If in Las Vegas, randomness means dreams can be fulfilled at the same time hearts can be broken, the 119th edition of the Argentine Open did just that. Action in Palermo showed that predictions can be crushed when the desire to win—and a touch of magic—appears. With a remarkable respect for team play, talent and even a little bit of luck, the Pieres brothers' Ellerstina Citi exceeded Adolfo Cambiaso's heavily favored La Dolfina Hope Funds 12-10 to claim the biggest prize in the world of polo. Only La Dolfina's win in the Hurlingham Open kept the Pieres brothers from taking the Triple Crown.

On Saturday, November 17, the Argentine Open Championship began with a record. Field No. 2 was an unusual venue for Adolfo Cambiaso as he scored six goals in the victory of La Dolfina Hope Funds against Magual Prisa 17-9, a match that was defined in the first half when Cambiaso's team took a lead of 11-3. In the seventh chukker, riding his beloved mare Cuartetera, Adolfito got the last conquest of the afternoon: his 700th goal from among his participation at Palermo, a figure never achieved by any other player. "I hope the 800th will be [while] playing Cuartetera's clone," admitted Cambiaso after the match.

Later, on Field No. 1—also known as the Cathedral—Pilará Piaget and Alegría Sancor Seguros offered stiff competition, with Sebastian Merlos facing his brothers Agustin and Juan Ignacio. In the first game of the season between these two teams, played in Hurlingham, they offered a preview, with the blue-shirted Pilará coming out on top 22-18. The Open game had Pilará jumping ahead 4-1 in the first chukker, but Juan Ignacio and Agustín took control for Alegría, pulling ahead 9-5 in the fourth chukker. Pilará rallied and evened the score in the sixth chukker, but hearts stopped when Sebastián Merlos took a rough fall after his mare Renata stumbled that period. After remounting, and with blood on his face, Sebastian led the Blues to a narrow 13-12 victory.

The next day, Ellerstina Citi had a tighter beginning than the prior margin marked against debutant La Aguada-Las Monjitas. In the first match between the two quartets in Hurlingham, La Zeta won 15-11. Now, the difference was smaller (12-10) because of its opponent's strong defenses plus some shortcomings in passing the ball on the part of La Zeta. Another rough moment came in the sixth chukker, when Nicolás Pieres fell after colliding with Eduardo Novillo Astrada.

The second round repeated the score in favor of La Aguada BMW against La Natividad Park Hyatt in a match played in the rain—unusual for Argentina. La Natividad, led by a brilliant Ignacio Heguy, started like a bulldozer, winning the initial chukker 4-0 and remaining ahead 8-5 at the half. La Aguada reassembled its parts, adjusted its defenses and took control of the proceedings in the second half. Guillermo Caset turned in nine goals and, even with the substitution of Julio Novillo Astrada for his injured cousin Miguel Novillo Astrada, allowed La Aguada to stop La Natividad's push and avenge its defeat in Hurlingham.

The second weekend began on Saturday, November 24. Piaget Pilará kept a winning pace against Magual Prisa, although by a tighter margin than the first match in Hurlingham when Pilará took a broad 22-13 victory. This time, with a focus on leading Group A, the team led by Sebastián Merlos played a measured match, controlling the ball—and the score—after the initial 28 minutes, during which time Magual Prisa was in front 6-5. Pilará won 14-11 with a half-dozen goals by Francisco de Narváez.

Back into The Cathedral, La Dolfina Hope Funds made clear it was the defending champion against Alegría Sancor Seguros. Adolfito made 10 goals and allowed the 40-goal Dream Team to score its second win by a convincing 18-6, doubling the six-goal difference in the teams' handicap and outdoing its previous victories against the team in the Tortugas (18-14) and Hurlingham (18-13) tournaments.

It took 24 hours to convert Palermo to the scene of much surprise: La Aguada- Las Monjitas, with Eduardo, the eldest Novillo Astrada brother, and Alejandro, the youngest of the five, beat La Aguada BMW, led by their brothers Miguel, Javier and Ignacio Novillo Astrada—survivors of the quartet that won the 2003 Triple Crown—12-11 in an extra chukker.

The low scoring was justified by the good defense of both quartets and the knowledge players get from playing together. The orange La Aguada-Las Monjitas enjoyed their first win at Palermo thanks to an unforgettable golden goal by Christian Laprida in overtime to avenge its narrow 15-14 defeat in Hurlingham.

Then, as in its initial Open match, Ellerstina Citi again offered only glimpses of its quality. While the win over La Natividad Park Hyatt was indisputable, its attempt to maintain the undefeated season against La Natividad—17-13 in Tortugas and 23-13 in Hurlingham—lacked the usual brilliance that Piereses generally offer. In one of the most talked about matches, the final score was in favor of The Zeta by a tight 16-14, leaving the defeated team perhaps happier than the winning quartet.

The last qualifying date was decided on the following weekend. On Saturday, December 1 on Field No. 2, Alegría Sancor Seguros got the consolation of leaving Palermo with a victory, beating Magual Prisa 18-16 in a match in which Agustín Merlos' 11 goals proved vital. Having overcome the four-goal handicap differential, the Magual players counted the losing score a victory for its first experience in the world's toughest Open, celebrating with champagne after the encounter.

Then, action went back to the Cathedral where La Dolfina Hope Funds gave its third great performance of the tournament. With a well-oiled and overwhelmingly game team, and even electing to save horses for the final match, the Cañuelas team showed it was the best candidate to again lift the most coveted trophy in the world, surpassing Piaget Pilará almost effortlessly 18-13, a victory much less difficult than a month ago in the Hurlingham Open, when it won 17-16.

The next day, La Natividad Park Hyatt finally got its first win in Palermo against La Aguada-Las Monjitas. With Nachi Heguy leading with five goals, the Green quartet took over the match from the start and was able to maintain the advantage against a team that saw a superlative performance from Alejandro Novillo Astrada, author of eight. Upon completion of the eight chukkers, the results favored Lolo Castagnola's team 14-11.

Then, the audience moved to the Field 1 where Ellerstina Citi finally, after two lackluster performances, appeared in its glory against La Aguada BMW. Still stinging from their 12-8 defeat in the Hurlingham Open, Ellerstina used all its talent to avenge that setback. From a devastating start—4-1 in the opening seven minutes—The Zeta controlled the game, imposed its style of long shots and runs and never fell into the Novillo Astradas' defensive schemes. The final 18-14 picture formalized a spot in the final match for the Men in Black.

One of the most violent storms in recent years hit Buenos Aires on Thursday, December 7, with nearly six inches of rain in a few hours. Miraculously, 48 hours later, Palermo was ready for the big clash between the two most powerful clubs in this sport. Statistics do not lie: between these teams from Cañuelas and General Rodriguez, they have faced each other in the last eight finals of the Triple Crown without interruption (Hurlingham and Palermo 2010, and all three tournaments in the 2011 and 2012 seasons).

When the numbers are expanded to show a full history between these archrivals, they show 26 final battles fought, with 15 wins for La Dolfina (382 goals) and 11 for Ellerstina (368 goals). So, historically and by the most recent matches, the stakes clearly favored Cambiaso's Dream Team. Statistics also posed a question about the prevalence of Adolfito & Co: both quartets had played the previous five Palermo finals, with La Dolfina winning in odd years (2007, 2009 and 2011) while Ellerstina has been winning even years (2008 and 2010). Could this trend continue in 2012?

Just because the numbers ruled in Cambiaso's favor, the final was not what the majority had anticipated. As Mariano Aguerre explained after the match, "In Palermo there is magic."

Ellerstina Citi won the first throw-in and took a quick 2-1 advantage, with Facundo Pieres on fire. But La Dolfina Hope Funds reacted and came to dominate the score 7- 6 upon completion of the first half. La Zeta did not lose its cool and kept following a strict game plan in which the defense was as important as the attack, even at the cost of causing many fouls.

In the fifth chukker, Ellerstina got a break thanks to a 3-0 scoring barrage that allowed the Piereses to surpass La Dolfina's score and dominate the match's tempo. Ellerstina kept the momentum into the next period and, with 14 minutes left, was in command 11-8. La Dolfina answered another goal from Facu Pieres, his sixth of the match, with scores from Juan Martin Nero and Cambiaso. But, with just 10 minutes left, La Dolfina's debacle began.

Up until then, Cambiaso had scored eight goals, including six penalties, but an injury to his sternum and nerves decreased his accuracy. For the remainder of the game, he failed to convert three penalty shots and a field goal. Even his teammates missed by inches. It seems the magic to which Aguerre had referred allowed La Zeta to stay afloat and finish 12-10.

Ellerstina celebrated by lifting the cherished cup for the fifth time in the team's history. To top it off, Facundo Pieres was MVP and won the Gonzalo Tanoira Best Mounted Player of the tournament, while brother Gonzalo was Best Mounted Player of the final and brother Nicholas took Best Argentine Polo Product with his mare Open Guillermina. Adolfo Cambiaso was the Open's Best Scorer with 33 goals overall and his Dolfina Buenaventura took the Lady Susan Townley Cup for best horse of the tournament.

–– By Ernesto Rodriguez / photos by Sergio Llamera