Edin eyes third Pinty’s GSOC title at Boost National
After a three-peat at the European Championships, Sweden’s Niklas Edin now looks to make it three in a row this season in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling.
Edin edged Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud in the European final this past weekend and now shifts his focus to the Boost National, starting Tuesday at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
The team of Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wrana and Christoffer Sundgren earned their first career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling trophy at the WFG Masters in late October and followed that up by taking title No. 2 just a couple weeks later at the Tour Challenge.
Can Edin go for three? He would join an exclusive club with only skips Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard and Rachel Homan having won three (or more) consecutive championships in the series.
It was a historic victory for Edin at the WFG Masters in Okotoks, Alta., stealing the extra end from Brad Jacobs to become the first European men’s crew to capture a Grand Slam.
The team had the target on their backs at the Tour Challenge in Cranbrook, B.C., and struggled early starting with a 0-2 record. From there every game was a must-win situation and Edin never tasted defeat again.
His team levelled their record to reach the tiebreaker and beat Jacobs again to qualify for the playoffs. Wins over John Morris and Team Gushue (skipped by Mark Nichols) pushed them into the championship game. Edin topped Kyle Smith of Scotland 7-3 in the all-European teams final.
For Wrana, the 22-year-old rookie has remarkably started his Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling career winning two titles in his first pair of appearances in the series.
Team Edin sits in first place on the World Curling Tour’s year-to-date and money list rankings having earned $109,469 so far this season. Counting the European Championships, Edin has won six tournaments including his past five straight.
Edin’s first game at the Boost National is Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET against Charley Thomas’s Edmonton-based squad. Tickets are available at essarcentre.ca or by calling 1-866-775-9422.
