News Players' Championship

Get to know the men’s teams competing in the 2019 Players’ Championship running April 9-14 at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.

Men’s Teams | Women’s Teams

Team Bottcher

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Brendan Bottcher	Darren Moulding	Bradley Thiessen	Karrick Martin

Edmonton, AB | Bottcher captured his first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling championship at the Meridian Canadian Open earlier this year. Team Bottcher topped Team Epping 6-3 in the final. Bottcher defeated Epping again to take the Wild Card spot at the Tim Hortons Brier where they settled for silver against Team Koe.

Team Carruthers

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Mike McEwen	Reid Carruthers	Derek Samagalski	Colin Hodgson

Winnipeg, MB | Team Carruthers has captured three World Curling Tour titles this season winning the StuSells Toronto Tankard, Karuizawa International and Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic. They also represented Manitoba at the Tim Hortons Brier. McEwen skipped his previous squad to seven Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles.

Team De Cruz

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Benoit Schwarz	Sven Michel	Peter de Cruz	Valentin Tanner

Geneva, SUI | De Cruz, who skips while throwing second stones, is the 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medallist edging Canada for the final spot on the podium in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They won the Curling Masters Champery on home ice and also captured their national championship this season. De Cruz won the Meridian Canadian Open in 2018.

Team Dunstone

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Matt Dunstone	Braeden Moskowy	Catlin Schneider	Dustin Kidby

Regina, SK | Winnipeg-born Dunstone has won four titles this season with his Saskatchewan-based squad. They claimed the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic, DEKALB Superspiel, Qinghai Curling Elite and Curling World Cup Jonkoping. Dunstone is a two-time bronze medallist at the world junior championships.

Team Edin

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Niklas Edin	Oskar Eriksson	Rasmus Wrana	Christoffer Sundgren

Karlstad, SWE | Team Edin captured their three Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles during 2016-17 including the Players’ Championship here in Toronto. They won the Swiss Cup Basel and Swedish Championship this season. Edin is the 2014 Olympic bronze medallist and 2018 Olympic silver medallist.

Team Epping

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John Epping	Mathew Camm	Brent Laing	Craig Savill

Toronto, ON | John Epping won his fourth career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title, and third as a skip, at the Canadian Beef Masters earlier this season. Epping also finished runner-up this year at the Meridian Canadian Open. The team claimed the Shorty Jenkins Classic in September.

Team Gushue

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Brad Gushue	Mark Nichols	Brett Gallant	Geoff Walker

St. John’s, NL | Gushue earned his 11th Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title at the Princess Auto Elite 10 to start the season. The team claimed the Players’ Championship here in 2016. They are the only team to win all seven event titles in the series.

Team Howard

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Glenn Howard	Scott Howard	David Mathers	Tim March

Penetanguishene, ON | Glenn Howard has won 14 Grand Slams as a skip. He captured the Players’ Championship in 2013 when Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre hosted the event for the first time. They’ve made it to the semifinals at the Tour Challenge and Boost National this season with quarterfinal finishes at the Princess Auto Elite 10 and Meridian Canadian Open.

Team Jacobs

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Brad Jacobs	Ryan Fry	E.J. Harnden	Ryan Harnden

Sault Ste. Marie, ON | Jacobs captured his fourth Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title this season at the Tour Challenge. His first in the series came right here at the Players’ Championship in 2015. The foursome won the Brier and world silver medal in 2013 and captured the Olympic gold medal in 2014.

Team Koe

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Kevin Koe	B.J. Neufeld	Colton Flasch	Ben Hebert

Calgary, AB | Koe is the reigning Players’ Championship winner capturing his fifth career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title, and fourth as a skip, right here a year ago. Hebert is the only other holdover from that lineup, however, with Neufeld and Flasch as new additions this season. They finished runner-up at the Canadian Beef Masters earlier this season.

Team Mouat

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Bruce Mouat	Grant Hardie	Bobby Lammie	Hammy McMillan Jr.

Edinburgh, SCO | Mouat earned his first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title at the 2017 Boost National and finished runner-up at the event to compatriots Team Paterson this season. Team Mouat claimed the European Championship this season to receive a berth to the Humpty’s Champions Cup. They also captured the Scottish Curling Championship this year.

Team Paterson

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Ross Paterson	Kyle Waddell	Duncan Menzies	Michael Goodfellow

Glasgow, SCO | Team Paterson won their first career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title in December defeating compatriots Team Mouat for the Boost National. They also finished runner-up earlier this season at the Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic in Penticton, B.C.