R48 X Stop #3: Holiday Icebreaker Wraps: Fink Takes His First Race Title
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 12/19/21
Players enjoyed perfect temperatures at WPH’s Clark Park for Sunday’s semifinals, finals, and Playoffs.
David Fink faced Leo Canales, Jr. in the first semifinal of the day, with Fink seeking his fifth Race 4 Eight final and Canales seeking his first. Fink took control from the outset, controlling the action with a deep hop serve, while mixing in short cracks. Canales was unable to gain traction against the player he considers to be his toughest opponent, dropping the first game in 16 minutes.
Fink continued to be in control in game two, building an 11-1 lead. Fink was unable to convert two setups during the 11-1 rally, resulting in a side out. Canales took advantage, scoring eight consecutive points in one inning with five ace serves and three deep court kills to cut the deficit to one. “I started to get ahead of myself at 11-1,” stated Fink. “I started thinking about the final and allowed myself to be distracted by the poor rally at 11-1. Next thing I knew Leo was serving at 9-11.”
Fink was able to regain control after a side out, striking several aces and well-played deep drives to build a 17-9 lead. “We played two grueling rallies at 17-9 and I was winded,” stated Fink. “I had to call a timeout to catch my breath.”
Fink scored four of five points after the timeout to secure his spot in the final.
Lucho Cordova faced Shorty Ruiz in the bottom bracket semifinal, seeking revenge for his three-game Icebreaker loss to Ruiz in the summer.
Lucho started the match white hot, dominating the first game by killing seemingly every shot he touched and eventually leading 21-1, 11-1. Ruiz found his game at 1-11, serving and fly-killing his way into the match. A furious 12-point streak put Ruiz in front, 13-11. Ruiz strayed from the serve and shoot system that was working during his 12-point streak, opting to move Lucho from side to side and pushing the Juarez Legend back with ceiling shots. “I don’t know why Shorty is playing around now instead of ending rallies,” stated WPH ESPN play-by-play announcer Dave Vincent.
The pair traded points until Ruiz led 19-17. Lucho was noticeably favoring his right shoulder throughout the second half of the second game. “Something is definitely wrong with Lucho’s right shoulder,” stated Vincent. “He is carrying his right shoulder lower than his left and massaging it after each rally.”
Lucho served consecutive aces to the left to tie the score at 19. “I really needed those, they just cracked right in the right spot,” Lucho would later say.
Lucho arrived at match point at 20-20 but could not put away an easy right-handed setup, opening the door for Ruiz. Ruiz could not convert on his game point, and Lucho ended the match with an overhand “sapo” crack on the left side wall. “That ball hit right here (pointing close to his thumb) and I knew when it hit the front wall it was going to crack and it did.”
Lucho’s shoulder would not allow him to play the final. “My shoulder has been bothering me when I play practice matches at home and when I warm up but it’s been fine in tournaments but something happened in the second game and I can’t swing at all.”
The title was bittersweet for Fink, who won his first Race 4 Eight title in his 63rd Race start. “I’ve been close before and lost in four finals, two of which could have gone either way. I was very excited to play Lucho on my home court but it wasn’t meant to be. I was tested in both my quarterfinal with Bernie and semis with Leo, so it’s definitely a satisfying win. Regardless, I can always say I won a Race stop, which means a lot to me. I have been playing well so far this season and I’m looking forward to the remaining stops.”
“Part of winning these titles is being healthy and fit enough to complete the event,” stated Vincent. “Being fit and preparing is a big part of who wins.”
Semifinals
Fink def Canales, Jr. 21-9, 21-10
Lucho def Ruiz 21-1, 21-20
Final: Fink def Lucho (inj. forfeit)
Playoffs
Sam Esser raced to an 18-5 lead against Adam Bernhard in the upper bracket 5th place semifinals before Bernhard settled into the match. “I got here late and I was just stiff,” stated Bernhard. “I wasn’t making good contact with the ball because my feet were not in the right position.”
Bernie methodically climbed back into the one game match to 25, rarely giving an Esser a chance to play offense and eventually winning the match, 25-22.
Max Langmack defeated Abraham Montijo in the bottom bracket 5th place semifinals, 25-11. “This was our rubber match (in 3-Wall),” stated Langmack. “He beat me in an Icebreaker, I beat him in Toledo, and I beat him here.”
Langmack secured his best Race finish with a 45-minute victory against Bernie, overcoming Mr. Consistency, 25-19.
Semifinals
Bernhard def Esser 25-22
Langmack def Montijo 25-11
Final: Langmack def Bernhard 25-19
Thank You!
Thank you to the WPH staff, the players, fans, and donors for an outstanding event!
R48 X Stop #3: Holiday Icebreaker Finishes
1st: Fink
2nd: L. Cordova
3rd: Ruiz/Canales, Jr.
5th: Langmack
6th: Bernhard
7th: Esser/Montijo
9th: D. Perez
10th: Mehilos
*The top 10 finishers receive Race 4 Eight X ranking points
Follow all of the results of the R48 X Stop #3 Holiday Icebreaker HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 12/18/21
Tucson’s Clark Park played host to the third Race 4 Eight event of the 2021/22 R48 X Tour, with many of the Race 4 Eight’s top stars on hand at Clark Park in 2021’s final Race 4 Eight event. Saturday featured the round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinals, and Playoffs.
Frigid morning temperatures that barely surpassed freezing greeted the players on Saturday morning, with the chilly temperatures being potentially more challenging than the 110 degree summer Icebreakers.
Top-seeded David Fink (AZ) advanced to the semifinals with a round of 16 win against Travis Owen (CO) and a two-hour quarterfinal win against Adam Bernhard (TX). Bernhard did not allow the two-time Icebreaker champion to settle into his offensive groove, racing to a 13-1 lead in the first with pinpoint consistency and overhand mastery. Fink rallied to win the first and seemed to be in control at 19-7 in the second when “Bernie” found his groove and rattled off 10 consecutive points. Fink earned his first side out in ten rallies with a fortunate right-handed return of serve that cracked out in front of Bernhard. An error and an ace sealed the match for Fink. “I have been simplifying my game during Covid and trying to simplify my offense,” stated Bernhard. “I really got into my flow at the start of the match and at the end of the match.”
Second-seeded Shorty Ruiz (AZ) cruised into Sunday’s semifinals with dominating wins against 16-year-old Andres Cordova (MEX) and 6’9 Max Langmack (KS). Ruiz and Langmack had played a close tiebreaker in a 3-Wall Kansas City final several years ago, but Langmack was unable to deal with Ruiz’s hops and fly kills on Ruiz’s home court at Clark Park.
Third-seeded Lucho Cordova (TX) also cruised to the semifinals, dispatching 55+ national champion Juan Canales (TX) in the round of 16 and Abraham Montijo (AZ) in the quarterfinals. Montijo had rallied from a one-game deficit to overcome the Midwest’s 3-Wall star Bill Mehilos (IN) in the day’s longest match.
Fourth-seeded Leo Canales, Jr. (AZ) dismissed Tucson’s Buddy Key in the round of 16 and appeared on his way to a comfortable two-game sweep against Sam Esser (AZ) in the semifinals. Leading by a game and 17-8, Esser rallied to force a tiebreaker, fending off math point at 20-19. Canales regained control in the third, blitzing Esser to advance to the semis. “I felt like I blinked and I was down 5-0 in the breaker,” stated Esser. “Leo is relentless and he gets everything. I just felt like I could not locate my serve all match.”
Quarterfinals
Fink def Bernhard 21-15, 21-17
Canales, Jr. def Esser 21-12, 20-21, 11-1
Cordova def Montijo 21-8, 21-12
Ruiz def Langmack 21-11, 21-7
Semifinals (Sunday)
Fink vs. Canales 10 am MST
Ruiz vs. L. Cordova 10 am MST
MVP
16-year old Andres Cordova took MVP honors, advancing to the round of 16 with an impressive victory against Pete Papathemetrios (CA) and defeating 2021 Big Ball Icebreaker champion Brian Medina in the ninth place playoffs before falling to Bill Mehilos to take 11th. What a performance from Andres – announcing himself as a force in pro handball!
Playoffs
9th Place
Tucson’s Danny Perez bounced back from a round of 16 defeat to Adam Bernhard to defeat Travis Owen and John Chapman (CO) to win the 9th place playoffs.
17th Place
Ismael Vega (MEX) stormed through the 17th place playoffs, defeating Pete Papathemetrios in the 17th place final in his fifth match of the day
5th Place
The 5th place playoffs will conclude on Sunday morning.
Thank You!
Thank you to the WPH staff, the players and fans. Thank you to Scott “The Commish” Cleveland and his BBQ crew for an outstanding Saturday BBQ! Happy birthday to The Commish!
Follow all of the results of the R48 X Stop #3 Holiday Icebreaker HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer