St. Louis, MO, WPH Press, 1/3/23
As the Race 4 Eight hits “Gateway to the West” for the first time in the eighty-fourth Race 4 Eight stop since the inception of the tour in 2011, let examine the WPH Fun Facts you will want to know as the pros battle with the Gateway Arch in their sights.
Repeat matchups on the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight Pro Through Three Stops: Portland, Memorial, R48 Icebreaker
- Lucho/Danos: Tied 1-1
- Lucho/Esser: Lucho leads 2-0
- Mulkerrins/V. Perez: Mulkerrins leads 2-0
- Mulkerrins/Burgos: Mulkerrins leads 2-0
- Danos/Fink: Tied 1-1
- Danos/D. Hernandez: Danos leads 2-0
- Fink/Burgos: Tied 1-1
- Fink/Esser: Fink leads 2-0
- Canales/Doyle: Tied 1-1
- Ruiz/Esser: Tied 1-1
- D. Hernandez/Doyle: D. Hernandez leads 2-0
- Cooney/Bike: Cooney leads 2-0
Race 4 Eight #1 Lucho Cordova
- 10 Race 4 Eight titles (3rd most in history)
- 6 Race 4 Eight titles in the last 406 days
- Held the R48 #1 ranking for 360 of the last 381 days (current)
- Won the inaugural R48 Juarez on his home court at the Campestre Juarez (April 2023)
- Has appeared in all three Race 4 Eight Icebreaker finals (2021-2023, 2 wins)
- Youngest player to ever finish the season in the R48 Elite 8: 2012, 19 years old
- Holds a 42-7 (86%) match record since the 2022 R48 Portland Classic (13 events): 32-5 last season in ten events (86%), 10-2 this season in three events (83%)
Killian Carroll Race 4 Eight Records and Stats
- 22-time Race 4 Eight Men’s Pro champion (most in history)
- Appeared in the most finals in Race 4 Eight Men’s Pro history: 28
- 6-time Race 4 Eight Men’s Pro Player’s Champion (won six of seven Player’s Championships from 2016-2023)
- 5-time Race 4 Eight Men’s Pro Player’s Cup Champion (year-end #1)
- Has won 22 of 40 R48 events he has entered: 55%
- Held the longest winning streak in Race 4 Eight history with 32 consecutive wins (2020-2022)
- Played in three Race 4 Eight events in 2023: Montana (win), Houston (finals loss), Salt Lake City (win)
- Killian Carroll 2023 Race 4 Eight record (3 events): 11-1 (92%)
David Fink: 2023 WPH Outdoor Icebreaker Pro #1
- Oldest #1 in pro handball history (46)
- Undefeated against players in their teens and twenties on the 2023 WPH Outdoor Icebreaker tour
- Undefeated in tiebreakers on the 2023 WPH Outdoor: 3 (Canales, Esser, Danos)
- Outscored his three tiebreaker opponents 33-4 in three 2023 WPH Outdoor Icebreaker tiebreakers
- Most match wins on the 2023 WPH Outdoor Icebreaker: 9 (tied with Danos)
- Most titles in WPH Outdoor Icebreaker Pro history: 5 (tied with Lucho)
- Only player to ever be ranked #1 on the R48 Men’s Pro, SR48 Pro and WPH Outdoor
- Most match wins on the R48 Men’s Pro, SR48 Pro, WPH Outdoor Icebreaker Tour
Streaking! Danos Sees Impressive Streaks End
Fan-favorite R48 #3 Danos Cordova had been streaking coming into his semifinal match at the December R48 Icebreaker. The streaks were snapped by David Fink in a come-from-behind tiebreaker. Let take a look at Danos’s streaks that started in August
- 8-match Icebreaker win streak: 2 matches at the July Clarkbreaker, 4 matches in the August Ice Bowl win, 2 matches at the December R48 Icebreaker
- 7-match R48 win streak: 5 matches in the 2023 R48 Memorial win, 2 matches at the December R48 Icebreaker
- 4 consecutive tiebreaker wins: 1 at the 2023 Portland Classic (D. Hernandez), 3 at the R48 Memorial (Fink, Lucho, Mulkerrins)
Captain Clutch Cordova
Danos Cordova has rallied from match point down in three matches in the last twelve months, including in the first two events on this season. Danos has never held a match point and lost the match
- Danos def Canales, Jr. 2022 R48 Icebreaker (21-5, 11-21, 11-10) *one match point saved
- Danos def Hernandez 2023 R48 Portland Classic (7-15, 16-14, 15-9) *three match points saved
- Danos def L. Cordova 2023 R48 Memorial (15-12, 3-15, 16-14) *one match point saved
Race 4 Eight Legends – Where Are They Now – Marcos Chavez
On Race 4 Eight Legends – Where Are They Now with Marcos Chavez, we catch up with one of the game’s most beloved players whose career spanned four generations of handball greats. Marcos discusses where he lives now, his new business, his favorite memories of playing the pro tour for twenty-five years, his favorite players to watch, who he would like to play, who he considers to be the greatest to ever play, how much he still watches the tour and much more. This is a can’t miss opportunity to hear from one of the game’s most well respected and admired players.
Do you still play handball now?
“I still play, I just have not been playing as much. I miss playing with the guys at the LAAC. The best top player I play now is Dylan Hernandez on the weekends in Ventura and I play as hard as I can and it helps him being on the pro tour….”
Read much more from Marcos here: HERE
Tiebreaker Ups and Downs
- Danos Cordova is 4-2 in tiebreakers through three events on the season, winning one tiebreaker (D. Hernandez) and losing one tiebreaker (Lucho) at the 2023 Portland Classic, three consecutive tiebreakers at the 2023 Memorial (Fink, Lucho, Mulkerrins) and losing in a tiebreaker at the 2023 R48 Icebreaker (Fnk)
- Ivan Burgos is 4-1 in tiebreakers through three events on the season, defeating fellow Canadian Michael Gaulton in the round of 32 and fellow Tucsonan Max Langmack in the round of 16 at the 2023 Portland Classic and defeating John Chapman in the round of 32 and fellow Tucsonan Shorty Ruiz in a tiebreaker at the 2023 Memorial, eventually losing to Martin Mulkerrins in two games at both events, and losing to Lucho Cordova in a tiebreaker after winning the first game at the 2023 R48 Icebreaker
- Sam Esser is 2-1 in tiebreakers through three events on the season, staging dramatic third game comebacks against Mark Doyle in Portland and Erik Torres at the Memorial before losing to Lucho Cordova in two games in both events. Esser dropped his first tiebreaker of the season to David Fink at the 2023 R48 Icebreaker
- David Fink is 2-1 in tiebreakers through three events on the season, losing to Danos Cordova in the quarterfinals at the 2023 Memorial and winning tiebreakers against Sam Esser in the quarterfinals and Danos Cordova in the semifinals of the 2023 R48 Icebreaker
- Mark Doyle is 0-2 in tiebreakers through three events on the season, losing to Sam Esser with 9-3 and 13-11 leads in Portland and winning the first game and losing the next two against Sean Lenning at the 2023 Memorial
The Tour’s Comeback Kings: Danos, Fink and Esser
R48 #3 Danos Cordova, R48 #5 David Fink and R48 #8 Sam Esser have authored the biggest comebacks of the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season, with Danos escaping match point down in separate matches, Fink rallying from a 10-18 deficit in the second game after losing the first against Danos Cordova and Esser erasing 11-13 and 8-12 third game deficits in separate matches this season
2023 Portland Classic
- Danos trailed Dylan Hernandez 7-15, 11-14 in the round of 16 and fought off three match points to win and eventually advance to the semifinals
- Esser trailed Mark Doyle 11-13 in the tiebreaker of their round of 16 clash and rallied to win 15-13, eventually finishing sixth
2023 Memorial
- Danos trailed Lucho 13-14 in the third game in the semifinals and scored the final three points of the match to advance to the final, eventually winning his fourth Race 4 Eight title in a thriller against Martin Mulkerrins
- Esser trailed Erik Torres 8-12 in the third game of their round of 16 clash before catching fire and scoring the final seven points of the match in just seventy seconds to advance to the quarterfinals, eventually finishing seventh
2023 R48 Icebreaker
- Fink trailed Danos 10-21, 10-18 before outscoring Danos 22-3 in the final twenty-five points of the match to advance to his third consecutive R48 Icebreaker final
Round of 16 Tiebreaker Doyle
2023 Race 4 Eight Rookie of the Year Mark Doyle has played tiebreakers in every 4-Wall round of 16 match thus far in his Race 4 Eight career: 6, career record: 3-3
Wins
- 2023 Mardi Gras (January): def Fink 17-15
- 2023 Red Death (February): def Langmack 15-4
- 2023 Hall of Fame (April): def Ruiz 15-12
Losses
- 2022 Memorial (November): lost vs. Ruiz 15-12
- 2023 Portland Classic (October): lost vs. Esser 15-13
- 2023 Memorial (November): lost vs. Lenning 15-4
For thousands more Fun Facts, go HERE
Chapman Memorial Press Release HERE
Follow the draws and results from the 2024 Race 4 Eight Chapman Memorial HERE
Current Race 4 Eight Rankings R48 Men’s Pro Rankings HERE
Current WR48 and SR48 rankings HERE
Handball Terminology + Instruction and R48 Rules HERE
Race 4 Eight Pro Player Bios HERE
2023/24 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH Coaching Center Instructional Videos HERE
2023 JR WPH Portfolio HERE
Support the sport and become a WPH Patreon HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer