Leo Canales, Jr. vs. Sam Esser
WPH Press, Tucson, AZ
Watch Icebreaker #4 Canales, Jr. vs. Esser HERE
The WPH is proud to present the WPH Icebreaker #4, the fourth 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 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.”
Leo Canales, Jr. and Sam Esser entered the WPH Bubble to renew their rivalry at Clark Park. Canales and Esser played one of the most dramatic collegiate national finals in history in 2018, with Canales edging Esser 11-8 in the final to clinch the individual men’s collegiate title for Lake Forest College. Esser had never defeated Canales, and was aiming to score his first win against the “El Paso Kid” on his home court at Tucson’s Clark Park.
Canales dominated Esser in their most recent encounter at the 2019 New Orleans R48LTE, and continued his dominant play against the USHA’s Esser in game one at Clark Park. Canales applied pressure with hard, low hook serves, striking eight ace serves in game one, and adding 11 kill shots, five of them being fly kills. following his bullet serves with fly kills. Canales needed just 11 minutes to take a one-game lead, 21-6.
Esser started to find his bearings in game two, imposing his steady two-handed attack on the 2019/20 R48 Next Gen Champion. The pair traded the lead throughout the thrilling second game, with both playing at an incredibly high level. Virtually every rally in game two was extended, as the pair played 29 6+ shot rallies.
With the score tied at 12 in game two, Leo embarked on a tear, striking aces and first-strike kills en route to a commanding 19-14 lead. Esser struck a right-handed left corner kill from 41 feet that struck the side wall near the restraining line, nearly 30 feet from the front wall. “I definitely wasn’t aiming there,” Esser would later say. Esser parlayed his good fortune to cut into Leo’s lead, eventually serving at 19-20. The pair exchanged errors and rally-enders at 19-20, with Leo serving for the match four times and Esser serving to score 20 four times. Esser failed to convert a right-handed setup from the short line on the fifteenth shot of his fourth attempt to score the twentieth point, a shot he normally makes. Canales ended the match with his fourteenth ace, claiming his first Icebreaker title.
Leo’s 14 aces to Esser’s two, 33 rally-enders to Esser’s 19 and, ten first-strike kills to Esser’s four was too much for Esser to overcome.
“I have been playing quite a bit,” stated Canales. “I’ve been staying in Phoenix and playing with the group up there, and they had just reopened the courts in El Paso before I left. It was really fun to get in there and play (today). I was flying the ball well and hitting my serve well too.”
“Leo and Sam are unquestionably two of the best early-to-mid 20’s stars in the world and they demonstrated that today at Clark Park,” stated WPH R48 veteran David Fink. “Leo and Sam have all of the shots, and handball will be in a very good place with these young stars.”
Thank you to Leo and Sam for putting on a great show at the WPH Icebreaker #4. Look for more Icebreakers in the near future.
Watch Icebreaker #4 Canales, Jr. vs. Esser HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer