MISSOULA – The Red Death Handball Tournament has highlighted the calendar for local players of the sport for 18 years. But this week, the competition goes up a significant notch.
The best players in the world have arrived in Missoula. The Red Death doubles as a pro stop on the tour for the first time. The top players in the world and many pros seeking a big payday started competition out at the Peak Friday. That includes top-ranked phenom Killian Carroll of Ireland, and No. 2 David Fink, who also organizes the pro tour.
Touring pro Abraham Montijo has been competing at the Red Death for years, and he finally convinced his buddies to make the trip.
“Every year Abe comes back to Tucson, and he tells me how great the Red Death Tournament was and how great the guys are in Missoula,” said Fink, the World Players of Handball Development Director. “And he’s always telling me we’ve got to have a pro stop up in Missoula. The last couple years we’ve started to communicate with Sean (Sandau, the local organizer of the tournament) and the guys here. We were able to work out it. We’re having an amazing tournament here so far. This has been it’s one of our best.”
The top pro matches stream live on ESPN3 through the weekend. They’ll play all day on Saturday, and wrap up with the finals between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
