WPH Tucson 4-Man 3 Wall Icebreaker at Clark Park: Montijo vs. Esser
WPH Icebreaker Pro Stop #1 Third Place Final Full Recap + Crunched Stats
WPH Press, 9/27/20
The WPH is proud to present the WPH Tucson 4-Man Icebreaker, the first official WPH event since February.
“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 closed the park, the referee wore a mask, we allowed a limited number of masked, socially distant fans, while ensuring the players were distanced as much as possible.”
Tucsonans David Fink, Shorty Ruiz, Abraham Montijo and Sam Esser kicked off the first Icebreaker, proudly demonstrating that handball can be played safely during this pandemic.
Icebreaker Third Place Final: Montijo vs. Esser
Montijo and Esser entered Clark Park’s Freddy B. Show Court in the blazing 100-degree midday Tucson heat for the third place final. The third place final proved to be the longest and most grueling match of the event, with the two games featuring nearly an hour of play and seventeen 6+ shot rallies.
Montijo controlled the action in game one, pushing Esser into the deep court and forcing errors, while consistently killing the ball in the front court. Montijo led 12-5 and maintained at least a six-point lead throughout the game, eventually winning 21-14
Montijo trailed 2-12 in game two and seemingly had no answer for Esser’s serve-and-shoot attack. Esser led 14-7 in game one and 12-1 in game two in his Icebreaker semifinal with Shorty Ruiz before collapsing and suffered the same fate against Montijo in game two of their third place final. Montijo scored the final 20(!) points of the match, earning third place in Tucson’s pro handball return.
“We have a lot of pride in Tucson handball and we don’t want a newcomer coming to town and beating us.,” chuckled Montijo.
Crunching the Numbers: Montijo vs. Esser
Aces
Montijo: 12
Esser: 3
Montijo outscored Esser 42-26, with more than half of the 16-point disparity coming on ace serves. Montijo’s 12 ace serves accounted for 29% of his points, while Esser’s three ace serves accounted for just 4% of his total points
First Strike Kills
Montijo: 6
Esser: 11
Esser may not have earned as many free points with his serve as he needed, but 42% of his points came from his first-strike, mostly corner kills. Montijo struck just six first-strike kills, but his ace serves and first-strike kills accounted for 43% of his points
Return of Serve Kills
Montijo: 5
Esser: 4
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Montijo: 18
Esser: 16
Left Hand Rally Enders
Montijo: 8
Esser: 10
Esser led Montijo were tied with 26 rally-enders apiece, a number that would become a wash in Montijo’s two-game sweep
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Montijo: 16
Esser: 12
Errors
Montijo: 16
Esser: 20
Esser made just four more errors than Montijo, but many of Esser’s errors came late in both games when it appeared Esser still had a chance to challenge the 3-Wall national finalist
Fly Kills:
Montijo: 5
Esser: 5
Hinders: 2
Time: 53:30
Final: Montijo def Esser 21-14, 21-12
Total Points Scored: 68
Game 1 Stats
Aces
Montijo: 5
Esser: 1
First Strike Kills
Montijo: 3
Esser: 7
Return of Serve Kills
Montijo: 2
Esser: 3
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Montijo: 10
Esser: 10
Left Hand Rally Enders
Montijo: 3
Esser: 7
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Montijo: 9
Esser: 8
Errors
Montijo: 9
Esser: 14
Fly Kills:
Montijo: 4
Esser: 3
Hinders: 1
Time: 25:50
Final: Montijo def Esser 21-14
Total Points Scored: 35
Game 2 Stats
Aces
Montijo: 8
Esser: 2
First Strike Kills
Montijo: 3
Esser: 4
Return of Serve Kills
Montijo: 3
Esser: 1
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Montijo: 8
Esser: 6
Left Hand Rally Enders
Montijo: 5
Esser: 3
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Montijo: 7
Esser: 4
Errors
Montijo: 7
Esser: 7
Fly Kills:
Montijo: 1
Esser: 2
Hinders: 1
Time: 22:40
Final: Montijo def Esser 21-12
Total Points Scored: 33
David Fink
WPH Patreon Statistician