Atlanta, GA, WPH Press, 10/6/19-
Day 3: Sunday
Final: Lucho vs. Danos
Lucho and Danos met for the second consecutive year in the e4 Ron Cook Atlanta R48 final, with Lucho defeating R48 #1 Killian Carroll for the second consecutive year in the upper bracket semifinals, while Danos advanced to the final without dropping a game in the bottom bracket.
Danos fell behind 0-2 in the early stages of game one but was handed a side out when Lucho served into the floor. Danos took control of the match from there, seizing a 5-2 lead and running away with the first game. “Daniel’s serve is really the difference,” stated ESPN broadcaster Martin Mulkerrins. “Daniel’s serve allows him to relax and play freely.”
The brothers were tied at six in game two but as he had done in game one, Danos broke away again, racing to a 10-6 lead with three ace serves. Lucho was never able to get on track, flooring three setups in the late stages of game two and never seriously threatening the now three-time R48 champion. “Lucho may have been feeling the effects of 5+ hours on the court in the past 48 hours,” stated Mulkerrins.
“This one definitely feels great,” stated Danos to ESPN’s Kara Mack. “I’ll sit this trophy right next to my turkey at Thanksgiving.”
Final: Danos def Lucho 15-8, 15-8
Playoffs
Emmett Peixoto met Vic Perez in an all-California 5th place final. The lead changed hands six times in the first half of the one game final to 25, as both players seized openings to end rallies. Perez took control in the second half, striking three of his five power serve crack aces to take a 22-18 lead. The players traded 12 consecutive side outs at 22-18, with Perez eventually scoring three of the final four points of the match to take fifth. “The fifth final is a chance for redemption and to show the crowd more of your game,” stated Perez, who will be in action next at the Portland Classic R48LTE October 18-20. “My left is still rusty, so I’m going to go home and do a lot of drills to be ready for the next event.”
Martin Mulkerrins won 9th place for the third time in his last three R48 appearances, defeating Niall O’Connor, Fergal Coughlan, Jr., and Leo Canales, Jr. “The ninth final is not where you aim to be at the start of these events but you make the most of it,” stated Mulkerrins.
Adam Bernhard bounced back from a disappointing qualifier loss to win 17th, defeating Max Langmack in the final.
5th final: Perez def Peixoto 25-19
9th final: Mulkerrins def Canales, Jr. 25-15
17th final: Bernhard def Langmack 25-18
Atlanta R48 IX e4 Finishes
1st: Danos
2nd: Lucho
3rd: Chavez/Carroll
5th: Perez
6th: Peixoto
7th: Fink/Lenning
9th: Mulkerrins
10th: Canales, Jr.
11th: Iglesias/Coughlan, Jr.
13th: Ruiz/O’Connor/Mattioni/L. Collado
17th: Bernhard
Amateur Brackets
Martin Mulkerrins teamed with tournament host Lance Wachholz to win the Open Doubles, Pete Papathemetrios won his first Open Singles tournament, playing his best ball to defeat Missouri State’s Denny Schmidt and WPH mega donor won the 70+ Singles.
Thank you!
Thank you to WPH Lifetime Achiever and e4’s Atlanta host Lance Wachholz for a sensational event in Atlanta. Thank you to the staff of volunteers at the Recreation ATL for their outstanding hospitality and southern charm. Thank you to the WPH staff and film crew for providing all of the action live on ESPN3.
Follow all of the brackets and results from the 2019 R48 IX e4 Design/Ron Cook Memorial Atlanta HERE
Watch replays on ESPN3 from Atlanta HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Atlanta, GA, WPH Press, 10/5/19-
Day 2: Saturday
Round of 8
R48 #1 Killian Carroll overcame 16 errors in his two-game sweep of Emmett Peixoto, switching to southpaw midway through the match to befuddle “The Rock.” “I felt like I was doing pretty well until Killian started playing lefty,” shrugged Peixoto.
