WPH Press, Portland, OR, 10/14/22
Portland Classic R48LTE Broadcast Schedule HERE
The WPH proudly kicked off the eleventh season of the Race 4 Eight tour at one of handball’s most storied venues, the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, OR. Portland Classic tournament director Conor Casey worked tirelessly for months to prepare for the season’s inaugural event, ensuring the pro and aspiring pro players, as well as the 60+ amateur players enjoyed a great event.
Watch Saturday’s quarterfinals starting at 9 am PST from the MAC, to be broadcast live on Patreon HERE
The Flying Cordovas and Martin Mulkerrins headlined the seventy-first R48 event and first event of the Race 4 Eight XI season, with Lucho dominating the Icebreaker summer series with three consecutive dominant victories at the WPH’s Clark Park on the heels of a R48 X season-ending #2 ranking. Danos Cordova is always dangerous and a fan-favorite for his athletic and exciting style. Danos will be aiming for multiple tour victories during the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season. “I really want to push myself in training to try to reach my potential this year,” stated Danos.
2022 Race 4 Eight Player’s Champion Martin Mulkerrins recently relocated to College Station, TX to become Texas A&M’s head handball coach and to have the opportunity to play a full R48 schedule. “I am excited to have this opportunity and that I will have no regrets about not having played at least one full season on the tour,” stated the two-time Race 4 Eight champion.
Joining the top three seeds in the R48LTE Portland Classic are rising stars Max Langmack (KS), Jab Bike (CA), Michael Gaulton (CAN), and Rene Lopez (CA).
Round of 16
The top six seeds cruised in Friday evening’s round of 16, with each of the six Portland Classic top six sweeping their matches in two games.
Kyle English and Michael Gaulton played the match of the night, with the 39-year-old English diving, blasting, and ace-ing his way into his first R48 quarterfinal. After dropping the first game to Gaulton, the former pro football player increased his intensity and precision, evening the match at one game apiece and separating himself from the former collegiate All-American in the decider.
“I’ve had a chance to play a lot of pros and I used to get zero in every game but I slowly started to learn how to play,” stated English. “Just seeing how the pros swing and the shots they make, my game improved a lot.”
John Bike played the best match of his Race 4 Eight career, dropping NorCal’s Rene Lopez in two games. Buoyed by his hall of fame dad, future hall of fame uncle, Naty. Jr., his mom, sister, and cousins, Bike announced that he is already a force on the tour.
Round of 16
Lucho def Svennungsen 15-7, 15-11
Bike def Lopez 15-5, 15-9
Langmack def M. Stenberg 15-8, 15-1
Fink def Biddle 15-5, 15-1
Mulkerrins def Flores 15-1, 15-1
Collado def Steele 15-8, 15-8
English def Gaulton 12-15, 15-9, 15-6
Danos def Schoener 15-1, 15-9
Quarterfinals (Saturday live: patreon.com/wphlive)
Lucho vs. Bike 9 am PST
Fink vs. Langmack 10 am PST
Mulkerrins vs. Collado Noon PST
Danos vs. English 11 am PST
Semifinals (Saturday)
Upper bracket semifinal 4 pm PST
Bottom bracket semifinal 5 pm PST
Watch Saturday’s quarterfinals starting at 9 am PST from the MAC, to be broadcast live on Patreon HERE
Portland Classic R48 XI R48LTE Press Release HERE
Follow the draws and results of the Portland Classic R48 IX R48LTE HERE
R48LTE explained HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2022/23 Race 4 Eight XI Powered by ESPN features Race 4 Eight stops in Oregon, Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Texas, and Pennsylvania, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in Utah in May of 2023. 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.
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer