2018 IRT Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions - Preview

How much can change in a year? Sometimes a great deal. Last year at this time Alejandro Landa, Sebastian Franco and Charles Pratt had never won a Tier 1 event on the the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). Now, all of them have, and Landa’s won two. Those two wins have helped put Landa on top of the IRT rankings and have him as the top seed for the 2018 Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions that begins today in Portland, Oregon.

Franco is the 4th seed, and Pratt, who is the defending Pelham Memorial champion, is the 13th seed, and may play Franco in the Round of 16. Neither Franco or Landa were in the draw last year.

Kane Waselenchuk was in the Pelham Memorial draw last year as the top seed, but was a late withdrawal. This year he is 6th on the latest IRT rankings, and seeded 8th in Portland. Thus, Waselenchuk could face Landa in the quarterfinals.

With 36 players in the draw, the Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions has one of the largest fields on tour, which may partly reflect that this is the first IRT Tier 1 event since the US Open in early October. Indeed, the top 18 IRT players are in the draw, including #2 Rocky Carson, #3 Daniel De La Rosa, and #5 Samuel Murray.

Look for the Round of 16 to be streamed live Friday from 10 AM via the IRT Network or the IRT Facebook page with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon from 5 PM on. Also, the semi-finals will be 11 AM and noon Saturday with the final Saturday night at 7:00 PM. All times Pacific.

2018 IRT Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions
November 29-December 1 - Portland, Oregon

Qualifying Round 1 - Thursday

Thomas Carter v. Tim Prigo
Jake Bredenbeck v. Kadim Carrasco

Andree Parrilla - BYE
Tony Carson v. Dylan Reid

Justus Benson v. Tim Landeryou
David Horn - BYE

Charles Pratt v. Troy Brooks
Mauro Rojas v. Sunji Spencer

Nicholas Riffel v. Ricardo Diaz
Adam Manilla v. Nick Baida

Jose Diaz - BYE
Scott McClellan v. Set Cubillos

John Wolfe v. Nick Montalbano
Jansen Allen - BYE

Felipe Camacho v. Sam Bredenbeck
Robert Collins v. Michael Arterburn

Qualifying Round 2 - Thursday

Q8) Thomas Carter or Tim Prigo v. Jake Bredenbeck or Kadim Carrasco
Q1) Andree Parrilla v. Tony Carson or Dylan Reid

Q4) David Horn v. Justus Benson or Tim Landeryou
Q5) Charles Pratt or Troy Brooks v. Mauro Rojas or Sunji Spencer

Q6) Nicholas Riffel or Ricardo Diaz v. Adam Manilla or Nick Baida
Q3) Jose Diaz v. Scott McClellan or Set Cubillos

Q2) Jansen Allen v. John Wolfe or Nick Montalbano
Q7) Felipe Camacho or Sam Bredenbeck v. Robert Collins or Michael Arterburn

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Alejandro Landa v. Q8 - 11 AM
8) Kane Waselenchuk v. Q1 - 11 AM

5) Mario Mercado v. Q4 - 11 AM
4) Sebastian Franco v. Q5 - 11 AM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. Q6 - 10 AM
6) Alvaro Beltran v. Q3 - 10 AM

7) Samuel Murray v. Q2 - 10 AM
2) Rocky Carson v. Q7 - 10 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….