Lee Vann Corteza, also spelled Lee Van Corteza, (born 1 March 1979 in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

player.''[sic]''">"Second time lucky for Van Corteza"^''[sic]''
,

World Pool-Billiard Association The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is the international governing body for pool (pocket billiards). It was formed in 1987, and was initially headed by a provisional board of directors consisting of representatives from Australia, Americas ...

He is nicknamed "Van Van", and started playing pool in 1993."Player Profile: Lee Van Corteza"
, ''ESPNStar.com''

Early life

Corteza is the oldest of five brothers. His parents named him after American actor

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, parti ...

. 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.

Career

Corteza has won four gold medals and one silver medal at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

, and was the winner of the 2004

WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour The WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (also known as the Guinness Asian 9-Ball Tour or San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour for sponsorship reasons) was an annual series of nine-ball pool tournaments around East and Southeast Asia. The tour began in 2003, and is ...

tournament in the Philippines, beating fellow countryman

Francisco Bustamante Francisco Bustamante (born December 29, 1963) is a Filipino professional pool player from Tarlac, Central Luzon and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion, nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the 1966 film of the same name,Marlon Manalo Marlon Manalo (born November 27, 1975, in Mandaluyong, Philippines) is a former Filipino professional pool player from Mandaluyong, Philippines. He became the League of Barangays of the Philippines Press Relation Officer and ABC president. Car ...

with a score of 13–11. Corteza finished runner up in the 2009 WPA World Ten-ball Championship. In 2017, Corteza defeated

Thorsten Hohmann Thorsten Hohmann (born 14 July 1979 in Fulda, West Germany) is a German professional pool player, nicknamed "the Hitman." He is a three-time world champion, winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2003, and 2013, and winning the WPA Worl ...

300–183 to win the Dragon 14.1 Tournament.

Titles and achievements

* 2020

Derby City Classic The Derby City Classic is an annual pool convention and tournament held every January at the Caesars Southern Indiana casino in Elizabeth, Indiana, near Louisville, Kentucky. It is eight days long and offers various disciplines of competition for ...

9-Ball * 2018 Japan Open 10-Ball * 2017 World Pool Series Kamui Challenge * 2017 World Pool Series Highrock Challenge * 2017 Dragon 14.1 Tournament * 2017 CSI U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship * 2013

World Cup of Pool The World Cup of Pool is an annual international single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball pool competition. The event has been dominated by the Philippines and China, with both nations winning the event on three occasions. Hi ...

- with (

Dennis Orcollo Dennis Orcollo (born January 28, 1979), is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "RoboCop" and has been called "The Money-Game King" throughout the Philippines and the United States. Early life Orcollo is the second of four brothers. ...

) * 2013 China Open 9-Ball Championship * 2013 Southern Classic 9-Ball * 2011

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

10-Ball Championship * 2011 San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest 9-Ball Open * 2011 Golden Break 9-Ball Invitational Championship * 2010 CSI U.S. Open 10-ball Championship * 2010 Hard Times 10-Ball Open * 2010 Predator International 10-Ball *2009

Ten-Ball Challenge *2007 Turning Stone Classic *2007 Philippine National Championship *2006 All Japan Championship 9-Ball *2005 Southeast Asian Games Eight-ball Doubles *2004 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour (Manila Leg) *2003 Southeast Asian Games Eight-ball Singles"Bata Leads Billiards 'Dream Team' for RP to SEA Games"
, ''Manila Times'' (online edition), 2003 *2003 Southeast Asian Games Nine-ball Doubles *2001 Southeast Asian Games Eight-Ball Singles"Southeast Asian Games Medallists"
, Philippine Olympic Committee *1999 Southeast Asian Games Nine-Ball Singles *1999 Southeast Asian Games Nine-Ball Team

Personal life

Corteza currently resides Astoria, New York.

References