Can Waselenchuk be #1 in May?

New International Racquetball Tour (IRT) rankings are out, and Kane Waselenchuk has risen to 5th. He has stated that his goal for the season is to finish #1, but is it possible? Rankings are based on tournament performances. Currently, Waselenchuk has 2801 points, and Rocky Carson - the current #1 - has 4609 for a difference of 1808 points.

The IRT season is more than half over. There have been eight events to date (2 Grand Slams & 6 Tier 1 events) and there are six events still to come (1 Grand Slam & 5 Tier 1 events).

Winning a Tier 1 event earns about 390 ranking points with a Grand Slam event win being worth about 625. Thus, if Waselenchuk, or anyone else, won out the rest of the season he'd earn about 2,575 point, so there are enough points on the table for Waselenchuk to overtake Carson for top spot.

Another factor to consider is that players can drop their two worst performances. However, Waselenchuk has missed two events, so he's used up those his two drops. Hence, his semi-final finish at the California Open will count in his total.

Nonetheless, with about 2600 points on the table and a difference of about 1800, Waselenchuk does have some wiggle room. But he was beaten in January, so that should be a psychological boost to all the other players. With the remaining schedule back weighted - the last three tournaments (half of those remaining) are in April and early May - the other players, particularly Carson and Jack Huczek, have some time to adjust their games to try and deny Waselenchuk his goal with a late season push.

But, yes Virginia, Waselenchuk can be #1 in May.

Current IRT Rankings - February 9, 2009
Rank Pro Points
1 - Rocky CARSON - 4609
2 - Jack HUCZEK - 4324
3 - Alvaro BELTRAN - 3461
4 - Jason MANNINO - 3210
5 - Kane WASELENCHUK - 2801
6 - Shane VANDERSON - 2565
7 - Ben CROFT - 2471
8 - Mitch WILLIAMS - 2355
9 - Chris CROWTHER - 2100
10 - Jason THOERNER - 1928
11 - Andy HAWTHORNE - 1346
11 - Juan HERRERA - 1346
13 - Alejandro HERRERA - 1232
14 - Hiroshi SHIMIZU - 1013
15 - Travis WOODBURY - 923
16 - Kris ODEGARD - 855
17 - Javier MORENO - 851
18 - Andres HERRERA - 698
19 - Anthony HERRERA - 630
20 - Tony CARSON - 597

Follow the bouncing ball....