Sunday at the 2024 WPH Race 4 Eight Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship

….and Post Salt Lake Fun Facts

Day 3

Salt Lake City, UT, WPH Press, 5/5/24

Sunday featured the conclusion of the season’s premiere event, as the best players in the world aimed to cement their legacies on the world’s biggest professional handball stage.

R48 Men’s Pro Final: Mulkerrins vs. Carroll

Martin Mulkerrins entered the final on a twelve-match, two-tournament Race 4 Eight-win streak, while also clinching the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight Player’s Cup on Saturday with his quarterfinal win against Vic Perez. Killian Carroll was playing in just his second Race stop of the season, having rallied from match point down to win his only start of the season against Mulkerrins to win the Chapman in January.

The first game was grueling for both players, with many rallies extending well beyond ten shots. Killian finally established separation late in the game, serving for the game at 14-10. Having surrendered a number of 14-10 leads in the past two seasons, including three against Carroll, the Mulkerrins-uncurse revealed itself for the third consecutive tournament, as Martin rallied to win the game in overtime, capitalizing on offensive opportunities to stun the game’s best closer.

After being stuck on fourteen in the first game, Carroll quickly raced to a 4-0 lead in the second and never allowed Mulkerrins into the game. Carroll applied pressure throughout, as Martin’s flat start to the game never allowed him to climb within striking distance.

Much like the Mulkerrins/Carroll 2023 Houston quarterfinal clash in which Mulkerrins squandered a 14-10 first-game lead and dominated the second only to lose the third, Mulkerrins built an impressive 13-5 lead in the third. “We are so used to Carroll flipping the switch in tiebreakers but that is not happening here,” stated ESPN’s Dave Vincent.

Currently owning the Race 4 Eight Player’s Cup, eight Race 4 Eight titles and the USHA national title and world title, Mulkerrins was not immune to late match anxiety. Mulkerrins played conservatively with the lead, allowing Carroll to cut the lead to four. Mulkerrins hit an ace to score the fourteenth point, settling his nerves and allowing him to swing freely to clinch the match on his first match point.

I am delighted to have won the Player’s Championship again,” stated Mulkerrins. “It’s always so tough playing Killian. He is such an incredible athlete and competitor. I am very happy that I kept my focus to make the comeback in game one. I have made comebacks before, as others have against me, so I knew I was still in with a shot. I was equally pleased with keeping my cool late in the tiebreaker when Killian was on a big comeback and had the momentum. I was fully focused on waiting for my opportunity to get back in to serve. Thankfully that opportunity came and I thought I served well once I got in. I want to thank my girlfriend Eilish for supporting me, the WPH for supporting all of the players and the crew here in Salt Lake City for having us each year,” stated Mulkerrins, who will start the 2024/25 Race 4 Eight season as the dominant number one.

Final: Mulkerrins def Carroll 16-14, 6-15, 15-9

R48 Playoffs

Fifth place playoffs: Lucho def Fink 25-22

Lucho Cordova bounced back from his third quarterfinal loss in his last four starts to overcome Sam Esser and David Fink to win fifth, rallying from a 16-20 deficit in the final against Fink to notch a top five Player’s Championship finish.

Nineth place playoffs: Danos def Kerr 25-14

Danos Cordova overcame Shorty Ruiz, Jeff Streibig and Sean Kerr to win ninth, ending his season on a three-match win streak.

R48 Salt Lake City Finishes

1^st: M. Mulkerrins

2^nd: Carroll

3^rd: Canales/Ure

5^th: Lucho

6^th: Fink

7^th: Esser/Perez

9^th: Danos

10^th: Kerr

11^th: Streibig/Doyle

13^th: Bike/Ruiz/Hernandez/Lenning

WR48 Final: Casey vs. Heffernan

Catriona Casey entered the 2024 WR48 Player’s Championship final with twenty-eight WR48 titles, ten WR48 Player’s Cups (clinched her tenth on Saturday), eight WR48 Player’s Championships and a 93-2 WR48 record. Niamh Heffernan was appearing in her first WR48 final in her second WR48 start, reaching the final with impressive two-game sweeps against Clodagh Munroe and Dr. Ashley Ruiz.

Heffernan asserted herself early in the first game, showcasing her impressive technique and shot selection. Playing for just the second time, Casey was probing for weaknesses, patiently moving the ball around the court to size up the young Irishwoman.

With the score tied at seven in the first, Casey made all of the necessary computations, reeling off twenty-three consecutive points with left-handed kills, perfectly placed ceiling balls, two-wall passes and an array of serves to claim her twenty-ninth WR48 title and ninth WR48 Player’s Championship, making her the world’s most dominant athlete.

“Playing the tour has been a huge part of my life for the past decade,” stated Casey. “I don’t really think about the score, just playing my game.”

Final: Casey def Heffernan 15-7, 15-0

WR48 Playoffs

Third place playoff: Ni Churraoin def Ruiz (forfeit)

Fifth place playoff: Daskalakis def Esser 25-23

Danielle Daskalakis and Mikaila Esser played the closest match of the WR48 event, with the all-code star eventually upsetting the WR48 #2 to earn her best finish of the season.

WR48 Salt Lake City Finishes

1^st: Casey

2^nd: Heffernan

3^rd: Ni Churraoin

4^th: Ruiz

5^th: Daskalakis

6^th: Esser

SR48 Final: Fink vs. Bernhard

David Fink entered the SR48 Player’s Championship final with thirteen SR48 titles, six SR48 Player’s Cups and three SR48 Player’s Championships. Current 35+ and 40+ USHA national masters champion Adam Bernhard advanced to the Player’s Championship final in his first SR48 starts, needing more than three hours of court time on Saturday to defeat top five SR48 pros Kevin Pettus and Dave Munson in tiebreakers.

The beginning of the first game featured a number of side outs, as neither player could score. Fink started to create first-strike opportunities with a power serve to the right, building a 10-3 lead. “I kept telling myself to be aggressive when I was serving but it’s not easy against Bernie because he knows how to keep the ball out of your strike zone,” Fink would later say. A fatigued Bernhard let the first game go with a big deficit, aiming to make a push in the second.

Bernhard built a 3-1 lead in the second, scoring three points on a high two-wall serve to the right. “Those were perfect serves that I had to try to take with my right to avoid the Bermuda triangle in the back left corner,” stated Fink.

Diving on virtually every rally, Fink took control of the match, hitting pass shots and right-hand kills to pull away to win his fourteenth SR48 title and fourth SR48 Player’s Championship.  

SR48 Playoffs

Third place playoff: Munson def Watkins (forfeit)

Fifth place playoff: Price def Svennungsen 25-14

Playing in his first SR48 event in two years, Kevin Price played exceptionally, pushing SR48 #2 Dave Munson in his quarterfinal loss and bouncing back to defeat Kevin Pettus and Pete Svennungsen to win fifth.

SR48 Salt Lake City Finishes

1^st: Fink

2^nd: Bernhard

3^rd: Munson

4^th: Watkins

5^th: Price

6^th: Svennungsen

Thank you!

Thank you to Team Ace Disposal for an outstanding event in Salt Lake City. Special thanks Matt Stalsberg, Ashton Steadman, Scott Bebe, Ruben Garza, Keith and Carroll and Jim Karner for working tirelessly before and during the tournament to ensure all of the players and fans enjoyed an incredible weekend.

Thank you to the WPH staff and WPH broadcast team – Dave Vincent, David Fink, Lolita de Vincent, Che Lowenstein, Linda Manning, Kara Mack, Kris Guarrad and Jeff Kastner for another outstanding Race season – THE BEST team in the business.

2023/24 Race 4 Eight Fun Facts 2024 Aces Player’s Championship

• Martin Mulkerrins clinched his first Race 4 Eight Player’s Cup (season-ending #1 ranking) at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship
• Martin Mulkerrins ended the season on a 13-match, three-tournament winning streak and a 28-3 match record – all three of Mulkerrins’s losses came in tiebreakers decided by two or three points
• The Mulkerrins Un-Curse: Martin Mulkerrins was as combined 4-0 in overtime games at the 2024 Hall of Fame R48LTE and 2024 Aces Player’s Championship, including a comeback against Carroll when trailing 10-14 in the first game in the finals of the 2024 Player’s Championship (Nash, Lucho, Lucho, Carroll). Mulkerrins also rallied from a 12-15, 2-12 deficit to defeat Sam Esser in the semifinals of the 2024 Juarez
• By winning the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship, Mulkerrins is now has nine Race 4 Eight titles, is the current USHA national pro singles champion, current world singles champion, current R48 Player’s Cup champion and current Race 4 Eight Player’s Champion
• Catriona Casey won her twenty-ninth WR48 title at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship and is now the nine-time WR48 Player’s champion, ten-time WR48 Player’s Cup champion with a staggering 94-2 WR48 match record
• Catriona Casey has won seventeen WR48 starts in a row (four wins this season)
• David Fink won his fourteenth SR48 title at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship and is now the six-time SR48 Player’s Cup champion and four-time SR48 Player’s Champion with a 40-1 SR48 match record
• Sean Kerr won consecutive ninth place playoff matches in overtime (Hernandez/Doyle) – Kerr then sprained his ankle playing 2-bounce before his ninth place final
• Ray Ure advanced to his first Race 4 Eight semifinal at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship in his second Race start of the season, upsetting Danos Cordova and Sam Esser to vault to #11 in the season-ending rankings
• Niamh Heffernan advanced to her first WR48 final at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship, defeating Clodagh Munroe and Ashley Ruiz
• After advancing to the semifinals or better in twenty-five consecutive R48 starts, Lucho Cordova ended his season with quarterfinal losses on three of his last four starts
• Danos Cordova entered the 2024 April Hall of Fame LTE as the #1 player for the first time and ended the season at #3 after losing in the round of 16 to Ray Ure at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship
• Current 35+ and 40+ USHA national champion Adam Bernhard advanced to the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship SR48 final in his first SR48 start, defeating Kevin Pettus and Dave Munson in tiebreakers to advance to the final
• David Fink (#5) finished in the Race 4 Eight Elite 8 for the twelfth consecutive season – Fink is the only player to be ranked inside the Race 4 Eight Elite 8 since the inception of the tour (88 events)
• The Salt Lake City Ace Disposal Team hosted their eleventh Race 4 Eight event and eighth Player’s Championship at the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship
• The R48 Men’s Pro featured just one of the top four seeds in the semifinals (Mulkerrins) – Ure, Carroll and Canales eliminated three of the four top four seeds before the semifinals
• Sean Lenning entered the 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship ranked sixth and Ivan Burgos entered 2024 Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship ranked eighth – a round of 16 loss for Lenning and a round of 32 loss for Burgos pushed both outside the season-ending Race 4 Eight Elite 8, replaced by Killian Carroll (#6) and Vic Perez (#8)
• Sam Esser finished the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight season in the Elite 8 (#7) for the third consecutive season – Esser advanced to the quarterfinals or better in seven of the eight 2023/24 Race 4 Eight events
• Vic Perez was the only player to have started the 2023/24 season outside the Race 4 Eight Elite 8 and finish the season in the Elite 8

See you at the start of the 2024/25 Race 4 Eight season at the Tucson Memorial, September 20-22, 2024.

Watch replays from Salt Lake City on ESPN+

Follow the brackets from the 2024 Aces Player’s Championship HERE

David Fink

WPH Senior Writer