Lucho Cordova and David Fink waged a two-hour war in the second quarterfinal, with Lucho taking the first game and Fink taking the second game. Lucho seized a 10-3 lead in the third but a right-handed error opened the door for Fink, who promptly tied the score at 11. Fink missed a right-handed back wall kill attempt by mere centimeters to hand Cordova the serve, and two more Fink errors handed the veteran a devastating loss.
Danos Cordova cooled off Friday’s hottest R48 star, as Danos led Vic Perez 14-9 in game one. Perez forced three Danos side outs, climbing to within one at 13-14. Danos was able to capitalize on his fourth attempt to win the game and controlled the action in game two to advance to the semifinals.
45-year old Marcos Chavez became the oldest R48 semifinalist in history, overcoming his good friend and doubles partner in two shockingly lopsided games. “This means so much to me I feel like I might cry,” stated Chavez. “I just want to carry on the legacy of guys I always looked up to like Danny Bell and John Bike who played into their 40’s and inspire some of the younger guys.
Quarterfinals
Carroll def Peixoto 15-8, 15-7
Cordova def Fink 15-11, 7-15, 15-11
Cordova def Perez 15-13, 15-10
Chavez def Lenning 15-6, 15-8
Semifinals
In a strange case of Atlanta déjà vu, Lucho Cordova defeated Fink in a tiebreaker in the upper bracket quarterfinals to face Killian Carroll in Atlanta’s semifinals, and just like in last year’s e4 Atlanta stop, Lucho trounced the R48 #1 in two games by virtually identical scores as last year. Lucho pushed Carroll all over the court throughout the match, eventually winning rallies with sensational corner kills and passes. “I knew I had to keep shooting because Killian digs everything,” stated Lucho.
Danos Cordova overwhelmed second-time R48 semifinalist Marcos Chavez in the bottom bracket, breaking Marcos’ ankles with head-fake serves to the right and overpowering the veteran in the rallies. “I have so much respect for Marcos and he has no weaknesses,” stated Danos. “I know I have to keep the pressure on him or he can turn a match around at any moment.”
Lucho def Carroll 15-9, 15-11
Danos def Chavez 15-6, 15-8
ESPN3 & WatchESPN Live Broadcast (Sunday):
9th Place Final: Mulkerrins vs Canales – 10am EST
5th Place Final: Peixoto vs Perez 1045am EST
Final (Sunday): 11:45 am EST – Luis Cordova vs Daniel Cordova [Lucho vs Danos]
Follow all of the brackets and results from the 2019 R48 IX e4 Design/Ron Cook Memorial Atlanta HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Atlanta, GA, WPH Press, 10/4/19-
Day 1: Friday
The 2019 Race 4 Eight e4 Design/Ron Cook Memorial Atlanta kicked off the Race 4 Eight IX season, as the Race 4 Eight staged its fourth event in Atlanta and 58th Race stop since the inception of the tour in 2011. Lucho Cordova won his first R48 title at the 2018 e4 Design Atlanta R48 8, upsetting R48 #1 Killian Carroll in the semifinals and outlasting younger brother and R48 #3 Danos Cordova in the final. Nine of the top 10 Race 4 Eight pros and current national finalist Martin Mulkerrins (IRE), as well as a strong qualifier field started to their 2019/20 R48 seasons at the Recreation ATL, with Friday’s action featuring the qualifier and round of 16.
Qualifier
Iglesias def Papathemetrios 25-10
Ruiz def Bacon 25-5
Mulkerrins def Schmidt 25-4
Canales, Jr. def Chu 25-18
Collado def Palma25-9
O’Connor (direct entry via 2019 RFC R48 Pre Qualifier)
Coughlan, Jr. def Bernhard 25-19
Mattioni def Langmack 25-21
Round of 16
R48 #1 started his season with a comfortable two-game sweep of Tennessee’s Nick Mattioni,
cruising into Saturday’s quarterfinals. “”I was planning on just sitting on my couch all weekend and here I am playing Killian,” stated Mattioni after qualifying earlier in the day with an impressive victory against Max Langmack.
