Day 2
Missoula, MT, WPH Press, 2/4/23
Super Saturday at the 2023 R48 Red Death featured the largest galleries of the season and some of the best handball of the season, as the game’s top names thrilled the Big Sky Country fans.
Quarterfinals
Lucho Cordova and Vic Perez reignited their decade-long rivalry in the first quarterfinal of the day, with Lucho taking the first game in just nine minutes. Perez worked his way into the match in the second, with the pair tied at nine. Lucho took off from there, booking his spot in his fifth semifinal of the season. “I like playing Vic,” Lucho would later say. “We have similar styles so the match is fun.”
Killian Carroll started slowly in his quarterfinal match with Leo Canales but found his form midway through the first game and dominated from there, ending the match on a 26-1 run to advance to the Semifinals.
Martin Mulkerrins continued his dominance in his first meeting with countryman Mark Doyle, overpowering the prodigy in two games.
Shorty Ruiz upset David Fink to advance to his first semifinal of the season, dropping the first game and rallying to win the next two.
Semifinals
Lucho and Carroll played the most highly anticipated semifinal match of the season, with Carroll entering his first R48 event since April of 2017 sans his top ranking. Lucho seized the number one spot after winning the R48 Icebreaker in December and looked like the tour’s number one player in the first game and a half against Carroll. Lucho blitzed Carroll in the first and held a slim lead in the second. Carroll unleashed his full arsenal of shots from there, opening up his game with precision offense and perfect defense to flummox Lucho and force a third. Carroll’s serve was nearly unreturnable in the third, leading to ace serves and first strike kills, clinching his fourth Red Death finals appearance in four Red Death R48 events. “I feel terrible right now,” stated Carroll after the match.
Martin Mulkerrins met Shorty Ruiz for the third time this season with Mulkerrins winning their first two encounters. Mulkerrins was relentless against Ruiz, as he has been on the tour in the last two stops. Mulkerrins won 68% of his points in winning New Orleans and has improved on that percentage through three rounds in Montana, outscoring his three opponents by a combined score of 90-31 (74%).
Round of 8
Lucho def Perez 15-4, 15-10
Carroll def Canales 15-7, 15-1
Mulkerrins def Doyle 15-4, 15-7
Ruiz def Fink 2-15, 15-8, 15-7
Semifinals
Carroll def Lucho 7-15, 15-10, 15-7
Mulkerrins def Ruiz 15-5, 15-8
Broadcast Schedule – Sunday, February 5, 2023 – All Times Mountain Standard (MST)
Follow the brackets from the 2023 R48 Red Death HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
(Pictures provided by the WPH Team of Eilish Owens and Dave Vincent)