The first phase of the tournament has only presented a couple of casualties due to injury and none have been registered due to technical decision
There have only been two casualties in the 56 games that make up the first phase of the Couples Championship. Never have so few been registered since in the 2012 edition the companies implemented the current competition format, slightly modified in the last three years due to the incorporation of two playoff qualifiers.
Jokin Altuna and Jon Mariezkurrena are the only two pelota players who have missed games so far in the competition, one each. The player from Amezket, with his left hand badly touched, ruled out playing on matchday four, at Adarraga in Logroño, where Peio Etxeberria filled the vacancy. Three weekends later, in the seventh, he stopped Berriozar’s fullback with a nagging problem with his right hand. Andoni Aretxabaleta entered his place.
The substitutions resulted in two defeats. In addition, casualties have been distributed equally between the two companies participating in the tournament: one for Aspe and one for Baiko.
It should be noted that the Eibar promoter chained 82 meetings without the need to resort to any substitute in the Couples Championship from February 23, 2018 to January 11, 2020.
It is striking this year that there has been no substitution during the entire second round, a period in which the trot of the competition usually takes its toll on the hands of the participating pelota players.
