Cliff Swain vs Kane Waselenchuk

[@SBPresentation]

Kane's shots are much sharper nowadays. I have never seen he missed so many setups in one game like this.

[@sajjadahmed5083]

I was impressed with Kane all these years, didn't know Cliff Swain was the king before him, great players, also the like the fact that both are lefty, so am I :)

[@McKeonDerek]

The production quality is better in 2002 than it is watching the IRT in 2022. lol

[@spencerhochstetler]

Ain't no joke. IRT: "Sponsored by Bob's Painting Service - those guys are great - Sally's Salon - do you know Sally, she's great, too - Oh, look there's someone playing racquetball in front of us, perhaps we should talk about what is going on there for two seconds? Nah, screw that - I love this city, what a great place to visit. R-what?

[@RyanCOrrock]

Fun fact: if you cut out the 20 secs in between serves, this video is only 1:28 long!

[@Ruteger700]

Cliff in his prime vs Kane in his prime. Those matches would be glorious!

[@ElectedOfficial1]

I like that we can get our own replay whether the judge wants it or not, but the judge was right. I'm just learning. Thank you

[@JP-wl5vj]

Love watching this match and seeing the younger take on the elder. I especially like Kane relentless, competitive spirit that has definitely paid off in his career to be the best that ever stepped onto the court

[@KarlCranny]

Kane was a punk kid, with something to prove, Cliff was an aging war horse, still with great skills. Needless to say, there was a lot of emotion in this one. You only need to see the rest of the 5 game match to get it. Good stuff. The backhand splat by Kane at 7:54 is simply sick.

[@2bhyman]

+Karl Cranny I think that shot at 7:54 is just a straight in angle. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure. Still a good shot none the less.

[@KarlCranny]

I had to slow it down to see it. A crazy splat.

[@JeffMiller-lp3dp]

Absolutely smeared that splat!

[@bigsykedaddy999]

I know this comment is over a year old but do you know where I can see the rest of the match? Thanks in advance if you see this.

[@Fernandez218]

it's a straight-in shot guys. splats are pretty obvious. 1:37 is an example of a splat not just because it's obvious visually but because of the characteristic splat sound the shot makes, hence its name.

[@JP-wl5vj]

It's also entertaining to hear Cliff say, "High-YAHHH!" with every serve and dive.

[@mrbobevans]

This match reminds me of the 1990 US Open match of Sampras vs McEnroe - old blood moving out and new blood moving in.

[@valeriecurtis8361]

Kane reminds so much of Jansher Khan. Like Jansher, Kane understands angles as well as figuring out his opponent's tendencies, that he literally controls court positioning and makes his opponent do all the running.

[@kckcmctcrc]

+Valerie Curtis ... Jansher Khan? I realize the games are played in a box but that pretty much where the similarities end. Most Squashers I know are Racquetball converts (especially the Americans) and most of have played both games, it's a very difficult comparison.

[@mrbobevans]

+kckcmctcrc My point about Kane and Jansher Khan has to do with knowing angles better than their opponents. In tennis, squash or racquetball, the player who controls court positioning wins 90% of the time. Just look at Nadal for example. In 2013, he was inside the baseline, and he had an amazing year. Now look at how he performed in 2015 - his court positioning was much worse, especially in his matches with Djoker. It appears Uncle Tony has him trying to play up on the baseline. With Jansher Khan and Kane, they expend less energy than their opponents because they control the T.

[@shanedgington6049]

My favorite part is that Cliff essentially didn't say a word the whole game. Focused in like AI. Consistent execution.

[@richardgladstone8975]

Is that a young Rocky up there in the front row?

[@natep0611]

Cliffs backhand splat is BEAUTIFUL!

[@Parture]

I want to see this whole match. Where can we get it?

[@ArtFreeman]

Being a ref in a game like this must be difficult

[@kamakirinoko]

The rally at 9:58 is simply inhuman. I think it's quite possibly the finest rally in racquetball I've ever seen. I was playing in the heydays of the mid-80s, with the Hogan-Yellen consortium in control but Cliff muscling in slowly but surely. I think it was in 1988, the year I went to live in Japan, that Cliff finally started his reign at the top . . . I wonder how Roger Federer would do on a racquetball court with Cliff Swain. Or vice versa.

[@MassGainingGuy]

That serve at 2:30...damn!!!

[@lasertuber]

Cliff was about 36 years old at this point, taking on Kane in his athletic prime. It'll be interesting to see how Kane holds up at that age (in a few years).

[@pureforce469]

36 is still prime for RB..there is a 55 yr old pro at my club and he destroys guys in their 20's...I'm not talking about A players either

[@lasertuber]

Sorry, but 36 is in the deep twilight of the *Pro* levels, except for a few cases like Ruben and now Rocky. Athletic prime is in the mid 20s, but serious training and persistence can get you into the 30s. The database on bossconsulting.com/irt can show you the facts per pro player. Kane is 34 now, so it'll be interesting to see how long he can last. I have played national amateur champions in all age groups for decades and know what you are talking about with that 55-year old, but the pro game has a few levels of it's own above that. The lack of money for new pro players in Racquetball is what keeps the 30 somethings in the top 10 ranking. These stats from Tennis illustrate what I am talking about: farm7.static.flickr.com/6205/6136209542_447f7a8490.jpg

[@pureforce469]

I do get what you mean..a great 25 yr old beats a great 40 year old. But there are exceptions when someone is exceptional and I think Kane fits that description. He has several years of domination ahead of him.

[@lasertuber]

Tom zxzu Exactly. Kane, Cliff, Sudsy, and a few others were on a level all their own. We'll know when the next great appears because he'll show up in the top 8 or top 4 rankings relatively quickly.

[@JeffMiller-lp3dp]

I'd say Kane has held up pretty well - LOL. He's the GOAT - end of story.

[@choubala]

Where’s the rest of this match???

[@VicFirth206]

11:03 - "he doesn't need anymore help" - kane... exactly what everyone says about him now

[@user-wh6sp6st8s]

Kane at one point could have probably beaten people as an amputee

[@Parture]

If this is the Halloween Classic 2002 game 1, on Todd Boss's site it says this first game went to 6 not 7 points. Maybe it was the 2nd game which went to 7 points.

[@charlesparr6512]

Does KW act like this at every tournament?? I never watched his play until this video, I would certainly hope he's having a off day or something because professional he isn't just by his actions and remarks. The ref should've stepped in and laid down the law to him. He kind of reminds me of John McEnroe of tennis fame.

[@2bhyman]

+Charles Parr Players are like this when they first go pro. After a while they realize it's not worth it. Also, when Kane came back from suspension in 2008, he was a different person. He destroyed Jack and all the other players on tour.

[@edyue1]

@@2bhyman huge crybaby. the Swain is cool calm and collected

[@cwolf208]

He did when he was 20 (his age in this video). He's still going to complain at the refs sometimes but it's not nearly as much as this.

[@cwolf208]

@@edyue1 Which is interesting to me, because I've seen Cliff be exactly like Kane was here when playing against Huczek in this era.

[@JolyanDevens]

Appreciating that these are two intense, high-level players and that emotions and competition runs hot I still feel that Kane's actions are a bit unsportsmanlike, does the referee have a course of action here? Surely he can issue a warning but what is the next step, forfeiture? Or, are refs just expected to take it in stride?

[@Nick-tb8ee]

@Chad Larson There were many missed penalty hinders that should have been called. Playing through it at the professional level is an easy out. Make the right call and there's no argument from Kane's side then it would be Cliff moaning.

[@Fernandez218]

I don't understand racquetball videos. some of them look like they're from the 60's and others like this one, taken in 2002, uploaded 8 years ago, rivals the quality of recent racquetball videos i've seen.

[@billwest4172]

Question. Can the ball hit the back wall on a serve?

[@ThePleshe1]

yes, but it has to bounce off the floor 1st to be legal, if it hits the back wall 1st than it's a long serve which makes it now a 2nd serve.

[@ckminty603]

@@ThePleshe1in this video it seems like there are no fault serves, they just seem to side out on the first bad serve. I know golden era racquetball wasn't like that and it isn't like that today. I wonder what's up when they did that and how long it lasted. tbh I kinda like the no fault rule.

[@chrispearce5945]

most don't know buy cliff won the 1st 7 or 8 meetings in the rivalry

[@bpraise517]

Young Kane was no where near The current Kane. Current Kane is a beast

[@richardleonard4281]

Kane vs Swain which one is able?

[@kingofgames7001]

Racquetball greats and Squash greats. Hogan to me is the Jahangir Khan of racquetball. True workhorses who could wear you down. Kane to me is the Jansher Khan of racquetball - true geniuses of angles and court positioning. Swain to me is the Peter Nicol of racquetball - lefties who played their heart out on every shot. And Sudsy to me is the Jonathan Power of racquetball - guys who could hit difficult shots and make it look so easy.

[@JeffMiller-lp3dp]

Well stated.

[@rkba4923]

The reason Kane is so much better today than any of his competitors, and this is just my opinion, is that he cut his teeth playing guys like Cliff Swain, Jack Huczek, John Ellis, Jason Mannino and Sudsy Monchik. I forget how many US Opens' Cliff won but if you want to see him getting a lesson in RB, watch the video of Cliff Swain vs Andy Roberts from I think the 1996 Open.

[@lasertuber]

All champions cut their teeth against other great players. IMO, the difference with Kane is the combination of focus, drive to win, near perfect mechanics, speed (physical and mental), shot-making, excellent coaching, and strong support structure (racquetball family). Several great players had a few of those factors, but Kane has them all in spades.

[@johnnyquest9519]

That and cocaine

[@jamespigeon4820]

get over yourselves squash players, this is racquatball...Deal with it

[@johnnyquest9519]

Unless Syn is a squash player, I don't think anyone in here is a squash player.... Not sure who you are referring to?

[@Nick-tb8ee]

@@lasertuber His focus is otherworldy. No other player has the mindfulness at ALL times that he maintains.

[@richardboltz8985]

Kane is such a poor sport baby. Cried the entire match.

[@dtay8697]

Not one penalty hinder called, too bad they can't play like that anymore. A lot more intense.

[@wrxsti1995]

Love seeing two lefty’s go at it

[@WaterfallWhispering]

b4 kane became so dominant he certainly was a total tool on court. gamesmanship I suppose but cliff showed pretty good restraint keeping his cool. I prolly couldnt of kept my mouth shut.

[@charlesparr6512]

Ben Hyman, thanks for the info.

[@chrispearce5945]

as far as the missed setups by kane, he was playing the other greatest ever...u didn't see cliff miss much..he puts pressure on like no one else

[@Nick-tb8ee]

Kane wasn't the goat yet but he was right there playing the current goat 😀

[@dartme18]

Kane is the Bobby Fischer of Racquetball!

[@Nick-tb8ee]

Kane is the AlphaZero of racquetball. I know that may sound ridiculous but the closest to him is rocky Carson and hes lost to him like 68 of 71 matches except the first time they played the others were forfeits

[@natep0611]

I love reading the comments. Easy to identify, those who have never played, weekend warriors, play a couple times a week with friends from work players, and REAL PLAYERS! EVERYBODY PLAYING JUST KEEP PLAYING! RACQUETBALL IS A WONDERFULL GAME!!

[@eddieadams4770]

Notice how these rallies are 2-3 shots. If someone leaves one up, the next shot is a roll-out. Compare that to the guys today who can't roll it out. I'm watching 10 shot rallies--like B ball put by good athletes. No wonder Kane crushes everyone today.

[@grandpatzer]

I thought you get two serves in racketball

[@Nick-tb8ee]

2 serves is a relatively new rule, I wish they'd go back to 1.

[@kamallamasama]

Lol they made the 1 serve rule because cliff would drive serve even on second serves. They were so effective they had to ban second serves to make it more fair

[@indanekwaffles7074]

@@kamallamasama yup yup....like when the nba made dunking illegal because of wilt chamberlain's dominance. cliff and wilt common ground....spooky.

[@TheBlanco951]

fucking intense!!

[@ytfixitguy1971]

loved it........

[@natep0611]

Kane is truly AMAZING!!

[@natep0611]

Doug Moore...yes sir. Good call.

[@eddieadams4770]

You can tell who is 20 and who is 40. Imagine Cliff when he was 20 playing Kane now at 38. Be a whole different ballgame.

[@cadaver256]

Hope you hit him back 3 times in the second game Cliff

[@cwolf208]

Cliff served a serve over and over that forces Kane to hit through him. He made a choice on that. At least one of those should have been an avoidable.

[@anthonyteach2396]

Swan vs the GOAT

[@anwarsadat6825]

Wow!

[@jdcasillas2976]

GOOD GAME!

[@ImaginaryHuman072889]

wow... a video of kane losing! weird.

[@ImaginaryHuman072889]

kane is almost unwatchable just because of the amount of complaining he does

[@johnnyquest9519]

There ain't no catching a crackhead

[@Authority1982]

Neither of them played very well overall and Kane did a bunch of whining. But, they are both left-handed players. So, I watch it once in a while for a reminder of similarities/differences compared to my court presence etc.

[@rigosagrero]

kane why you mad bro

[@rango_unchained]

+Rigo Suave Why would he be mad? Kane won the match in 5, beat Jason Mannino in the final match in 3 and has never looked back.

[@t39046]

+Ron Butler He acted mad throughout this whole game. If you didn't notice, he wasn't exactly thrilled with many of the calls and he ended up losing (this first one at least; I know you said he won the match in 5). I wouldn't consider him the happiest of players, especially telling the ref one was a horse**** call.

[@ceeone335]

dont be mad Kane....

[@rango_unchained]

+ceeone335 Mad? He won.

[@DD-nt3xf]

Kane is a dick for asking for avoidable hinders when he purposely looks for front wall access for his kill shots! No other player on the tour does what he is doing!

[@sp_37-d91]

Cliff hinders a lot. Does not even jump to give a clean shot

[@realtrax1586]

I watched this with my wife, she branded this loser “crybaby Kane” 😂

[@steelcody36]

He whines a lot but is also the greatest racquetball player of all time.

[@henry4125]

kane is such a bore- waaa, waaa waaa...

[@DD-nt3xf]

Kane- your play is a disgrace to RB professionalism!!!

[@ceasarczar8931]

The way I play is funner...just bounce off all the walls :) like a hyped up pinball machine

[@rockem5335]

I'm sure I can score at least 5 points on this dude's..make them nervous from a rookie like me ...

[@JeffMiller-lp3dp]

2 of the best all-time in this sport?! Not_a_chance you'd score 5 on these guys. And, I haven't even seen you play.

[@williampope853]

Kane's a crybaby

[@keanujohnny]

this game seems dumb

[@englishexperts1974]

Cliff is a cry baby

[@themonster387]

This is an unbelievably stupid sport 😂😂

[@simgingergirl]

These guys would get their asses handed to them by any halfway decent squash player.

[@kckcmctcrc]

+Addy C: They'll also get whopped playing any halfway decent shuffle board player....IF they were playing Shuffle Board. If you're suggesting a Squasher could beat these guys at R-Ball you're very mistaken....but if you're saying a Squasher would beat these guys at Squash...well then, of course the Squasher would win, especially if the R-baller is not familiar with the game, they're very different.

[@simgingergirl]

kckcmctcrc If it were a simple rally between a squash player and a racquetballer on either court, the squash player would win.

[@kckcmctcrc]

completely disagree with you here...I've played squash for years (4.5 in tournaments) these guys would kill me or any squasher in R-ball. it would take forever to get use to that bouncy ball.

[@simgingergirl]

kckcmctcrc I played both, but I stuck with squash all through college because (at least for me) it was more exciting. The points in r-ball are short and all you really have to do is clumsily swat in the general direction of the ball. It just doesn't take as much skill or reasoning whereas squash takes a ton of both. There's a huge element of randomness to r-ball whereas squash (though not without its variables) is mostly pure skill. It hurts waaayyy worse to get pegged by an r-ball, though.

[@simgingergirl]

***** Yep.