2019 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions - Preview

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) returns to action Thursday in Portland, Oregon for the 2019 John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions. Thirty six players will be in action, headlined by IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk, who has won all three of the IRT events he’s played this season, including the 2019 UnitedHealthcare US Open. Overall, 10 of the top 12 ranked IRT players will be in Portland.

Joining Waselenchuk in Portland will be IRT #2 Rocky Carson, #3 Alejandro Landa, and #4 Andree Parrilla. Waselenchuk won this event last year, but two years ago Portland native Charlie Pratt took the crown. He’s in the draw this year, but he hasn’t played many IRT events recently, so Pratt’s not highly seeded (currently, he’s #32 in the IRT rankings). He’ll need to play two matches before the Round of 16, and waiting there will be Landa. Pratt won’t have an easy route to a second IRT title.

The most notable match in the early rounds is Dylan Reid versus Lee Connell for the Q7 spot, which means a match against Jake Bredenbeck, the IRT’s #12 player, in the Round of 32. The winner will play IRT #8 Samuel Murray in the Round of 16.

The three (likely) Round of 16 matches to look for will be (i) the 8/9 match with 8th seed Eduardo Portillo versus 9th seed Rodrigo Montoya, (ii) IRT #6 Daniel De La Rosa versus 11th seed Carlos Keller, and (iii) IRT #8 Samuel Murray against 10th seed Jake Bredenbeck.

Look for all the action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. There will be three rounds of matches Thursday starting at 1 PM. The Round of 32 begins Thursday night at 6 PM with the Round of 16 Friday at 11 AM and noon. The quarterfinals begin at 5 PM Friday with the semi-finals at 11 AM and noon Saturday, and the final at 7 PM Saturday. All times Pacific.

2019 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions, December 5-December 8, 2019
Portland, Oregon

Qualifying Round 1 - Thursday

Kadim Carrasco - BYE
Nicolai Miramontes v. Sunji Spencer - 1 PM

Joel Adler - BYE
Tim Landeryou - BYE

Hiroshi Shimizu - BYE
Preston Tribble - BYE

Matthew Majxner v. Jordan Wright - 1 PM
Sam Bredenbeck - BYE

Charlie Pratt - BYE
Wayne Antone IV v. Ian Frattinger - 2 PM

Jim Douglas - BYE
Anthony Martin - BYE

Dylan Reid - BYE
Lee Connell - BYE

Tim Prigo v. Tony Jammal - 1 PM
Scott McClellan - BYE

Qualifying Round 2 - Thursday

Q1 - Kadim Carrasco v. Nicolai Miramontes or Sunji Spencer - 4 PM
Q8 - Tim Landeryou v. Joel Adler - 3 PM

Q5 - Hiroshi Shimizu v. Preston Tribble - 4 PM
Q4 - Sam Bredenbeck v. Matthew Majxner or Jordan Wright - 4 PM

Q3 - Charlie Pratt v. Wayne Antone IV or Ian Frattinger - 4 PM
Q6 - Anthony Martin v. Jim Douglas - 3 PM

Q7 - Dylan Reid v. Lee Connell - 3 PM
Q2 - Scott McClellan v. Tim Prigo or Tony Jammal - 4 PM

Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Kane Waselenchuk - BYE
16) Felipe Camacho v. Q1 - 7 PM

9) Rodrigo Montoya v. Q8 - 6 PM
8) Eduardo Portillo - BYE

5) Alvaro Beltran - BYE
12) Thomas Carter v. Q5 - 6 PM

13) Robert Collins v. Q4 - 7 PM
4) Andree Parrilla - BYE

3) Alejandro Landa - BYE
14) Andres Acuña v. Q3 - 7 PM

11) Carlos Keller v. Q6 - 6 PM
6) Daniel De La Rosa - BYE

7) Samuel Murray - BYE
10) Jake Bredenbeck v. Q7 - 6 PM

15) Adam Manilla v. Q2 - 7 PM
2) Rocky Carson - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball….