Spectacular weather greeted junior and pro players on Friday at the Xrossover Revolution, as juniors enjoyed the first of three days of 3-Wall junior “Mega Clinics” coached by WPH Outdoor pros. Pro small ball also kicked off on Friday, as the top small ball and big ball stars started their quests to become Xrossover champions.
The top six men’s and women’s small ball seeds advanced to the small pro round of 16 with relative ease, including six-time defending 3-Wall small ball national champion Sean Lenning and two-time defending WR48 champion Catriona Casey. The match of the day featured WPH Outdoor 3-Wall big ball rivals Rudy Cruz and Kevin Gonzalez. Cruz dominated game one against his less experienced small ball opponent, but Gonzalez made adjustments in game two, evening the match on the strength of his left hand bazooka. Cruz led 9-6 in the third game to 11, but Gonzalez rallied to serve for a spot in the round of 16 at 10-9. After back-to-back 30-shot rallies, Cruz served for the match at 10-10, earning the victory on his second attempt.
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“This is an incredible tournament,” barked WPH Outdoor superstar Timbo Gonzalez. “The energy here in insane. I hope we have cross-over player at every WPH Outdoor event going forward.” “But we won’t!” Dave Vincent, WPH Director, barked louder. He couldn’t be reached for further comments.
The small ball portion of the event will conclude on Saturday afternoon, giving way to the second leg of the Xrossover Revolution, the big ball shootout. Men’s and women’s pros will be vying for points in both small ball and big ball to determine the Xrossover champion.
The 2015 WPH Outdoor 3-Wall “X” Fest- The Xrossover Revolution and Junior 1-Wall Challenge will not be broadcast live, but matches maybe filmed and uploaded in the weeks following the event. To follow all of the action from Venice Beach, Like the World Players of Handball on Facebook, follow the WPH on Twitter @wphlive.tv and @dfwph and go to wphlive.tv. To follow all of the draws and scores, click Here
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer