Day 1
Missoula, MT, WPH Press, 2/2/24-
The 2024 R48 Montana Red Death marked the 85th event in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour, with the tour spanning eighteen states in the R48’s first eleven seasons. The 2024 R48 Montana Red Death featured six of the top eight Elite 8 pros, headlined by R48 #1 pro Lucho Cordova (MEX), R48 #2 Danos Cordova (MEX) and R48 #3 pro Martin Mulkerrins (IRE). Eighteen Race 4 Eight ranked pros made the trip to Missoula, including Race 4 Eight veterans and Next Gen stars Vic Perez (CA), John Chapman (MT), Abraham Montijo (AZ), Jab Bike (CA), Mark Doyle (IRE), Ivan Burgos (CAN) Diarmuid Mulkerrins (IRE), Max Langmack (AZ), Jeff Streibig (MO), Niall O’Connor (IRE) and Loren Collado (CA).
The Red Death was guaranteed a new champion, as twenty-three time Race 4 Eight champion Killian Carroll had won all four editions of the Race 4 Eight Red Death (2018, 2019, 2020, 2023).
Round of 16
Lucho Cordova eased into Saturday’s quarterfinals with a two-game sweep against NorCal’s Loren Collado, making the game look easy in his fourteenth consecutive month as the R48#1.
Virtually identical to his start in last year’s round of 16 at the Red Death, Vic Perez dropped the first game to Ivan Burgos 15-3 in just eleven minutes, not earning his first serve until Burgos reached thirteen. Never panicked or rushed, Perez slowed the game down with an overhand two-wall serve and started to pick Burgos’s kills, evening the match at one game apiece. Burgos held a slight advantage midway through the third, leading 10-8, but seemed to be overtaken by nerves, as he skipped several setups and failed to put away several more offensive chances. Perez capitalized, pinching the left corner with his right hand when he had the chance and winning his fourth tiebreaker of the season.
“I didn’t feel good in there at all,” stated Perez. “I just won by hitting lobs and he missed a bunch of shots at the end.”
Leo Canales continued his strong play from St. Louis against Max Langmack, building big leads in both games to advance to his second consecutive quarterfinal.
David Fink trailed Jab Bike 5-9 in game one after leading 4-3 in their round of 16 match. “Jab was hitting the ball so hard it was hard to get into the rallies,” Fink would later say. Fink scored ten of the final eleven points of the first game and raced to an 11-0 lead in the second to advance to his fifth quarterfinal of the season.
Martin Mulkerrins defeated current 35+ national champion and top 20 Race 4 Eight pro Abraham Montijo in two games, relying on his power and precision. “I served well,” Montijo would later say. “Six of my seven points in the first game were on aces and we had rallies, but he is just so strong.”
Sam Esser continued his strong season, advancing to his fifth quarterfinal of the season with a two-game sweep against former Midwest rival Jeff Streibig. “I felt good in there,” Esser would later say. “I killed a lot in the first and built a big lead in the second but Jeff started to get everything and made a nice comeback.”
Mark Doyle and Shorty Ruiz faced each other for the fourth time in fifteen months, with Doyle winning two of their first three encounters. Doyle cooled off a white hot Ruiz, who had prepared extensively for a deep run at the Red Death. “I didn’t feel like I played that well but I was pushing the ball down the walls well and serving well,” stated Doyle, who is unquestionably one of the game’s premiere young stars.
“I don’t even know why I train,” lamented Ruiz.
Danos Cordova faced Diarmuid Mulkerrins for the first time, with the NextGen star Mulkerrins teeing it up with Danos just forty-five minutes after his one-hour and forty-minute round of 32 wins against Niall O’Connor. Danos overwhelmed Mulkerrins in game one, serving a donut. Mulkerrins was more competitive in game two, tied at seven at the midway point. Danos closed the door from there, moving into his fifth quarterfinal of the season. “I had never played Daniel before and I suppose I was just mad (nervous) like,” stated Diarmuid. “I hit some good revolvers in the second but it just got away from me.”
