Martin Mulkerrins won his fourth Race 4 Eight title of the 2024/25 season at the 2025 R48 Hall of Fame in Tucson last weekend.
Victory in Arizona was his thirteenth R48 title and cemented his lead at the top of the standings. Next up on the tour is a trip to Salt Lake City in Utah for the last of the eight tour stops.
A Moycullen native, but currently based in Texas, Mulkerrins as held his top seed ranking since May 2024. Close on his heels is the Mexican, Lucho Cordova who cannot be underestimated ahead of the final stop at Salt Lake City. The last, in three weeks’ time, awards double points which means this race is far from over and still all to play for.
Mukerrins secured the title in Tucson last Sunday with victory over Ray Ure in a final for a second time this season - the first being the 2024 Portland Classic in October. It was Mulkerrins sixth final of the season while Ure was bidding to become the youngest R48 Men’s Pro champion in history.
Mulkerrins asserted his dominance early as he raced into the contest with superb serves and kills to win the first three rallies of the match. He was leading 7-4 before Ure mounted a comeback to tie it at 7-7. All that seemed to do was wake a sleeping giant, as Mulkerrins held Ure scoreless for the rest of the game.
The man from Moycullen seamlessly shifted gears from there, mixing lob and power serves to keep Ure in the back court with perfectly placed ceiling and wrap shots. He closed out the first match on a 15-7 scoreline.
In match two Mulkerrins continued his control of the contest. He stormed into a 14-3 lead with bottom board kills and precision defence. "I don’t think I missed a shot up until fourteen," reflected Mulkerrins post-game.
The number one seed closed out the contest to secure his thirteenth R48 title and fourth title of the season. Senior WPH writer David Fink described the Galway man as "one of the best ever to play the Race tour".
All focus now shifts to Salt Lake City in three weeks' time.
