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New Orleans, LA, WPH Press, 6/20/18– The World Players of Handball and the New Orleans handball community are thrilled to host the 2019 Mardi Gras Open/R48LTE, February 15-17, 2019 at the Ochsner Fitness Center, located at 1200 S. Clearview Pkwy, Harahan, LA 70123. Enter HERE
The Race 4 Eight will be staged in New Orleans for third time, featuring the R48LTE and SR48 Pro, as well as A/B, C, 50+ and 60+ Master’s Singles and Doubles and Female A/B singles.
The 2019 R48 8 Mardi Gras Open/R48LTE will mark the first R48LTE stop, making the Big Easy a history-maker on the tour. New Orleans has hosted WPH pro events three times since 2009, with “The Great One,” Dave Chapman, defeating Allan Garner in the inaugural New Orleans (Pre Race) final in 2009, 14-time R48 champion and then R48 #1 Paul Brady winning a thrilling 2016 R48 final against current R48 #1 and three-time defending R48 Player’s Champion Killian Carroll and Carroll bouncing back the next year to overcome a 2-15, 4-11 deficit in the 2016 final against former R48 #1 David Fink to win in the Big Easy. What a list of NOLA champions!
The Ochsner Fitness Center features the most unique exhibition court on the R48 tour, complete with three glass walls, a maddening challenge for the players and a thrill for the fans. “Playing on the New Orleans three-glass court certainly requires a tremendous amount of concentration and strategy,” declared R48 #6 Lucho Cordova in reference to what is known on tour as the “Coliseum de Handball.” “The three-glass court is even more challenging after a night on Bourbon Street!”
“New Orleans is a really great event and I’m really looking forward to returning,” stated R48 #4 Danos Cordova. “So many memorable matches are played in New Orleans and there are equally great memories made off the courts at the French Quarter. All of the pros will want to win the first R48LTE and it’ll be a big stop as tour hits the midway point in the season.”
The “R48LTE” is a R48 “Light” event, with half of the R48 ranking points as a traditional R48 event and nearly half the prize money. While half the R48 ranking points and prize money are available at R48 LTE event, all of the R48 excitement remains, as the best professional handball players in the world will be vying for valuable ranking points and momentum heading into the final stretch of the 2018/19 R48 8 season.
Prize money and ranking points for R48 LTE events:
1st: $1.5k (5 ranking points)
2nd: $1k (4 ranking points)
3rd/4th: $750/$750 (3 ranking points)
5th-8th: $500; if the event has 8 ranked pros or better (2 ranking points)
LTE ranking points are only valid to the player if that player qualifies during the season and/or are named in the top eight and have accepted their invite. Once the player qualifies, then their LTE points become retroactive (same for the Elite Eight member). If a player accrues points at an LTE stop without earning ranking points in that R48 season, those points will be frozen until that player earns ranking points at a R48 stop. If/when the player earns points in a full R48 stop, his LTE points will be added. If the player does not earn points in a full R48 stop, his LTE points will not accessible.
To enter the 2019 Mardi Gras Open/R48LTE/SR48 go HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2018/19 Race 4 Eight 8 Powered by ESPN features R48 stops in Georgia, Arizona, Oregon, Montana, Louisiana, Texas, New York, and California, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in Utah in May of 2019. 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, 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
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