Semifinal #1: Shorty Ruiz vs. Sam Esser: Full Recap + Crunched Stats
WPH Press, 9/25/20
The WPH is proud to present the WPH Tucson 4-Man Icebreaker, the first official WPH event since February.
“We want to show people that we could safely hold an event with all of the COVID protocols in place,” stated WPH Executive Director David Vincent. “We closed the park, had the referee wearing a mask, had the limited number of fans social distance in masks, while ensuring the players were distanced as much as possible.”
Tucsonans David Fink, Shorty Ruiz, Abraham Montijo and Sam Esser kicked off the first Icebreaker, proudly demonstrating that handball can be played safely during this pandemic.
3-time 3WallBall champion Shorty Ruiz met Tucson’s newest pro Sam Esser in the Icebreaker’s first semifinal. Esser enjoyed some success against Ruiz in practice matches leading up to the Icebreaker and came into the match with confidence. Esser built a seemingly comfortable advantage in game one, leading Ruiz 14-7 by utilizing fly kills into the corners. Ruiz stormed back, eventually taking the lead at 17-16. Esser took a timeout but unable to return a relatively playable serve to his right following the timeout. Ruiz cruised from there, completing his comeback and taking a one-game lead. “It’s a game of runs out here and I just didn’t make a couple of shots I should have,” lamented Esser.
Esser set aside his game one disappointment and took control in early game two, using his serve and fly kills to take a 12-1 lead. Following a long rally, Esser earned a setup with his left at the short line with Ruiz ten feet behind the back line and skipped the kill shot attempt. Ruiz charged back, catching Esser at 15 with a sensational run of deep hop serves, kills and offensive ceiling shots, highlighted by an Irish whip kill from 42-feet. Ruiz capitalized on an Esser fly kill error at 18-16 and scored the final two points consecutively.
“I told Sam he wouldn’t beat me with anything on the line,” quipped Ruiz.
Final: Ruiz def Esser 21-17, 21-16 (Watch the video of this match, HERE)
Crunching the Numbers: Ruiz vs. Esser
Let’s Crunch the Numbers and see how Ruiz was able to win this match in two close games.
Game 1 and 2 Combined Stats
Aces
Ruiz: 8
Esser: 9
Both Ruiz and Esser served well, totaling 17 combined aces and accounting for 23% of the points scored in the match
First Strike Kills
Ruiz: 14
Esser: 10
Ruiz was aggressive on his first strike opportunities, mounting comebacks in both games by attacking the return of serve for rally-ending shots. Esser executed most of his first strike kills en route to early leads in both games but was unable to sustain his effective aggressiveness late in both games
Return of Serve Kills
Ruiz: 2
Esser: 1
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Ruiz: 25
Esser: 14
Left Hand Rally Enders
Ruiz: 6
Esser: 7
The right-hand rally-enders were the biggest difference in this match, as Ruiz’s 25 right-hand rally enders to Esser’s 14 (+11) largely accounted for the total points differential 42-33
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Ruiz: 13
Esser: 6
Despite battling fatigue, Ruiz used his 3-Wall experience to win 68% of the 6+ shot rallies
Errors
Ruiz: 15
Esser: 16
Fly Kills:
Ruiz: 12
Esser: 4
Ruiz’s ability to hit three times as many fly kills as Esser proved to be a major factor in his comebacks in both games. Esser missed several fly kill bunnies in front of the foot fault line that could have made a difference late in both games
Hinders: 0
Time: 53:13
Final: 21-17, 21-16
Total Points Scored: 75
Game 1 Stats
Aces
Ruiz: 5
Esser: 5
First Strike Kills
Ruiz: 5
Esser: 4
Return of Serve Kills
Ruiz: 2
Esser: 0
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Ruiz: 12
Esser: 6
Left Hand Rally Enders
Ruiz: 3
Esser: 2
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Ruiz: 3
Esser: 3
Errors
Ruiz: 9
Esser: 7
Fly Kills:
Ruiz: 6
Esser: 3
Hinders: 1
Time: 25:03
Total Points Scored: 38
Game 2 Stats
Aces
Ruiz: 3
Esser: 4
First Strike Kills
Ruiz: 9
Esser: 6
Return of Serve Kills
Ruiz: 0
Esser: 1
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Ruiz: 13
Esser: 8
Left Hand Rally Enders
Ruiz: 3
Esser: 5
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Ruiz: 10
Esser: 3
Errors
Ruiz: 6
Esser: 9
Fly Kills:
Ruiz: 6
Esser: 1
Hinders: 0
Time: 27:10
Final: Ruiz def Esser 21-16
Total Points Scored: 37
David Fink
WPH Patreon Statistician