Eight Ends: Hasselborg already in mid-season form
Business has picked up big time on the curling tour.
Two top events took place this past weekend in Europe with Swedish teams reigning supreme.
No rest for the world’s best, however, as this upcoming week sees the top teams scattered across Canada competing in Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto with more events taking place in the U.S., and Switzerland.
Let’s run down the action and rev up for what’s on the horizon:
1st End: Hasselborg holding up atop of standings
Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg already appears to be in mid-season form.
Hasselborg completed a 7-0 undefeated run on home ice through the Stockholm Ladies Cup outmatching Scotland’s Hannah Fleming 6-2 in Sunday’s final.
It was the second title of the season for Team Hasselborg as they top the World Curling Tour’s year-to-date Order of Merit (154.850 points) and money list ($23,862).
It’ll be interesting to see how Hasselborg stacks up in a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling setting at the WFG Masters later this month. Their tough round-robin pool consists of Kerri Einarson, Tracy Fleury, Val Sweeting and Silvana Tirinzoni. As they say, there’s no free space on this bingo card.
Team Hasselborg have played four tournaments in the early stages of the season with two more on tap before the WFG Masters. That’s a ton of ice time and their strong start could give them the edge if they can maintain the momentum.
2nd End: Edin also takes title No. 2
Niklas Edin also scored his second tour title of the season this past weekend taking the Swiss Cup Basel in Switzerland.
Edin scored three in the third, two in the sixth and held on for the 5-4 victory over Scotland’s David Murdoch in Sunday’s final.
Team Edin maintained their top spots on the World Curling Tour’s year-to-date Order of Merit (221.892 points) and money list ($42,024).
It was another solid week for Team Gushue in Switzerland. The skip-less St. John’s squad qualified for the playoffs through the A side of the triple knockout preliminary round before falling to the eventual champ Edin in the quarterfinals. This time around the team had Pat Simmons subbing at third and vice Mark Nichols continuing skip duties with Brad Gushue still on the mend.
3rd End: Homan & Morris qualify for Mixed Doubles Trials
Rachel Homan and John Morris successfully defended the Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Championship in Portage la Prairie, Man. Homan and Morris defeated China’s Rui Wang and De Xin Ba 8-3 in Monday’s final.
Morris and Homan’s title victory earned them a berth to the Mixed Doubles Trials for a chance to represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Canada still has to qualify for the PyeongChang Games, plus Homan also has a spot in the women’s Olympic Trials with her Ottawa team.
4th End: Week 7 quick hits
– Marla Mallett kicked off her return to competitive curling with a title win at the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic in Vernon, B.C. Mallett, who last played on tour in 2013-14, downed 2010 Olympic silver medallist Cheryl Bernard 7-1 in Sunday’s final.
– The event also proved to be a coming-out party for Tyler Tardi. The Canadian junior bronze medallist from Langley, B.C., earned his first tour title defeating Yusuke Morozumi 5-4 in Sunday’s final.
– Glenn Hansen stole the final two ends to top Charley Thomas 4-2 and take the Avonair Cash Spiel on Sunday in Edmonton. Nadine Chyz won the women’s title with a 7-3 victory over Jodi Marthaller.
– Chang-Min Kim claimed the KKP Classic in Winnipeg with a 4-2 win over Dennis Bohn in Sunday’s final.
5th End: Jones back with team this season
Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones makes her season debut on the women’s tour this weekend rejoining her team for the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary. Val Sweeting, Kelsey Rocque of Edmonton, Chelsea Carey of Calgary and Winnipeg’s Kerri Einarson are among the top teams set to face off.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Masters Basel event goes down in Switzerland featuring Hasselborg, Eve Muirhead of Scotland, Anna Sidorova of Russia and the Swiss triple threat of Binia Feltscher, Silvana Tirinzoni and Alina Paetz.
6th End: Stu Sells takes over T.O.
It’s the final leg of the Stu Sells series with the Toronto Tankard at the High Park Club beginning Thursday night (admission: free). Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen gets a chance to defend his title against the likes of Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., and hometown hero John Epping.
Team Gushue will also compete although it hasn’t been announced yet whether or not their skip will be joining them on the trip. Keep it here for updates.
The women’s side of the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard features Tracy Fleury of Sudbury, Ont., Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont., and Halifax’s Mary-Anne Arsenault.
Men’s teams from the western half of Canada head to Edmonton for the Direct Horizontal Drilling Fall Classic. Double defending champ Kevin Koe of Calgary goes up against Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers, Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock, John Morris’ team from Vernon, B.C., and Edmonton’s own Brendan Bottcher, among others.
Elsewhere on tour, the Minebea Cup takes place in Japan, the St. Paul Cash Spiel runs in St. Paul, Minn., the Bud Light Men’s Cashspiel and New Scotland Clothing Ladies Cashspiel are on in Halifax and the all-new Man Curl Tour Classic makes its debut in Winnipeg.
7th End: Three weeks to the WFG Masters
In 21 days we’ll be throwing the opening rocks for the start of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season at the WFG Masters (Oct. 25-30) in Okotoks, Alta.
The draw schedule has been released featuring Calgary-based Canadian champions Carey and Koe playing on opening night. Carey faces Sidorova in a rematch of last season’s bronze medal game at the worlds while Koe clashes with Laycock.
For the full list of round-robin matches, click here, and visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for ticket info.
8th End: Tour Challenge Tuesdays — Tier 1 invites are in the mail
Every Tuesday we’ll be providing updates for the Tour Challenge, the second event of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season, running Nov. 8-13 in Cranbrook, B.C.
Invites have just been sent out to the top teams for the Tier 1 division. Once those teams have all been RSVP’d, the invites for the Tier 2 division will be sent out.
Here’s a quick primer on the qualification process:
| Tour Challenge | Men’s Division | Women’s Division |
| Tier 1 | Top 15 teams based on World Curling Tour Order of Merit (OOM) | Top 15 teams based on World Curling Tour Order of Merit (OOM) |
| Tier 2 | Next 10 teams based on OOM plus five regional invites | Next 10 teams based on OOM plus five regional invites |
Teams cannot decline a Tier 1 invite in order to drop down and play in the Tier 2.