Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 10/30/23
The twelfth Race 4 Eight season kicked off with the 2023 Race 4 Eight Portland Classic, at the famed Multnomah Athletic Club, with Martin Mulkerrins defending his R48 Portland Classic title and winning his sixth Race 4 Eight title in dominating fashion.
The most lucrative stop of the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season kicks off on Friday, November 3, as the game’s best will meet at the Tucson Racquet Club for the annual Race 4 Eight Tucson Memorial.
In advance of the 2023 Tucson Memorial, let’s examine the stats from the Race 4 Eight’s top ranked R48 Men’s pros entered in the 2023 Tucson Memorial.
Lucho Cordova (#1)
- 2022/23 Player’s Cup Winner
- 5 Race 4 Eight titles during the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Current Race 4 Eight #1 pro
- 32-5 record on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- 9 Race 4 Eight titles in his career (2011-2023)
- Won 5 of 7 2022/23 Race 4 Eight events in which courts had one or zero glass back walls
- 136 career Race 4 Eight match wins (fourth all-time)
- Nine career Race 4 Eight titles (fourth all-time)
- Advanced to the final of the first event of the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic (lost to Mulkerrins)
- 3-1 record on the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season
Martin Mulkerrins (#2)
- 3 Race 4 Eight titles during the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Current Race 4 Eight #2 pro
- 26-6 record on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- 6 Race 4 Eight titles in his career (2013-2023)
- Reached #1 for on the Race 4 Eight tour after winning the 2023 New Orleans R48
- Won the first event of the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic (def Lucho)
- 4-0 record on the 2023/24 season
Leo Canales, Jr. (#3)
- 1 Finals appearance in his Race 4 Eight career (2023 Salt Lake City)
- Reached career-high #3 ranking on the Race 4 Eight tour (current)
- 20-10 record on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Reached three semifinals on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- 2018 USHA collegiate national singles champion
- Making his first start of the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season
Daniel Cordova (#5)
- 16-10 record on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Four semifinal appearances on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Recovered from a broken foot to make the finals of the 2022 R48 Icebreaker
- Three Race 4 Eight titles, eight Race 4 Eight finals appearances
- Reached the semifinals of the 2023 R48 Portland Classic (lost to Lucho)
- 3-1 record on the on the 2023/24 season
- Faced three match points in his round of 16 match at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic against Dylan Hernandez and won
- Became the twenty-seventh player in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour to face match point and win at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic
David Fink (#6)
- 20-10 record on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- One Race 4 Eight title (2021 R48 Icebreaker), six finals appearances
- 150 career Race 4 Eight match wins (most in history)
- Reached one final and six semifinals on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Reached #1 on the Race 4 Eight tour (2017)
- 2-2 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Lenning/Burgos)
- Fell to his lowest ranking (#6) since 2020
Sean Lenning (#7)
- Reached #1 on the Race 4 Eight tour (2012)
- 139 career Race 4 Eight match wins (third most all-time)
- Advanced to three consecutive Race 4 Eight finals in his last three starts on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season (Juarez, Tucson, Salt Lake City)
- One of two players to have started the Race 4 Eight tour in the top eight (2011, Idaho) and still be in the Race 4 Eight top eight (current)
- Seven Race 4 Eight titles in 23 Race 4 Eight finals
- 3-1 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Mulkerrins)
- Streak of three straight Race 4 Eight finals and two-match Race winning streak against Mulkerrins ended at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic
Braulio Ruiz (#8)
- 12-12 record on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Reached the semifinals twice in his Race 4 Eight career
- Finished in the top seven of the first five Race 4 Eight events on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Finished sixth in three consecutive Race 4 Eight starts (2022 Player’s Championship, 2022 Memorial, 2022 R48 Icebreaker)
- 2-2 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Danos/Esser
Sam Esser (#9)
- Career high Race 4 Eight ranking of number 5 (2022)
- Best career Race 4 Eight finish (fifth)
- Rallied from match point down at the 2023 Race 4 Eight Hall of Fame to defeat Ivan Burgos
- Finished in the top seven in four of his last five starts and inside the top nine in all five starts on the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- 3-2 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Lucho/Burgos)
- Rallied from a 3-9 tiebreaker deficit to defeat Mark Doyle 15-13 in the round of 16 at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic
Max Langmack (#10)
- Reached his first Race 4 Eight final at the 2023 RFC R48LTE
- Was the only player to advance to the final of a R48 final during the season and not finish the season inside of the Elite 8
- Became the first player ranked outside of the top 4 to defeat R48 #1 Lucho Cordova during the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season
- Tallest pro handball player in history (6”9)
- Finished thirteenth at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic
- 1-2 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Burgos/Perez)
- Led Ivan Burgos 7-3 in the tiebreaker in the round of 16 at th3 2023 R48 Portland Classic before losing 15-9 (previously undefeated against Burgos in Race play)
- First qualified at the 2018 Race 4 Eight Houston
- Moved to Tucson two days before the 2023 R48 Portland Classic
Ivan Burgos (#11)
- Defeated then #4 Danos Cordova in the round of 16 at the 2022 Tucson Memorial
- Became the first R48 pro to lose consecutive back-to-back round of 16 matches by two points in tiebreakers since Shorty Ruiz in 2018 (Burgos lost to Cooney 13-15 in the third in Juarez, Burgos lost 15-17 to Esser at the Hall of Fame)
- Best Race 4 Eight finish: 5th at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic
- Rallied from a 3-7 tiebreaker deficit in the round of 16 against Max Langmack at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic to win 15-9
- 4-1 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Mulkerrins)
- Defeated three top ten pros at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic (Langmack, Fink, Esser)
Mark Doyle (#12)
- 2022/23 Race 4 Eight Rookie of the Year
- Best career Race 4 Eight finish: sixth at the 2023 R48 Red Death
- Survived three match points to defeat then R48 #3 David Fink at the 2023 R48 New Orleans
- Qualified as a 19-year-old for the first time at the 2022 Tucson Memorial (defeated then R48 #11 Abraham Montijo)
- Current collegiate All-American (University of Minnesota, Mankato)
- Surrendered a 9-3 tiebreaker lead at the 2023 R48 Portland Classic against Sam Esser to lose 15-13
- 2-2 record on the 2023/24 season (lost to Esser/Perez)
2023 Tucson Memorial Broadcast Schedule on ESPN: Saturday, November 4, 9 am-7 pm PST, Sunday, November 5, 10 am-1:30 pm PST
Tucson Memorial R48 XI Press Release HERE
Follow the draws and results from the 2023 Race 4 Eight Tucson Memorial HERE
Current Race 4 Eight Rankings HERE
WPH Destination Series Tucson HERE
Handball Terminology + Instruction and R48 Rules HERE
Race 4 Eight Pro Player Bios HERE
WPH Race 4 Eight Power Rankings 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
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