Day 1
Juarez, MEX, WPH Press, 2/28/25
The 2025 Race 4 Eight Juarez marked the ninety-third event in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour, with the tour spanning seventeen states and two countries in the R48’s first twelve seasons.
The third Race 4 Eight stop in Mexico and fifth stop of the 2024/25 Race 4 Eight season features R48 #1 Martin Mulkerrins aiming to defend his 2024 Race 4 Eight Juarez title and continue his two-tournament, nine-match undefeated Juarez streak. Mulkerrins saw his five-tournament, twenty-six match Race winning streak come to an end at February’s Red in Montana, as Mulkerrins lost to the “Pride of Juarez,” Lucho Cordova in a thrilling final.
Lucho tied Mulkerrins with eleven Race 4 Eight titles (third all-time) with his win at the Red and announced that he is back after enduring a thirteen-month winless stretch. “I don’t know how I did it,” Lucho would say after winning three consecutive tiebreakers to win the 2025 Red, all of which saw him come from seemingly insurmountable deficits.
Players faced a grueling Friday in Juarez, with the round of 32, round of 16, and quarterfinals all played on the same day.
Top-seeded Martin Mulkerrins advanced to Saturday’s semifinals, defeating the R48 Pre-Qualifier Olympic Club champion Coleman McGrath in the round of 16 and needing a tiebreaker to defeat the LAFD’s Vic Perez in the quarterfinal. After winning the first game in overtime and in just more than an hour of play, Mulkerrins had a setup to end the match in game two but missed by less than an inch, allowing Perez to force overtime with a three-point surge. Mulkerrins found his stride late in the tiebreaker, locating his power serve and setting up first-strike kills to score the final four points of the match. Mulkerrins is now 12-0 in Juarez, a streak he hopes to extend to 14-0 on Saturday.
Ivan Burgos traveled to Juarez having made the semifinals of the 2024 Juarez R48, defeating then #1 Lucho Cordova on his home court in the quarterfinals. Burgos was seeking his first semifinal of the season and second career Race semifinal at the 2025 Juarez. Burgos entered the 2025 Juarez after disastrous collegiate nationals performance last week. “On to the next one,” Burgos would say after being dropped in the collegiate quarterfinals.
Burgos started his revenge tour against Taylor Schmitt in the round of 16 and would face hometown favorite Danos Cordova in the quarterfinals.
Danos ended Mando Ortiz’s first event back in seven years in two games in the round of 16. Danos held the distinction of being the last player to defeat Mando in the round of 16 in Mando’s last Race 4 Eight start in Montana in 2018. While Mando showed flashes of the player that reached the top of the Race 4 Eight rankings, Danos was too steady for Mando in Mando’s first Race start in 2,590 days.
After going back and forth in game one and trailing 10-12, Burgos closed out the first game against Danos with a barrage of kills and continued his barrage in game two, blasting the ball with power and killing with either hand from every spot on the court. With Danos left scrambling and paddling, Burgos attacked, playing the match on his terms on his march to a rematch with Martin Mulkerrins in Saturday’s semifinals.
“I come to win,” Burgos would later say, sending a message to the tour. “I feel strong. I was shooting well and creating chances for myself.”
Diarmaid Nash faced 2024 Juarez finalist and hometown favorite Leo Canales in a blockbuster round of 16 clash, which also served as a rematch of the 2024 USHA Four Wall Nationals quarterfinals won by Canales in a tiebreaker. Having advanced to the final of the 2024 World Handball Championships in November, Nash made the 4,876-mile journey to Juarez for his first start on the 2024/25 season. Canales clinched a close first game but could not carry his momentum into game two. Nash’s found his precision paddles and passes in game two, moving Canales from side-to-side and front-to-back to force a third game. The third resembled the first, with the score close throughout. Widely regarded as the best player to have played on the Race tour and not won a Race title, Nash summoned his best handball late in the tiebreaker. Trailing 10-11, Nash reeled off five consecutive points, punctuated by a Canales error on match point to exact revenge on Canales and move into the quarterfinals.
Sam Esser was clinical in his round of 16 match against Shorty Ruiz, dropping the three-time 3WB champion in two games to meet Nash for the second time in nine months.
Nash continued his strong play in the quarterfinals against Esser, controlling the front court and denying Esser a second consecutive Juarez semifinal.
Sean Lenning defeated Mark Doyle in tiebreakers twice during the 2023/24 Race season, including at the 2024 R48 Juarez. Doyle seemed destined to score his first victory against Lenning, leading by a game and 13-11 in the second. Lenning was fueled by the numerous arguments between the players and the ref and one another, playing harder after each argument. Doyle missed a paddle kill by near inches that would have given him match points, opening the door for a Lenning push. Lenning quickly took a 14-13 lead but failed to convert four huge opportunities to win the game. Doyle would serve for the match at 15-14 but also could not convert, with the wild game ending deep in overtime in favor of Lenning. Lenning raced to a 10-5 lead in the tiebreaker and ultimately defeated Doyle for the third time in their three matches to move into the quarterfinals.
After winning his first Race event in thirteen months at the 2025 Red four weeks ago, a rejuvenated Lucho Cordova ousted California’s Ricardo Palma in two games to meet Lenning for a spot in the final four.
Lucho played with tremendous intensity against Lenning in the final match of the day, driving nearly every shot with power, pushing Lenning out of position with two-wall passes, power-paddling passes and kills down the walls and neutralizing Lenning’s serve. With the two-game sweep, Lucho advanced to his fourth semifinal of the season, spending less time on the court than any of the four semifinalists and making him fresh for his semifinal matchup against his junior rival Diarmaid Nash.
Round of 16
Mulkerrins def McGrath 15-4, 15-7
Perez def Langmack 15-3, 15-6
Burgos def T. Schmitt 15-6, 15-7
Danos def Ortiz 15-9, 15-4
Nash def Canales 13-15, 15-5, 15-11
Esser def Ruiz 15-8, 15-7
Lenning def Doyle 11-15, 18-16, 15-10
Lucho def Palma 15-4, 15-9
Round of 8
Mulkerrins def Perez 16-14, 15-17, 15-11
Burgos def Danos 15-12, 15-6
Nash def Esser 15-8, 15-6
Lucho def Lenning 15-3, 15-2
Semifinals (Saturday)
Mulkerrins vs. Burgos (11 am, MST)
Lucho vs. Nash (Noon, MST)
Watch the matches live on the Handball y Fronton de Cd. Juarez Facebook page HERE
Follow the brackets from the 2025 Race 4 Eight Juarez HERE
2025 Juarez Race 4 Eight Press Release HERE
Danos Finding His Groove HERE
Pre-Juarez Interview with Lucho HERE
Mando Returns to the Tour in Juarez HERE
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Become a WPH Patreon HERE
Race 4 Eight Fun Facts HERE
Race 4 Eight Referee Rankings HERE
Current Race 4 Eight Men’s Pro Rankings HERE
Race 4 Eight pro player bios HERE
WPH Coaching Centers HERE
WPH Workout Central HERE
2024/25 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2024/25 Race 4 Eight XIV Powered by ESPN features Race 4 Eight stops from California to Mexico, all culminating with The Player’s Championship. 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