Corteza defeated Thorsten Hohmann 300–183 to win the Dragon 14.1 Tournament.[8][9]

Titles and achievements

Personal life

Corteza currently resides Astoria, New York.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Second time lucky for Van Corteza" [sic] Archived November 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, World Pool-Billiard Association
  2. ↑ "Player Profile: Lee Van Corteza" Archived November 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, ESPNStar.com
  3. ↑ Lerner, Ted. "Next in Line". Billiards Digest. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ "San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour Stop" Archived April 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, AZBilliards.com
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "Immonen wins World 10-ball Championship". azbilliards.com. November 20, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ Fopalan, Renee (September 23, 2013). "PHL duo of Corteza, Orcollo nab 2013 World Cup of Pool title". GMA News Online. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Saberon-Abalayan, Marianne L. (April 16, 2017). "Corteza stuns four-time champ Hohmann for title". Sunstar.com. SunStar Davao. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ Luarca, Roy (October 13, 2017). "Corteza makes history". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  10. ↑ Saberon-Abalayan, Marianne L. (April 16, 2017). "Corteza wins big in 2017 US Open". Sunstar.com. SunStar Davao. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  11. ↑ "World Cup of Pool 2013". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ "China Open Men's Div. 2013". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Southern Cl. 2013 9B Div". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Manny Pacquiao International 10B C'ship". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  15. ↑ "SMB Oktoberfest". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ "US Open 10-Ball 2010". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Hard Times 10B 2010". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Predator 10B 2010 Spain". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  20. ↑ "DCC 2009 10B Challenge". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  21. ↑ "Turning Stone IX". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  22. 1 2 "Lee Van Corteza". ProPool.info. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  23. ↑ "San Miguel Tour 2004 Stop 5". AZBilliards.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2004.
  24. ↑ "Lee Van Corteza" Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Inside Pool magazine (online edition)
  25. 1 2 "Bata Leads Billiards 'Dream Team' for RP to SEA Games" Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Manila Times (online edition), 2003
  26. 1 2 3 "Southeast Asian Games Medallists" Archived December 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Philippine Olympic Committee
  27. ↑ "Lee Vann Corteza".
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