New Orleans, LA, WPH Press, 1/13/23-
The 2023 R48 + WR48 LTE New Orleans Mardi Gras marks the 74th event in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour and first WR48 LTE event in Race 4 Eight history, with the tour spanning 17 states in the R48’s first ten+ seasons.
The R48 Men’s Pro kicked off on the 2023 Mardi Gras Open on Friday afternoon at the Ochsner Fitness Center, with 16 ranked players vying for spots in Saturday’s Elite 8.
Lucho Cordova continued the momentum that has seen him win five of his last six WPH pro starts, dispatching Jeff Streibig in two games.
Second-seeded and current Portland Classic and R48 Player’s Champion Martin Mulkerrins was dominant in defeating Minnesota’s David Schiller.
Third-seeded Danos Cordova avenged his 2019 Memorial loss to Niall O’Connor, defeating the now Vancouver-based lefty in two games.
In his second R48 start, Ireland’s Mark Doyle stunned fourth-seeded David Fink in a Match of the Year contender, rallying from 5-12 in the second and third games and overcoming four match points to defeat the 2022 R48 Icebreaker finalist 17-15 in the third.
Current All Ireland 40×20 champion and USHA Four Wall national champion Diarmaid Nash overcame Tucson’s Ivan Burgos in two games, while Shorty Ruiz maintained his undefeated record against Max Langmack to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Sixth-seeded Leo Canales, Jr. overcame a slow start to defeat Stephen Cooney in a tiebreaker, while Sam Esser notched his first round of 16 win of the season, defeating NorCal’s Loren Collado in two games.
Round of 16
Lucho def Streibig 15-9, 15-12
Mulkerrins def Schiller 15-1, 15-4
Nash def Burgos 15-7, 15-9
Doyle def Fink 12-15, 16-14, 17-15
Danos def O’Connor 15-9, 15-8
Canales, Jr. def Cooney 10-15, 15-7, 15-5
Ruiz def Langmack 15-7, 15-10
Esser def Collado 15-7, 15-7
The WR48 stars will be in action on Saturday alongside the R48 quarterfinals and semifinals. Tune into ESPN3 to watch all of the action.
Watch Saturday’s matches live on ESPN3 starting at 10 am CST
Follow the brackets the 2023 R48LTE/SR48 New Orleans Mardi Gras HERE
2023 R48/WR48 New Orleans Mardi Gras press release HERE
Become a WPH Patreon HERE
Race 4 Eight Fun Facts HERE
Race 4 Eight pro player bios HERE
WPH Coaching Centers HERE
WPH Workout Central HERE
2022/23 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
WPH R48Pro Stop #4 – Mardi Gras Open – New Orleans – Jan 14-15, 2023
Saturday January 14, 2023, WPH/ESPN Broadcast Schedule (All Times Local CST)
(10:00 to 18:00 Broadcast Window)
10:00 Men’s Pro Quarters – L. Cordova vs Esser
11:00 Men’s Pro Quarters – D. Nash vs M. Doyle
12:00 Men’s Pro Quarters – Mulkerrins vs Ruiz
13:00 Men’s Pro Quarters – D. Cordova vs Canales JR
14:00 Women’s Pro Semis: A. Ruiz vs Clodagh Munroe
14:45 Women’s Pro Semis: M. Esser vs Tuohey
15:30 Men’s Pro Semis: L. Cordova or Esser vs Nash or Doyle
16:30 Men’s Pro Semis: Mulkerrins or Ruiz vs D. Cordova or Canales Jr
Sunday January 15, 2023, WPH/ESPN Broadcast Schedule (All Times Local CST)
(10:00 to 13:30 Broadcast Window)
10:00 Men’s Pro 9thPlace or 5th Place Playoff: TBD
10:45 Women’s Pro Singles: TBD
11:30 Men’s Pro Singles: TBD
Watch LIVE on ESPN+ (https://www.espn.com/espnplus/)
Brackets: https://www.r2sports.com/website/division-list.asp?TID=39548&sortBy=defaultOrder (brackets go live Friday afternoon)