Bottcher books Humpty’s Champions Cup spot
Edmonton’s Team Brendan Bottcher will be running back to Saskatoon at the end of the season.
Bottcher made the list for the Humpty’s Champions Cup taking place April 23-28 at Merlis Belsher Place after his team captured the Meridian Canadian Open title Sunday in North Battleford, Sask.
The season-ending Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event requires teams to win a high-profile championship in order to receive an invitation.
“That’s a great event and it’s a really good one at the end of the year so I’m certainly glad we’re playing in it,” Bottcher said following his team’s 6-3 victory over Toronto’s Team John Epping in the Meridian Canadian Open final. “I’m sure all the guys are in the same boat.”
Meanwhile, Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan topped Team Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland 4-3 in the women’s final to free up another Humpty’s Champions Cup spot for a World Curling Tour event winner. Homan already earned her Humpty’s Champions Cup place as the event’s defending champion.
Joining Homan on the women’s side will be Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg, winners of the Princess Auto Elite 10, Canadian Beef Masters and European Championships.
The men’s field includes defending champions Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., Tour Challenge winners Team Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and more. Scotland’s Team Ross Paterson opened an early Christmas present receiving their invitation after capturing the Boost National title in mid-December.
“It’s what we’re after,” Paterson said after defeating countryman Bruce Mouat for his first GSOC championship. “When we sat down at the start of the season and you write down your plans and your goals, it’s part of that. It’s just nice that the hard work is paying off a little bit now and we can start ticking off things that we want to achieve.
“Hopefully, it’s not a one-off. We know hard it is to compete in these events. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re training and training as hard as we can to be as competitive when we come back.”
You don’t want to miss the star-studded Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season finale with so much more to experience live such as the Pinty’s Pub and Grill Zone, where you can take in the action up close at ice level, to the Grand Slam Social House featuring food, beverages, and live entertainment between games.
Full-event and weekend passes are now available, visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for more information. Individual draw tickets will be available starting March 15.
2019 Humpty’s Champions Cup event list
Note: If a team wins more than one of the events listed, the winner of the next-ranked WCT event (based on strength of field) will be invited.