After taking the first game and scoring just four in game two,
R48 #2 Sean Lenning found himself trailing 2-8 in the third against Ireland’s Fergal Coughlan, Jr. Lenning erased the six-point deficit in just two minutes and 35 seconds, tying the score at nine. The pair traded incredible shots to meet again at 12, including a behind-the-back rollout from the Irishman. The poker superstar thrives under pressure, as Lenning fired two aces and a kill to take the match. “I had my chances,” Coughlan stated, shaking his head.
Daniel Cordova played impressively in his first tournament match since injuring his left shoulder at the USHA Three Wall Nationals, dispatching of talented shot maker Niall O’Connor in two games, while Lucho Cordova sailed past the Olympic Club’s Loren Collado in two games.
42-year old David Fink surrendered nearly 20 years to quickly rising star Leo Canales, Jr. and also surrendered five unanswered points to the Juarez Kid to start the match. Canales led 12-8 late in the first game, crushing back wall kills and forcing Fink errors. Fink took control of the match from there, scoring 23 of the final 24 points of the match to advance.
Vic Perez faced the sternest challenge in the round of 16 on paper, as current national finalist Martin Mulkerrins aimed for his R48 breakthrough. Perez struck 12 aces in the two-game sweep, hitting the left side wall crack seemingly at will. “It just seems like whoever I play plays the match of his life against me,” lamented Mulkerrins.
Mulkerrins led 11-8 in game one but a return of serve hand kill off a Mulkerrins z serve second serve gave Perez the serve and the opening he needed. Perez scored seven of the final eight points of the first game and controlled the action in game two to keep run his streak of round of 16 wins to nine. “Vic just played awesome, there was nothing Martin could have done,” stated Shorty Ruiz.
Marcos Chavez seized a 15-4, 11-7 lead against former L.A. rival Shorty Ruiz when Ruiz stunned Chavez with eight straight points to force a third. “I got my serve and kills going and really got into a groove,” stated Ruiz.
Ruiz led 4-1 in game three and appeared to be in control, but the cagy 45-year old R48 #7 switched his serve and cooled off Ruiz in the process. “I went to the Chapman overhand two-wall serve and got some setups,” stated Chavez. “That serve really messed me up,” stated Ruiz. Chavez advanced closed out the match from there, making clutch kills to advance.
Emmett Peixoto ousted longtime rival Jonathan Iglesias in two games, clinging to a small lead throughout the first and dominating game two.
Rd. of 16
Carroll def Mattioni 15-3, 15-7
Lenning def Coughlan, Jr. 15-10, 4-15, 15-12
Cordova def N. O’Connor 15-10, 15-12
Cordova def L. Collado 15-6, 15-10
Fink def Canales, Jr. 15-13, 15-0
Perez def Mulkerrins 15-12, 15-12
Chavez def Ruiz 15-4, 11-15, 15-7
Peixoto def Iglesias 15-12, 15-1
Round of 8 (Saturday on ESPN3: All times EST) – Watch on ESPN3 & WatchESPN App or go to Patreon.com/wphlive for details
Carroll vs. Peixoto 10 am
Cordova vs. Fink 11 am
Cordova vs. Perez 1 pm
Lenning vs. Chavez noon
Follow all of the brackets and results from the 2019 R48 IX e4 Design/Ron Cook Memorial Atlanta HERE
Atlanta R48 8 Stop #1 Press Release HERE
2019 Atlanta Broadcast Schedule on ESPN3: Saturday, October 5, 10 am-7 pm, Sunday, October 6, 10 am-1:30 pm
Handball Terminology + Instruction and R48 Rules HERE
Race 4 Eight Pro Player Bios HERE
Full Race 4 Eight IX Preview HERE
WPH Power Rankings HERE
DF’s R48 Fun Facts and Trends HERE
Race 4 Eight History of Champions and Finalists HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer