24 teams in 24 days — Day 4: Team Min-ji Kim
We’re profiling all 24 teams, one per day, to get ready for the return of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling leading up to the start of the Humpty’s Champions Cup.
Day 4: Team Kim
Lineup: Min-ji Kim (skip), Seung-youn Ha (third), Hye-rin Kim (second), Su-jin Kim (lead), Tae-i Yang (alternate)
Hometown: Chuncheon, South Korea
Team Kim had a breakout Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season in 2019-20. They captured the KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge Tier 2 women’s title with a decisive 9-2 victory over Team Murphy in the final to earn a promotion for the 2020 Meridian Canadian Open.
Kim got out to a 0-2 start in the Meridian Canadian Open and was on the brink of elimination in the triple knockout but won three consecutive games in the C brackets to qualify for the playoffs. Team Kim’s stunning run continued with a 5-4 win over No. 1 seed Team Einarson in the women’s quarterfinals and a 7-1 victory over Team Kovaleva in the semifinals to reach the championship game against Team Hasselborg. Kim forced the final into an extra end, however, Hasselborg prevailed 7-5 to capture her third consecutive Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling women’s title.
Team Kim were still eligible for world juniors last year and went 10-1 through the tournament, sustaining their lone loss in the final against Canada’s Team Zacharias to settle for silver.
Kim has already made an impact on the women’s circuit capturing the Pacific-Asia gold medal in 2018 and earning bronze at the world championship in 2019.
The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling returns with the Humpty’s Champions Cup, April 14-18, followed by the Princess Auto Players’ Championship, April 20-25. Both events will be played at Calgary’s WinSport Arena and closed to the general public. Watch live coverage on Sportsnet, stay tuned for the broadcast schedule.