2024 Red Death Round of 16
Lucho def Collado 15-3, 15-7
Danos def D. Mulkerrins 15-0, 15-8
Mulkerrins def Montijo 15-7, 15-1
Fink def Bike 15-10, 15-3
Canales def Langmack 15-6-15-7
Esser def Streibig 15-8, 15-11
Doyle def Ruiz 15-10, 15-7
Perez def Burgos 3-15, 15-10, 15-10
Quarterfinals (Saturday on ESPN+, all times MST)
Lucho vs. Perez 10 am
Fink vs. Canales 11 am
Mulkerrins vs. Esser Noon
Danos vs. Doyle 1 pm
More info on the 2024 Montana Red Death, including starting times and to follow the brackets HERE
Montana Red Death R48 Press Release HERE
2024 Montana Red Death Broadcast Schedule on ESPN+: Saturday, February 3, 10 am-7 pm MST, Sunday, February 4, 10 am-1 pm MST.
Current Race 4 Eight Rankings HERE
Handball Terminology + Instruction and R48 Rules HERE
Race 4 Eight Pro Player Bios HERE
DF’s R48 Fun Facts and Trends + Race 4 Eight History of Champions HERE
2023/24 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH Coaching Center Instructional Videos HERE
2023 JR WPH Portfolio HERE
Support the sport and become a WPH Patreon HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2023/24 Race 4 Eight XIII Powered by ESPN features Race 4 Eight stops in Oregon, Arizona, Missouri, Montana and Mexico, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in Utah in May of 2023. Similar to NASCAR’s Nextel Cup and the FedEx PGA Playoffs, players earn points in the Race 4 Eight’s regular season stops to qualify for the season-ending Player’s Championship and bonus prizes.
For more information on the WPH Race 4 Eight title sponsor opportunity, please contact World Players of Handball Executive Director David Vincent at dave.vincent@wphlive.tv or World Players of Handball Development Director David Fink at david.fink@wphlive.tv. For more information on the World Players of Handball, please visit wphlive.tv
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Missoula Montana – Red Death ESPN Broadcast Schedule
WPH R48Pro Stop #5 (Season XIII) – Feb 3rd & 4th, 2024
Saturday, February 3, 2024 (All Times Mountain Standard)
10:00 Men’s Quarterfinals – Luis Cordova (Mex) vs Vic Perez (CA) (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
11:00 Men’s Quarterfinals – Leo Canales Jr (AZ) vs David Fink (AZ) (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
12:00 Men’s Quarterfinals – Mark Doyle (Ire) vs Daniel Cordova (Mex) (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
13:00 Men’s Quarterfinals – Martin Mulkerrins (Ire) vs Sam Esser (AZ) (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
14:00 Men’s 9th Place Semis – John Bike vs Ivan Burgos
14:45 Men’s 9th Place Semis – Jeff Streibig (MO) vs Diarmuid Mulkerrins (IRE) (1 game to 25, win by 2)
15:30 Men’s Semifinals TBD – Vic Perez (CA) vs Leo Canales (AZ) (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
16:30 Men’s Semifinals TBD – Daniel Cordova (MEX) vs Martin Mulkerrins (IRE) (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
Sunday, February 4, 2024 (All Times Mountain Standard)
10:00 Men’s 9th Place Final – Ivan Burgos (AZ) vs Jeff Streibig (MO) – (1 game to 25, win by 2)
10:45 Men’s 5th Place Final – Dave Fink (AZ) vs Mark Doyle (IRE) – (1 game to 25, win by 2)
11:30 Men’s Pro Final – Leo Canales (AZ) vs D. Cordova (MEX) – (15, 15, 15, win by two scoring; best 2 of 3)
Watch all the action by subscribing to ESPN+ or become a WPH Patreon Pledge Supporter to get inside clips, rare interviews and video links of earlier rounds: patreon.com/wphlive