Day 2
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 4/5/25
R48 Hall of Fame Quarterfinals
Eight of the Race 4 Eight’s top nine pros were in action in the quarterfinals of the 2025 R48LTE, with R48 #1 Martin Mulkerrins kicking off the day with a two-game sweep against Irish countryman Mark Doyle. Doyle started well in the first, leading 8-4, but several missed opportunities opened the door for Mulkerrins, who took advantage.
Leo Canales defeated David Fink for the second time this season on the TRC’s show court, sending Fink into the playoffs with a two-game sweep. “My punch to the ceiling was really working today,” Canales would later say after punching nearly all of Fink’s power serves to the ceiling throughout the match.
Ray Ure and Sam Esser continued their Midwest rivalry on the Race 4 Eight. Ure had defeated Esser in a tiebreaker at October’s Portland Classic and would need a third game at the Hall of Fame after the young stars split the first two games. Ure was overpowering in the tiebreaker, hitting laser serves down the right and keeping Esser off-balance throughout the game to cruise into the semifinals.
Ivan Burgos was on a mission against Lucho Cordova, sending Lucho crashing out of the main draw in the quarterfinals with a two-game offensive clinic. Burgos led 9-6 in the first but would need overtime to clinch the first game. The second game would require no drama, as Ivan’s kills found the bottom board with frightening power and accuracy.
R48 Hall of Fame Semifinals
Martin Mulkerrins was seeking his sixth trip to the finals in his sixth start of the season and appeared to be fully in control after a decisive first-game victory against Canales. Canales worked his way into the match in the second, scrambling and re killing a number of Martin shots to lead 13-9. Mulkerrins cut the deficit to one at 12-13 but Canales would serve twice for the game at 14-12. Canales had several good looks to finish the game but could not convert. “I think he was just tired,” Leo’s dad and multiple-time national champion Leo Canales would later say.
Ray Ure and Ivan Burgos combined for one of the youngest Race 4 Eight semifinals in history, with Ray seeking his second Race final and Ivan his first. Ivan continued his hot streak from his quarterfinal win against Lucho earlier in the day, winning the first game in just eleven minutes. Burgos continued to dictate play in the second, leading throughout on the strength of a number of incredibly low kills with his left and right. Ure stayed within striking distance, using his speed and outrageous power to maintain scoreboard pressure.
Burgos would eventually serve for the match three times but failed to convert. “I just didn’t know what serve to hit there,” Burgos would later say. Ure would somehow escape defeat, forcing overtime and ultimately winning the game to force a third.
Undeterred by failing to close out the match in the second, Burgos continued to shoot, while Ure also carried his second game momentum into the third. With both young guns hitting rockets throughout the scintillating tiebreaker, Burgos once again stood on the doorstep of his first final at 11-10. Burgos’s body would betray him, as his left leg cramped and left him completely unable to move for the remainder of the match. “I had a blister on my right foot so I think I was putting more pressure on my left leg and it cramped,” a disappointed Burgos revealed.
Ure will face Martin for the second time in a final on Sunday, with Martin winning their first final in two games at the 2024 Portland Classic.
Round of 8
Mulkerrins def Doyle 15-11, 15-11
Canales def Fink 15-7, 15-7
Ure def Esser 15-11, 11-15, 15-1
Burgos def Lucho 16-14, 15-4
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def Canales 15-5, 16-14
Ure def Burgos 8-15, 16-14, 15-11
Final (Sunday): Mulkerrins vs. Ure (11 am PST)
Ninth place final (Sunday): Langmack vs. Streibig (9 am PST)
Fifth place final (Sunday): Lucho vs. Fink (10 am PST)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This event is not being professionally filmed by the WPH crew. Archived video will be made public over the next month with a single camera/audio set-up. Streaming from spectators is encouraged and when available, we will let you know.
Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 R48LTE USHA Hall of Fame HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer