Bredenbeck wins 2022 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions

Jake Bredenbeck won his first International Racquetball Tour (IRT) title Saturday, when he defeated Eduardo Portillo, 15-14, 8-15, 11-7, in the final of the 2022 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon. Bredenbeck, the 5th seed, upset the top seed Andree Parrilla in the semi-finals, and then took out the 2nd seed in Portillo in the final. He becomes the 44th player to win an IRT event, and the first new winner since Portillo claimed his first title in October.

Bredenbeck had a big lead early in game one at 7-2, and led 11-8 also. But the game seemed to slip through his fingers as Portillo came back and lead 13-11. Indeed, it even seemed that Portillo won it 15-12. But Bredenbeck made successful appeal at that point, and then managed to score three straight points to eke out the victory 15-14.

Portillo didn’t get angry. In fact, he rarely shows much emotion on the court. But Portillo did get going, and jumped out to a 12-2 lead in game two. Bredenbeck did make him work for the last three points - getting six of his own in the process - as it took 33 rallies before Portillo finished the game and forced a tie-breaker.

In game three, Portillo again started quickly, going up 6-1, and it looked like he would complete the comeback. However, Bredenbeck dug in, and tied the game at 6-6. Portillo broke that tie with a drive serve ace to the left side (Bredenbeck’s backhand), but that was the last point he’d get, as Bredenbeck won it with five unanswered points, including two drive serve aces of his own - the second of which was the match winner.

It “feels pretty good” and “like a long time coming,” Bredenbeck said afterwards. “This [winning an IRT event] is everyone who plays on tour’s dream,” he added, saying “I’m happy to get one.”

Portillo said “I don’t feel sad” about losing because it was “one of the toughest matches I have ever played.” He congratulated Bredenbeck on the win, and said that the usual strategy against him was to keep the ball away from Bredenbeck’s powerful forehand. But Bredenbeck “was rolling balls with his backhand,” which surprised Portillo and put him at a loss for what to do, and eventually put him on the losing end of the match.

The IRT’s next event will be in 2023, when they’ll convene in Austin, Texas for the Longhorn Open, January 6-8. That will be followed by the Lewis Drug Pro-Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, January 19-22.

If you missed any of the action from Portland, check out the IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.

2022 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions
December 1-4, 2022 - Portland, Oregon

Final - Saturday

5) Jake Bredenbeck d. 2) Eduardo Portillo, 15-14, 8-15, 11-7

Follow the bouncing ball….

Bredenbeck & Portillo face off in final of 2022 IRT Tournament of Champions

Jake Bredenbeck has a chance to win his first International Racquetball Tour (IRT) title Saturday night, when he takes on Eduardo Portillo in the final of the IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon. Bredenbeck upset top seed and IRT #2 Andree Parrilla in the semi-finals, 15-11, 10-15, 11-9, and won it by coming back in the tie-breaker from 8-2 down. Impressive.

In the other semi, Portillo, the 2nd seed, defeated 3rd seed Alejandro Landa, 15-13, 11-11, injury forfeit, as Landa’s back was ailing him, and he wasn’t able to finish out the match. Late in game two, Landa lost his balance as he was moving to avoid being in the way of Portillo hitting a forehand shot. Yet, curiously, Landa almost won it in two straight games, as he led 12-7 in game one, and 10-0 in game two.

But Portillo, who won his first IRT event in September, came back in both games, winning game one, and tying it in game two before Landa had had enough.

Bredenbeck will be in his second final of the season after getting to the Golden State Open final in October, when he lost to Conrrado Moscoso. If Bredenbeck wins the final, he’ll be the sixth player to win an IRT event this year, which will be the most since the 2017-18 season that six players have won events in an IRT season.

You can see of the John Pelham Memorial tournament action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The final is Saturday night at 6 PM Pacific time.

2022 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions
December 1-4, 2022 - Portland, Oregon

Semi-finals - Saturday

5) Jake Bredenbeck d. 1) Andree Parrilla, 15-11, 10-15, 11-9
2) Eduardo Portillo d. 3) Alejandro Landa, 15-13, 11-11, injury forfeit

Final - Saturday

2) Eduardo Portillo v. 5) Jake Bredenbeck - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Top seeds into semi-finals at 2022 IRT John Pelham Memorial tournament

Andree Parrilla, the top seed at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon, eked out the first game of his quarterfinal match against 9th seed Thomas Carter, and then won the second game in a romp, taking the match in two straight games, 15-14 15-2. He’ll play 5th seed Jake Bredenbeck in the semi-finals Saturday, as Bredenbeck upset 4th seed Samuel Murray, 15-9, 15-4, in the quarters.

Carter seemed like he was going to take game one against Parrilla, the #2 ranked IRT player. They were close most of the way, but when Parrilla was up 12-9, Carter called a timeout.

The break proved to be effective, as he got three points to tie the game at 12-12, and then went ahead 14-12. After Parrilla tied it at 14-14, Carter had another chance to serve, and in that rally he held up as Parrilla was in the way of him swinging at the ball. But the referee called a hinder, not an avoidable or penalty hinder, which

The Racquetball Blog staff all thought was an avoidable.

On the replay, Parrilla got the serve back, and won the game on the next rally, when Carter skipped a shot. Carter only got two points after that, and he scored those after Parrilla already had 12 in game two.

Second seed Eduardo Portillo had a decisive two game victory in the quarters over 7th seed Rodrigo Montoya, 15-1, 15-4, which was a surprisingly wide margin of victory, as Montoya is a former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men’s Singles. But Portillo looked like the champ on Friday.

Portillo will play 3rd seed Alejandro Landa in the semi-finals, as Landa held off 6th seed Mario Mercado, 15-6, 14-15, 11-5, in the quarterfinals.

You can see of the John Pelham Memorial tournament action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The semi-finals are 11 AM and noon on Saturday, and the final Saturday night at 6 PM. All times Pacific.

2022 IRT John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions
December 1-4, 2022 - Portland, Oregon

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Andree Parrilla d. 9) Thomas Carter, 15-14, 15-2
5) Jake Bredenbeck d. 4) Samuel Murray, 15-9, 15-4

3) Alejandro Landa d. 6) Mario Mercado, 15-6, 14-15, 11-5
2) Eduardo Portillo d. 7) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-1, 15-4

Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Andree Parrilla v. 5) Jake Bredenbeck - 11 AM
2) Eduardo Portillo v. 3) Alejandro Landa - Noon

Follow the bouncing ball….