Paddle Palace Club 2026 Fall Open: Two Days of Competition in Tigard

The Paddle Palace Club welcomed players to Tigard, Oregon, for the 2026 Fall Open on September 26-27. The two-day USATT 1-Star tournament featured competition from juniors through the Open division, with singles events at six rating levels, two doubles divisions, a 14-and-under event, and the Over 60 competition.

Players competed using the Nittaku 3-Star Premium 40+ ball, with round-robin play feeding into championship brackets across most events.

There were plenty of strong performances throughout the weekend, but the Open Singles final provided the tournament's biggest finish.

Hoarfrost Rallies to Win Open Singles

Ryan Hoarfrost captured the Open Singles championship with a dramatic five-game comeback against Ryan "The Nightmare" Gibson.

The Nightmare took the first two games, 11-5 and 12-10, putting Hoarfrost one game from defeat. From there, the match turned into a battle at the finish line.

Hoarfrost fought through three consecutive games that went beyond 10-10, winning them 13-11, 18-16 and 13-11 to complete the comeback and claim the Open title.

Pavlo Pidoima finished third, with Simon Engler also reaching the semifinal round.

Open Singles

• Champion: Ryan Hoarfrost
• Runner-up: Ryan "The Nightmare"
• Third: Pavlo Pidoima
• Third: Simon Engler

That final alone made for quite a finish to the weekend. Winning three straight deuce games after falling behind 0-2 is about as demanding as tournament table tennis gets.

Nguyen Wins a Thriller in Under 2250

Kevin Nguyen produced another of the weekend's closest championship performances in the Under 2250 event.

Nguyen faced Pavlo Pidoima in a five-game final and came through 12-10 in the deciding game. The final went 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10.

Ryan "The Nightmare" and Nate Wilkinson rounded out the semifinalists.

Under 2250

• Champion: Kevin Nguyen
• Runner-up: Pavlo Pidoima
• Third: Ryan "The Nightmare"
• Third: Nate Wilkinson

Nguyen also reached the final of the Under 4200 Doubles with Simon Engler, giving him a strong weekend across both singles and doubles.

Briker Takes Under 1800

Igor Briker worked his way through a deep Under 1800 bracket and defeated Jean-Luc Raffaele in the final, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10.

Briker defeated Darwin Ismael Castro Lopez in the quarterfinals and Kerry Blum in the semifinals before closing out the title.

Under 1800

• Champion: Igor Briker
• Runner-up: Jean-Luc Raffaele
• Third: Kerry Blum
• Third: Merlin Miller

Melby Claims Under 2000

Chase Melby captured the Under 2000 championship with a straight-game victory over Qiheng Liu in the final.

Melby advanced past Darwin Ismael Castro Lopez in the quarterfinals and Tanmay Galankar in the semifinals. Liu reached the final after victories over Junki Nakano and Igor Briker.

Under 2000

• Champion: Chase Melby
• Runner-up: Qiheng Liu
• Third: Igor Briker
• Third: Tanmay Galankar

Kerry Blum Adds Another Singles Title

Kerry Blum had one of the busiest and most productive weekends of the tournament.

Blum won the Under 1600 title, defeating Alix Geller in straight games in the final, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9.

Under 1600

• Champion: Kerry Blum
• Runner-up: Alix Geller
• Third: Jeremy Millstone
• Third: Adam Mertz

That championship was only part of Blum's weekend. He also teamed with Ryan "The Nightmare" to win the Under 4200 Doubles, finished second in Under 3600 Doubles with Burke Walls, and reached the semifinals of Under 1800.

Travis Erb Wins Five-Game Under 1200 Final

The Under 1200 championship also went the distance.

Travis Erb defeated Kaylee Robinson in five games, 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 1-11, 11-7. Robinson completely changed the match after dropping the opening two games, but Erb recovered in the fifth to secure the championship.

Under 1200

• Champion: Travis Erb
• Runner-up: Kaylee Robinson
• Third: Melissa Beland
• Third: Leo Kuzma

Anna Porumb Wins Under 1400

Anna Porumb came through the Under 1400 bracket with wins over Jose Ibarra and Brandon Chen before meeting Moe Pyae Thar in the championship match.

Porumb won the final in four games, 11-4, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9.

Under 1400

• Champion: Anna Porumb
• Runner-up: Moe Pyae Thar
• Third: Brandon Chen
• Third: Charlie Yu

Leo Kuzma Leads the Juniors

The Juniors 14 Years and Under event gave some of the tournament's youngest competitors a chance to take center stage.

Leo Kuzma defeated Gray Wilson before advancing past Raymond Cui in the semifinals. In the final, Kuzma defeated Josiah McNatt in four games.

Juniors 14 Years and Under

• Champion: Leo Kuzma
• Runner-up: Josiah McNatt
• Third: Raymond Cui
• Third: Dhruv Nair

Kuzma also reached the semifinals of the Under 1200 event, making it an especially productive tournament for the young champion.

Doubles Brings a Different Dimension

The Fall Open included three doubles rating divisions, giving players the opportunity to combine contrasting styles, positioning and tactics.

In the top doubles event, Ryan "The Nightmare" and Kerry Blum defeated Kevin Nguyen and Simon Engler in the Under 4200 final.

Under 4200 Doubles

• Champions: Ryan "The Nightmare" / Kerry Blum
• Runners-up: Kevin Nguyen / Simon Engler

Eric Lind and Hector Martinez won the Under 3000 Doubles championship, defeating Josh Hu and Christopher Hu in four games.

Under 3000 Doubles

• Champions: Eric Lind / Hector Martinez
• Runners-up: Josh Hu / Christopher Hu

The Under 3600 Doubles event was played as a round robin, with Jonah Vu and Jean-Luc Raffaele finishing first.

Under 3600 Doubles

• Champions: Jonah Vu / Jean-Luc Raffaele
• Second: Kerry Blum / Burke Walls
• Third: Matthew Barnes / Doug Clark

2026 Fall Open Champions

The weekend's completed championship results (Omnipong Results):

The Over 60 Event Finals was moved to the following week as Jay Crystal and Merlin Miller agreed to postpone the finals.  We will update the results after their match.

Thank You to the Players

Thank you to everyone who competed in the Paddle Palace Club 2026 Fall Open and to the tournament staff and volunteers who helped keep two days of matches moving.

One of the strengths of these club tournaments is the range of players sharing the same room. Juniors getting tournament experience, developing players testing themselves in rating events, veteran competitors, doubles teams and Open players all contribute to a weekend where there is almost always another good match happening somewhere in the club.

Congratulations to all of the champions, finalists and competitors. We look forward to seeing everyone back at the tables for the next Paddle Palace Club tournament.