Shorty Ruiz vs. Leo Canales, Jr.
WPH Press
Watch Shorty Ruiz vs. Leo Canales, Jr. Icebreaker #6 Semifinal HERE
The WPH is proud to present the WPH Icebreaker #6, the sixth official WPH Icebreaker event since September.
“We want to show people that we could safely hold an event with all of the COVID protocols in place,” stated WPH Executive Director David Vincent. “We allowed a limited number of socially distant fans, while ensuring the players were distanced as much as possible.”
Ruiz and Canales have formed one of the most exciting rivalries in the sport, with Canales defeating Ruiz to win the 2019 Tucson R48 Pre Qualifier and Ruiz defeating Canales to advance to his first R48 semifinal at the 2020 R48LTE Mardi Gras.
Both brought impressive 3-Wall resumes to their semifinal clash in the sixth Icebreaker, with the winner to play for the prestigious Icebreaker title.
Ruiz raced to an 11-4 lead in game one and appeared to be in complete control. Ruiz missed a kill shot and with the error, the tenor of the game dramatically shifted. “I changed my mind just before I took the shot and missed it,” stated Ruiz. Boosted by a two-way hop serve and first-strike fly kills, Canales scored 16 consecutive points to take a 20-11 lead and closed out the first game four rallies later, stunning Ruiz on his home court.
Ruiz regained control of the match in game two, “tap” killing and ceiling-blasting his way to an 18-8 lead. Canales was never able to work his way into the game, as Ruiz evened the match. “The second game looked a lot like the first game, except Shorty was able to build a big lead and maintain it,” stated WPH play-by-play announcer Dave Vincent from the Icebreaker bubble.
The first tiebreaker in Icebreaker history produced the most dramatic game in the five-month history of the WPH Icebreaker. After Canales hit two return of serve winners early in the game, Canales surged to a 6-2 lead with first-strike offense. Ruiz erased the 2-6 deficit with just six swings, striking two aces and two first-strike tap kills to tie the score at six. After scoring the seventh point with another kill, Ruiz appeared poised to run away with the tiebreaker, pushing Canales 10-feet behind the back line with an overhand ceiling drive. Canales reached back and aimed for a high right-handed drive. The drive attempt left the Texan’s hand much lower than intended, eventually hitting the front wall six inches high and dying into the corner in front of an exasperated Ruiz. Rather than serving at 8-6, Ruiz was now receiving at 6-7.
The rivals traded points from there, with both eventually holding match points. Canales served for the match at 10-9 but could not convert, and Ruiz served for the match for the first time at 10-10. Canales had the open court with Ruiz on his left on his second match point, but left his right-hand drive up, allowing Ruiz to execute a re kill. Canales floored another setup on his third match point, and ended the match with a second consecutive error on his return of serve.
Final: Ruiz def Canales 14-21, 21-11, 11-10
Crunching the Numbers: Shorty vs. Leo Tiebreaker at the Icebreaker #6
WPH Patreon Press
Watch Shorty vs. Leo Icebreaker #6 (tiebreaker starts at 31:00) HERE
Tiebreaker Stats
Aces
Shorty: 4
Leo: 1
First Strike Kills
Shorty: 3
Leo: 1
Shorty is known for having one of the best serves and first-strikes in 3-Wall, and he demonstrated that combination in this tiebreaker, scoring seven of his 11 points (64%) on his first or second shot. Shorty executed his best serve/first-strike streak when trailing 2-6, reeling off five consecutive points with either aces or first-strike kills.
Return of Serve Kills
Shorty: 1
Leo: 3
Leo was able to halt Shorty’s momentum several times in the tiebreaker, striking deep return of serves that landed just inches from the sideline and out of Shorty’s reach
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Shorty: 10
Leo: 10
Left Hand Rally Enders
Shorty: 1
Leo: 3
The rally-enders were nearly identical in the tiebreaker, as would have been expected in an 11-10 outcome
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Shorty: 5
Leo: 5
Errors
Shorty: 8
Leo: 7
While Shorty made one more error than Leo, it was Leo’s sixth and seventh errors that were the difference in this match, as Leo’s sixth and seventh errors came on his last two swings of the match
Fly Kills:
Shorty: 5
Leo: 3
Hinders: 1
Final: Shorty def Leo 11-10
Total Points Scored: 21
Watch HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer