Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 9/18/22
WPH mega donor Doug Clark proudly hosted the Clarktember Clarkbreaker Fest at Clark Park, with small ball and big ball action at one of the world’s premiere outdoor handball facilities.
Small Ball Singles: Lucho Scores a Hat Trick
Lucho Cordova faced Brant Bidegain for the first time in pro competition in the upper bracket small ball semifinals. “It’s definitely fun to play someone new,” stated Lucho. “I scouted him a bit yesterday and noticed that he wins a lot of his points on hitting deep drives and ceilings so I had to adjust my game plan for that.”
Bidegain was unable to derail the Lucho Express, as Lucho cruised to the final in two games.
Danos Cordova returned from a broken foot to advance to his first Icebreaker singles final of the season and third overall with a two-game sweep against Abraham Montijo.
Lucho and Danos faced one another for the first time in pro 3-Wall singles in the final. “Lucho has won two Icebreakers in a row but he hasn’t had to face me in any of those events,” stated Danos prior to the event.
Lucho controlled the match from the outset, overpowering his younger brother and cruising to his third straight Icebreaker title. “Danos is coming off an injury so he is not moving as well and not as explosive and that was a difference,” stated Lucho. “I am just swinging hard on every ball and even though I haven’t been playing that much, my power seems to be the difference.”
Semifinals
Lucho def Bidegain 15-4, 15-5
Danos def Montijo 15-8, 15-3
Final: Lucho def Danos 15-6, 15-6
Women’s Small Ball Singles
Two-time Icebreaker women’s singles champion Mikaila Esser aimed for her third Icebreaker title at the Clarkbreaker, while current 3-Wall national champion Ashley Ruiz was seeking to tie Esser with her second Icebreaker title.
Ruiz flipped the result from four weeks ago, handing Esser a two-game loss to tie her best friend with two Icebreaker women’s titles. After winning 82% of her points at the 2022 USHA Three Wall Nationals, Ruiz won 80% (60-15) of her points at the Clarkbreaker. “I came into these last two events with nothing but revenge on my mind so this feels really good,” stated Ruiz.
Final: Ruiz def Esser 15-8, 15-3
Big Ball Singles
A new Icebreaker champion was guaranteed in the Big Ball singles, as none of the four players in the Big Ball singles semifinals had won an Icebreaker.
Fourth-seed Oscar Siordia ousted Jerry “Bear” Vicencio in the upper bracket semifinals in two games, advancing to his first Icebreaker final in his second Icebreaker start.
Chava Cordova faced living legend Samzon Hernandez in the bottom bracket semifinal. Cordova escaped with a first-game win, but was routed by Hernandez in game two to set up a tiebreaker. Hernandez appeared to be in control in the third, leading 7-4 in the rally scoring finale. Hernandez’s fitness betrayed him in the second half of the tiebreaker, as fatigue negatively affected his shot selection and court coverage. Chava won seven of the next nine rallies to take control, but a costly error appeared to let Samzon back in the game. Chava was able to regroup, closing the match with three consecutive kills.
“I am getting back into it,” stated Samzon. “I missed two years due to a car accident and last year I came back but could only play about 100 times. This year I’m playing a lot more.”
Siordia and Chava are close rivals, often trading titles in thrilling matches in California. The Clarkbreaker final would be no different, as the sensational athletes played a WPH Match of the Year candidate in the 100+ degree Tucson sun. Siordia was in control in game one, but Chava regrouped and forced a tiebreaker with a dominant second game.
The tiebreaker featured the most drama and most enthusiastic fans in Icebreaker history, as the two stars traded kills shots and the lead throughout the third. Chava led 10-6 and 14-12, but Siordoa benefitted from a Chava right-hand error and a pass to tie the score at 14, meaning whoever won the next rally would take his first Icebreaker title. The pair were tied at match point to match point in their last encounter at the WallBall Golden Ticket in Campbell, CA, with Chava taking the final point and the title. This time it would be Siordia who won the final point, claiming his first Icebreaker title.
“Chava and I have played so often and traded wins and we both know each other’s games,” stated Siordia. “He is a great player and the match is never over with him. Usually my fitness is strong, but I was definitely feeling tired in the heat. I have been following the WPH for a lot of years and it means a lot to me to win a WPH title.”
Semifinals
Siordia def Vicencio 15-5, 15-11
Chava def Samzon 15-13, 8-15, 15-11
Siordoa def Chava 15-9, 6-15, 15-14
Pro Doubles
Small Ball
Lucho and Danos bounced back from a finals loss to 3-Wall national champions Shorty Ruiz and Sam Esser at August’s Icebreaker to defeat the Tucsonans in two games, rallying from a 5-12 first game deficit to score 25 of the final 27 points of the match.
Flying Cordovas def Ruiz/Esser 15-12, 15-2
Big Ball
Chava Cordova and Antonio Chavez survived match point in Saturday’s semifinals to advance to the final and swept Alberto Pizano and Anthony Hernandez to take the pro big ball doubles, while Javi Flores and Beni Gonzalez swept Fernando Zapata and Julio Perez to win the big ball B doubles.
Chava/A. Chavez def Pizano/A. Hernandez 15-14, 15-7
Flores/B. Gonzalez def Zapata/Perez 15-8, 15-12
Thanks!
Thank you to Doug Clark for sponsoring the Clarkbreaker. Special thanks to grill master Scott Cleveland for an outstanding Saturday night BBQ at Clark Park’s Field of Dreams. Thank you to the WPH staff for working long hours before, during, and after the event to make the Clarkbreaker a huge success. Thank you to all of the players, especially the SoCal and El Paso group for each “Picking up 10” pieces of trash to keep Clark Park beautiful #newtradition
Sunday will feature the conclusion of all of the brackets, to include the small ball and big ball singles and doubles.
The WPH filmed the action and upload the matches to Patreon (HERE).
R2 page for the 2022 WPH Outdoor Clarkbreaker HERE
Icebreaker pro player bios HERE
2020-22 Icebreaker Fun Facts HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer