Day 3
Juarez, MEX, WPH Press, 9/13/26
Final: M. Mulkerrins vs. Canales
Sunday’s Abierto final featured a rematch of the 2026 R48 LAAC final, where Leo Canales led Martin Mulkerrins 11-0 in both games before losing in two games. Mulkerrins would be seeking his seventeenth Race title in his twenty-fifth Race final, while maintaining his unbeaten streak in Juarez. Canales would be seeking his first Race title in his fifth finals appearance.
Canales entered Sunday’s final having lost two finals in the past six weeks, holding match point in Flagstaff against Ivan Burgos HERE and in Tucson against Shorty Ruiz HERE. Canales would be aiming to end his finals losing streak, while also trying to defeat Mulkerrins for the first time.
Mulkerrins quickly took control of the final in the first game, building an 8-2, 9-6, and 14-6 leads before closing out the game, 15-6. “Martin unleashed his offensive arsenal in the first, generating points with aces, kills, and pass shots, while Leo was prone to making errors,” stated WPH correspondent Noel Aguilar.
Inspired by his home crowd chanting his name, Canales started quickly in game two, building a 5-0 lead and eventually 9-2. “Leo turned the momentum (in game two) and jumped ahead with a barrage of kills and aces,” reported Aguilar.
No stranger to erasing deficits, Mulkerrins worked his way back into the game, eventually pulling to within one of Canales at 11-12. “Martin turned the momentum of the game at 2-9, rolling multiple balls of the back wall and placing the ball into both corners,” continued Aguilar.
Canales withstood the assault, scoring the final three points of the game to force a tiebreaker.
Mulkerrins would not be denied in his quest for his seventeenth Race title, tackling Canales from the outset of the tiebreaker and seizing control of the third to continue his ascent to the top of the Race 4 Eight title leaderboard, while remaining undefeated in “The North Pass.”
“It’s never any different with Leo, we’ve had a lot of battles,” stated Mulkerrins. “I didn’t expect anything but a very tough battle today and that’s the way it played out. I was delighted with game one. I was happy with my mental side (after game two). I was able to regroup, refocus for the third game. I focused on (being) relaxed in the tiebreaker, trusting my serves, and thankfully got off to that 6-0 lead.”
Mulkerrins will head to New York City for the World Wallball Chamoionships early next week to compete in the WallBall big ball singles and small ball singles, then head from New York to Montana for next week’s R48 Red in Missoula.
Final: M. Mulkerrins def Canales 15-6, 11-15, 15-2
Playoffs
Third place final: Doyle def Bike 25-2
Mark Doyle dominated the third place final from start to finish, building a 15-0 lead at the half and never allowing Bike into the match. “Mark hit a barrage of kills, mixed with various serve return errors from John,” stated Aguilar. “John remained outmatched in the second half, unable to combat Mark’s aggression. Throughout the match, Mark was able to shoot into the right corner, which was easily his best shot on these courts given the fast front wall tile.”
Fifth place final: Danos def D. Schmitt 25-3
2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE Finishes
1st: M. Mulkerrins
2nd: Canales
3rd: Doyle
4th: Bike
5th: Danos
6th: D. Schmitt
7th: T. Schmitt/J. Gutierrez
JR WPH Clinic at the 2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE
JR WPH was proud to host a junior handball clinic at the 2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE, with Race 4 Eight pros John Bike and Dylan Schmitt working with the Juarez youngsters after the R48 final. Coaches Bike and Schmitt worked on serves and serve returns with the juniors, followed by rallies. Thank you to John Bike and Dylan Schmitt for inspiring the next generation of players in Juarez.
Race 4 Eight Rankings Post 2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE
Mulkerrins remained the Race’s number one player after winning his seventeenth Race title in Juarez, while Mark Doyle jumped ahead of Ivan Burgos, with the pair swapping the number five and six ranking spots. Jab Bike’s fourth place finish in Juarez vaulted him to a career-high ranking of number ten, while Dylan Schmitt’s career-best sixth place finish in Juarez moved him into the Race’s top sixteen for the first time.
See all of the updated Race 4 Eight Rankings and Rankings Methodology HERE
Thank you!
Thank you to 2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE tournament directors Samuel and Luis Cordova, Sr. for an outstanding event. Thank you to the WPH for the sensational coverage. Thank you to Noel Aguilar and Jab Bike for their updates, pictures, streaming, junior coaching, and quotes throughout the event.
Watch the matches from Saturday and Sunday on Jab Bike’s Facebook page HERE
2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE brackets HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Day 2
Juarez, MEX, WPH Press, 9/12/26
Upper bracket quarterfinals and semifinals
Jab Bike and Danos Cordova kicked off the 2026 R48 LTE Juarez Abierto quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon with a sensational three-game thriller. Bike entered the match with confidence, having defeated Danos in a tiebreaker at the 2025 Aces Player’s Championship, while Danos entered the quarterfinal as the R48 #7 and the fourth seed at the 2026 R48 LTE Juarez Abierto.
The first game was close throughout, with neither Race star able to separate himself. “Daniel played better at the end of the first game to barely clinch it, 15-13,” stated WPH correspondent Noel Aguilar.
Bike scorched Danos to start the second, building an 11-0 lead and running away with the game to force a third.
Danos entered the third with purpose and tremendous intensity. “Daniel brought high energy into the court (in the third),” stated Aguilar. “Daniel was moving extremely well and placing both great kills and well-placed defensive shots.” Danos led 8-2 and eventually 12-7 before Jab started his comeback. “I just started scoring some points,” Jab would later say. “The points were not all in one inning, but I was mixing up my serves with reverse and natural and eventually tied the game at 12. I changed my serve because of the tile on the front wall, bouncing the ball higher and hitting the ball higher on the front wall. I ended the match with two left-handed, left-corner kills.”
Top-seed and Juarez king Martin Mulkerrins cruised past Taylor Schmitt in two games to face Bike later in the day.
Mulkerrins was too strong for Bike in the upper bracket semifinals, needing just 29 minutes to advance to Sunday’s final. “Martin just dictated the match,” Jab would later say. “He was shooting even my best serves and played really well. He never allowed me to have any momentum.”
Bottom bracket quarterfinals and semifinals
From the moment the draw was posted, second-seeded Leo Canales and third-seeded Mark Doyle were on a collision course to meet in the semifinals. Canales needed two games and 31 minutes to oust Dylan Schmitt in their quarterfinal match, while Doyle needed even less time to defeat Colorado’s Jon Gutierrez in their quarterfinal.
Canales and Doyle battled for three grueling games in the bottom bracket semifinal, with both pushing themselves to the limit in virtually every rally. Canales won a close first game, diving and sliding across the 360 Fit Center’s show court.
Doyle was poised to force a tiebreaker, building an 11-0 lead to start the second. Canales charged back, killing balls with both hands and scoring 14 of the next 16 points to serve for the match at 14-13. Doyle scrambled to earn a side out, and scored the final three points of the game to force the third.
Despite failing to convert match point after his 14-2 second game charge, Canales tackled Doyle in the third, building a big lead and never allowing Doyle into the match. “From the time Leo trailed 0-11 in the second, he started playing really well,” Bike would later say. “He was serving well and putting the ball away with both hands.”
Sunday’s Abierto LTE final will be a rematch of the 2026 LAAC final, where Canales led Mulkerrins 11-0 in both games before losing in two. Mulkerrins will be seeking his seventeenth Race title in his twenty-fifth Race final, with Canales will be seeking his first Race title in his fifth Race finals appearance.
2026 R48 LTE Juarez Abierto
Quarterfinals
Mulkerrins def T. Schmitt 15-3, 15-8
Jab Bike def Danos 15-13, 4-15, 15-12
Doyle def J. Gutierrez 15-4, 15-3
Canales def D. Schmitt 15-7, 15-5
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def Jab Bike 15-3, 15-3
Canales def Doyle 15-13, 14-16, 15-5
Final: M. Mulkerrins vs. Canales (Noon, MST)
Third place final: Bike vs. Doyle (11 am, MST)
Fifth place final: Danos vs. D. Schmitt
Seventh place final: T. Schmitt vs. J. Gutierrez
2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE brackets HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Day 1 from Juarez: Friday
Juarez, MEX, WPH Press, 9/11/26
The 2026/27 Race 4 Eight season kicked off the nine-event season at the 2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE on Friday, with four of the Race 4 Eight’s Elite 8 in action at Juarez’s 360 Fit Center. The 2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE marks the 103rd event in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour, with the tour spanning eighteen states and two countries since the Race 4 Eight’s inaugural season in 2011/12.
Martin Mulkerrins entered the 2026 Abierto LTE aiming to stay undefeated in “The North Pass,” having spoiled the Juarez party several times, defeating Juarez legends Lucho Cordova and Leo Canales in his Juarez triumphs.
Abierto Round of 16 (Friday)
The top seeds cruised in Friday’s round of 16, with Martin Mulkerrins staying undefeated in Juarez and Leo Canales, Mark Doyle, and Danos Cordova advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Schmitt brothers played impressively, with Taylor defeating Moses Gardea in two games and Dylan dropping the first game before rallying to defeat Eli Gutierrez in three games.
2026 Abierto Round of 16 Results
Mulkerrins def Baylon 15-5, 15-4
Schmitt def Gardea 15-6, 15-7
Bike vs. Garcia, Jr. (Saturday morning)
Danos def S. Canales 15-2, 15-5
Doyle def Olguin 15-2, 15-11
Gutierrez (won by forfeit)
Schmitt def E. Gutierrez 15-17, 15-3, 15-1
Canales def Aguilar 15-5, 15-3
Abierto LTE Quarterfinals (Saturday)
Mulkerrins vs. T. Schmitt
Danos vs. Bike/Garcia, Jr.
Doyle vs. J. Gutierrez
Canales vs. D. Schmitt
Photos courtesy of Noel Aguilar
2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE starting times and to follow the brackets HERE
2026 Abierto Mexicana de Handball R48 Men’s LTE Press Release HERE
2026/27 Race 4 Eight Rankings and Methodology HERE
Race 4 Eight Fun Facts and History of Champions HERE
Race 4 Eight pro player bios HERE
WPH Coaching Centers HERE
WPH Workout Central HERE
2026/27 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH on YouTube HERE
Become a WPH Patreon HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2026/27 Race 4 Eight Powered by ESPN features nine Race 4 Eight stops from California to Mexico, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in St. Louis, MO in May of 2027. 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