Upset Friday: Streibig Stuns Two-Time Finalist Ure at Player’s Championship

Day 1

Salt Lake City, UT, WPH Press, 5/2/25

The 2025 WPH Race 4 Eight Salt Lake City Aces Player’s Championship provides professional handball’s greatest showcase, featuring the R48, WR48, and SR48 battling for Player’s Championships, the most coveted prize in professional handball. The 2025 Aces Player’s Championship was the thirteenth Player’s Championship in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour and the tenth at the Sports Mall in Salt Lake City. Huge thank you to the Stalsberg’s and the Aces Team for their incredible generosity towards the WPH and their passion for our great game. Watch all of Saturday and Sunday’s action from Salt Lake on ESPN+. 

R48

Martin Mulkerrins clinched the 2023/24 R48 Player’s Cup for the year-end #1 player and sits in the pole position to defend his Player’s Cup title at the 2025 Player’s Championship. With double ranking points awarded at the Player’s Championship, a loss for Mulkerrins in Salt Lake City and a Lucho Cordova win could unseat Mulkerrins and give Lucho his second Player’s Cup. All of the Race 4 Eight’s Elite Eight and many of the tour’s #NextGen stars made the trip to Salt Lake City to compete for double ranking points and a spot in the year-end Elite 8. 

Top-seeded Martin Mulkerrins was clinical in his two-game sweep against Matt Job, while second-seeded Lucho Cordova’s Player’s Championship started disastrously, dropping game one 15-4 against Diramuid Mulkerrins. Lucho avoided the upset by dominating the second and scoring the final six points of the third game to advance, 15-8. 

Third-seeded and two-time 2024/25 Race 4 Eight finalist Ray Ure was stunned by Jeff Streibig in the biggest upset of the season. Streibig took game one, dropped game two and trailed 11-13 in the third before mounting a career-defining comeback, scoring the final four points of the game to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. “They built these courts too high up,” Streibig would later say. “I’d be so tired, call a timeout and be ok for the next four points. I just kept telling myself to keep the ball in play.”

Fourth-seeded Leo Canales played at a high level throughout his two-game sweep against fellow Arizonan Shorty Ruiz, withstanding Ruiz’s kills and taking advantage of his opportunities. “This (the Player’s Championship) is what we play for all year,” Canales would later say.

Fifth-seeded Danos Cordova faced flamethrower Jab Bike for a spot in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Bike was arguably hitting the hardest ball in the history of the tour throughout the match, keeping Danos on his heels. Bike was seeking revenge after losing to Danos 11-8 in the tiebreaker at the 2024 R48 Icebreaker and started well, taking the first game and was close midway through the second. “Jab just made some hand errors late in the second game and it got away from him,” stated Jab’s assistant coach Chris Watkins. The tiebreaker was tied at ten when Bike’s serve caught fire, including a roll out ace on match point to secure the biggest win of his career. “I have been working really hard and this wins feels really good,” stated Jab.

David Fink and Sean Lenning met in the round of 16 in Lenning’s second consecutive event. Lenning dominated the first, but battled fatigue in the second, opening the door for a Fink comeback to force a third. Lenning regained his form in the third, dominating the action with his serve and fly kill. 

Nothing separated Ivan Burgos and Max Langmack for the first two games and deep into the third, as Langmack took the first game, Burgos took the second and the pair stood tied at 13 in the third. Langmack would serve twice at 13-all but could not score, as Burgos escaped the upset in his second consecutive 15-13 main draw tiebreaker match (Austin loss to Esser).

Mark Doyle continued his stellar play after making the finals last weekend at the Pete Tyson Classic, defeating Sam Esser in two games to setup his third meeting in as many events with Martin Mulkerrins.  

