R48 Pre March Madness Preview: Inside the Numbers
WPH Press, 3/3/22
As the Race 4 Eight Men’s Pros approach their sixth event of the 2022/23 season, let’s go Inside the Numbers on the 2022/23 R48 season to see who is rewriting the records and making R48 history.
R48 March Madness: Inside the Numbers
35: Killian Carroll’s WPH pro singles winning streak (Race 4 Eight and Icebreaker)
4: Number of titles Carroll has won during the 2022/23 season (in 4 starts)
2: Fifth place finishes (back-to-back) for Sam Esser
2: Number of different 2022/23 R48 finalists (Carroll, Fink)
2: Number of finals appearances for Lucho Cordova (Memorial, Icebreaker)
6: Number of consecutive Race starts Killian has won
853: days since Carroll’s last WPH pro singles loss (November 3, 2019)
81: Number if inches of pro handball’s tallest player (Max Langmack)
1: Number of players making their first R48 semifinal this season (Cooney, January Classic)
4: Number of Race stops in Tucson during the 2022/23 season
19: Number of Race 4 Eight titles Carroll has won
3: Number of players earning Elite 8 status this season for the first time (Esser, Ruiz, Canales)
18: The number of players that have earned R48 ranking points thus far this season
3: The number of players in their 40’s with R48 ranking points (Fink, Brady, Mehilos)
3: The number of countries represented on the R48 rankings (U.S., Ireland, Mexico)
4,559: The most miles traveled each way to a R48 stop this season (D. Nash/Houston)
0: The least number of losses of any player on the R48 rankings (Carroll)
2.5: The average finish of Lucho Cordova in four R48 starts this season (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd)
17: Most wins of any player on the R48 tour this season (Carroll)
69: The number of R48 stops held since the start of the tour in 2011 (69 includes the upcoming R48 March Madness)
123: The most R48 match wins in R48 history entering the R48 March Madness (Fink/Lenning tied)
2,078: The number of players that have entered the 69 R48 events (including the R48 March Madness)
56: The percentage of R48 events Carroll has entered and won (19 of 34)
1: The number of father/sons to qualify on the R48 (El Senor/Leo Canales)
Average Finish of the 15 Race 4 Eight X Quarterfinalists Through 5 R48 X Events
- Carroll: 4 starts (1st, 1st, 1st, 1st), Avg. Finish: 1
- L. Cordova: 4 starts (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd), Avg. Finish: 2.5
- Fink: 3 starts (5th, 1st, 3rd), Avg. Finish: 3
- D. Cordova (3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 7th): 4 starts, Avg. Finish: 3.5
- Lenning (3rd, 5th): 2 starts, Avg. Finish: 4
- Cooney (6th, 5th, 3rd, 17th): 4 starts: Avg. Finish: 7.8
- Canales, Jr.: 5 starts (7th, 5th, 3rd, 7th, 7th), Avg. Finish: 5.8
- Esser: 5 starts (7th, 9th, 6th, 5th, 5th), Avg. Finish: 6.4
- Brady: 1 start, Avg. Finish: 2
- Mulkerrins: 1 start, Avg. Finish: 3
- Ruiz: 5 starts (9th, 5th, 3rd, 17th, 10th), Avg. Finish: 8.8
- Bernhard: 2 starts (6th, 11th), Avg. Finish: 8.5
- Langmack: 5 starts (11th, 9th, 5th, 9th, 7th): Avg. Finish: 8.2
- Montijo: 5 starts (10th, 9th, 7th, 6th, 9th), Avg. Finish: 8.2
- Mehilos: 4 starts (9th, 10th, 7th, 13th), Avg. Finish: 9.8
*The R48 Stop #2/USHA Four Wall Nationals did not have a 5th place or 9th place playoff, meaning the quarterfinals losers were given a 5th place finish and the round of 16 losers were given a 9th place finish for their average finish
Best career Race 4 Eight Results of the 15 R48 X quarterfinalists
Carroll: win (19 titles)
Cordova: win (4 titles)
Cordova: win (3 titles)
Lenning: win (7 titles)
Fink: win (1 title)
Cooney: 3rd
Canales, Jr.: 3rd
Esser: 5th
Brady: win (15 titles)
Mulkerrins: win (1 title)
Ruiz: 3rd
Bernhard: 6th
Langmack: 5th
Montijo: 5th
Mehilos: 7th
7 of the 15 Race 4 Eight X quarterfinalists are R48 champions – there have been 12 different champions in the history of the R48 Men’s Pro – Moreno, Ortiz, Al. Garner, McCarthy, Shanks, in addition to the seven champions listed
2021/22 Race 4 Eight Breakthroughs: all players listed achieving their career-best Race 4 Eight finishes during the 2021/22 season
Fink: Best previous finish: 2nd, best 2021/22 finish: 1st
Ruiz: Best previous finish, 7th, best 2021/22 finish: 3rd
Langmack: Best previous finish: 10th, best 2021/22 finish: 5th
Bernhard: Best previous finish: 11th, best 2021/22 finish: 6th
Esser: Best previous finish: 13th, best 2021/22 finish: 7th
Esser: Best previous finish: n/a, best 2021/22 finish: 3rd
Daskalakis: Best previous finish: 3rd, best 2021/22 finish: 1st
Mehilos: Best previous finish: n/a, best 2021/22 finish: 7th
Killian’s 31-Match, 8-Tournament Winning Streak
- 35 straight WPH pro singles wins
- 9 consecutive WPH pro singles titles
- 853 days since his last WPH pro singles loss (November 3, 2019-March 5, 2022)
- 69-5 in games won/lost during 35-match streak
- 6 consecutive R48 (4-Wall) titles
- 3 consecutive WPH Icebreaker titles (undefeated in Icebreaker career)
- 19 Race 4 Eight titles in 33 starts (most ever R48 Men’s Pro titles)
- Killian has held the R48 #1 ranking since April of 2017
R48 X Win/Loss Records of the 15 R48 X quarterfinalists
Carroll: 17-0, 4 events
Cordova: 10-4, 4 events
Cordova: 8-5, 4 events
Lenning: 3-2, 2 events
Fink: 10-2, 3 events
Cooney: 6-6, 4 events
Canales, Jr.: 8-6, 5 events
Esser: 9-6, 5 events
Brady: 3-1, 1 event
Mulkerrins: 2-1, 1 event
Ruiz: 11-6, 5 events
Bernhard: 5-4, 2 events
Langmack: 11-7, 5 events
Montijo: 10-8, 5 events
Mehilos: 7-6, 4 events
Follow the brackets from the R48 March Madness HERE
Tune into the Watch ESPN App on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6 to watch all of the action from this weekend’s R48 March Madness
Go to wphlive.tv for updates throughout the weekend.
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer