MISSOULA – The Red Death Handball Tournament brought the best of the best in handball to Missoula. The top players in the world not only competed with one another, but the pros partnered with local athletes for a pro-am tourney.
It was the Race4Eight Professional Handball Tour’s third stop of the year and the first time the pro tour stopped in Missoula. The tourney ran all weekend, culminating in Sunday’s final matches.
On the pro end, Ireland’s Killian Carroll faced Armando Ortiz in a battle of attrition. Ultimately, Carroll, ranked No. 1 in the world, took first.
On the pro-am side of things, two brothers, Luis and Daniel Cordova, represented the pros on opposing sides and both went the distance – Luis with amateur Lance Wacholz of Loganville Georgia and Daniel with Kirk Johnson of Missoula. Luis and Wacholz went onto win this one.
Players say they’re happy to have stopped in Missoula.
“I love it. It makes you play harder, you know? It’s nice having someone to play for. Sometimes you get out there in singles and you put it all on yourself and you, eh. But it’s cool, I played with Jared, local player, and it was really fun,” said pro Sean Lenning.