Round of 16

Mulkerrins def M. Job 15-5, 15-4

Lucho def D. Mulkerrins 4-15, 15-5, 15-8

Streibig def Ure 15-11, 7-15, 15-13

Canales def Ruiz 15-9, 15-7

Bike def Danos 15-10, 8-15, 15-11

Lenning def Fink 15-5, 9-15, 15-1

Burgos def Langmack 11-15, 15-9, 15-13

Doyle def Esser 15-12, 15-7

Round of 8 (Saturday, MST)

Mulkerrins vs. Doyle (9 am)

Canales vs. Bike (9:45 am)

Lenning vs. Streibig (10:30 am)

Lucho vs. Burgos (11:15 am)

WR48

WR48 stars Clodagh Munroe, Mikaila Esser, Ashley Ruiz, Aoife Holden, and Fiona Tully led a wide open WR48 field, with this year’s WR48 Player’s Championship guaranteed a first-time champion after Catriona Casey’s nine-year reign at the WR48 Player’s Champion will come to an end this year. 

Round of 8 

Niamh Heffernan “Showed Up” against Tucson’s Ashley Ruiz, diving and driving balls en route to a sizeable first game lead. Ruiz showed up as well, making a comeback and serving at 8-9 after trailing 9-2. Heffernan closed out the first game on a 6-0 run and was in control in the second, storming into the WR semis to face top-seeded Clodagh Munroe.

Aoife Holden was too strong for Utah’s Stacey Marble, while Fiona Tully made her first WR start in three years, defeating second-seeded Mikaila Esser in two games. 

Munroe bye

Heffernan def Ruiz 15-9, 15-7

Holden def Marble 15-4, 15-2

Tully def Esser 15-11, 15-5 

Semifinals (Saturday, MST)

Munroe vs. Heffernan (1:30 pm)

Holden vs. Tully (2:15 pm)

SR48

SR48 #1 David Fink will be aiming for his sixth consecutive SR48 Player’s Cup, having won the Cup in his first five seasons on the SR48 tour, but will have to contend with SR48 #2 Sean Lenning, Boxer Rosales, Adam Bernhard, Chris Watkins, and the rest of the top SR stars. 

Boxer Rosales made his first SR48 start and cruised to the semifinals with a two-game sweep against fourth-seeded Chris Watkins. 

Second-seeded and undefeated SR48 star Sean Lenning met Joe Kaplan for the first time since defeating Kaplan 11-9 in the tiebreaker in the semifinals of the 1-Wall small ball World Championships in 2015. Lenning remained undefeated against the 1-Wall star, defeating Kaplan in two games.

One year after playing one of the longest and most exciting matches of the SR season in defeating Dave Munson in the semifinals of the 2024 SR48 Player’s Championship semifinals, Adam Bernhard played another roller coaster marathon against multiple-time SR finalist Bill Mehilos. In a match that featured nearly as many dives and points scored, Bernie led 15-13, 14-13. Bernie could not capitalize on two match points, as the Chicago Bulldog forced overtime and eventually a third game. Mehilos carried his game two comeback into game three, leading 6-0. Bernie switched to an overhand lob serve into the two-wall Sports Mall glass that Mehilos could not handle. The weak and missed returns led to a 14-1 Bernie run, setting up his third match point. Bernie hit a hard overhand drive serve ace, clinching the match. “I’ve played with a lot of older players who use that serve because the returner just cannot catch up to it,” Bernie would later say. “It’s an evolution.”

Round of 8 

Fink bye

Rosales def Watkins 15-8, 15-4

Bernhard def Mehilos 15-13, 14-16, 15-7

Lenning def Kaplan 15-1, 15-10

Semifinals (Saturday, MST)

Fink vs. Rosales (Noon)

Lenning vs. Bernhard (12:45 pm)

WPH Destination Series Salt Lake City HERE

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2025 WPH Race 4 Eight Aces Player’s Championship press release HERE

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2024/25 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE

WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2024/25 Race 4 Eight XIII Powered by ESPN featured Race 4 Eight stops in Oregon, Arizona, Montana, Mexico, California, and Texas, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in Utah in May of 2025. Similar to NASCAR’s Nextel Cup and the FedEx PGA Playoffs, players earn points in the Race 4 Eight’s regular season stops to qualify for the season-ending Player’s Championship and bonus prizes.

For more information on the WPH Race 4 Eight title sponsor opportunity, please contact World Players of Handball Executive Director David Vincent at info@wphlive.tv or World Players of Handball Development Director David Fink at david.fink@wphlive.tv. For more information on the World Players of Handball, please visit wphlive.tv

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David Fink

WPH Senior Writer