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Rachel Homan in action at the 2015 Meridian Canadian Open in Yorkton, Sask. (Anil Mungal)

Eight Ends: ICYMI mid-season GSOC review

It’s kind of hard to believe we’re already through four events on the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season.

In previous years, four events would be it for the year but we’re fortunate that we’re only at the mid-season break as there are still three more tournaments on the horizon after the calendar flips to 2016.

In case you missed any of the action — and shame on you if you did — let’s run down the first half of the season. Since there were four events and both featured men’s and women’s divisions, it’s a perfect split for Eight Ends:

1st End: Tirinzoni stuns Homan to win Tour Challenge

We kicked off 2015-16 with a bang introducing a brand new event: the Tour Challenge. Running Sept. 8-13 in Paradise, N.L., the Tour Challenge featured 60 teams split into two tiers of action making for one must-see event.

Due to warm weather, curlers had to face some unforeseen challenges including slushy ice and fog during the women’s final.

Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni finished the round robin with a 2-2 record, but powered through the playoffs and into the final against Rachel Homan of Ottawa. Tirinzoni scored a deuce in the seventh and stole a pair of points coming home when Homan’s final shot missed.

While it was a disappointing 6-5 finish for Homan, it was a dream come true for Tirinzoni, third Manuela Siegrist, second Esther Neuenschwander and lead Marlene Albrecht as they captured their first career Pinty’s GSOC title.

Tirizoni was also the first to clinch a spot in the second of two new events for 2015-16: the Champions Cup, featuring all of the top winners on tour over the course of the season.

2nd End: Koe captures Tour Challenge

Meanwhile on the men’s side, a “home event curse” had emerged during the previous season with Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen losing in the Masters final (Selkirk, Man.), Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., coming up short in the National final, and Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock falling in the Canadian Open final (Yorkton, Sask.)

Of course in two of those situations it was Brad Gushue, of St. John’s, who came out on top and he looked to put an end to any curse talk in Paradise, N.L.

Like the other three before, Team Gushue made it to the final, but they ran into a white-hot Team Kevin Koe rink. Koe lost his opening round-robin match, but didn’t sustain another defeat from then on.

It was a back-and-forth battle, but Koe was a sharpshooter making marksman-like shots to prevail 4-3 in the extra end.

While Koe, third Marc Kennedy, second Brent Laing, and lead Ben Hebert won multiple Grand Slam titles with their previous teams, the Tour Challenge was their first since coming together a year prior.

3rd End: Homan earns 3rd Masters title in 4 seasons

Following the Tour Challenge loss, Team Homan went on a tear on tour capturing the Stockholm Ladies Cup and Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic titles. Homan rolled right through the Masters posting an undefeated 7-0 record, capped with a 6-4 victory over Val Sweeting in the final, to capture her third championship at the event in four seasons.

While it was the third Masters title for Homan, third Emma Miskew and lead Lisa Weagle, it was the first Grand Slam championship ever for second Joanne Courtney, who joined the team the previous season.

4th End: McEwen takes Masters

Team Gushue started the year on a McEwen-esque run winning just about everything, but so too was Team McEwen, who already had earned two titles to their name for 2015-16 prior to the Masters and added one more in Truro, N.S., on Nov. 1.

McEwen took on Jim Cotter, of Vernon, B.C., who had earned his spot in the Masters by winning the Tour Challenge Tier 2 division and proved he deserved the berth back among the elite by reaching the title match. McEwen scored a key deuce in sixth to take the lead and held on from there for a 5-3 victory.

It was the sixth Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title together for McEwen, third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak, and lead Denni Neufeld.

5th End: Gushue wins comeback event at the National

It was a scary incident during the Masters men’s quarterfinals when Brad Gushue lost his footing and fell face-first onto the ice.

Gushue was taken to the hospital across the street for stitches and the skip somehow made it back in time to finish the game (with his hospital bracelet still wrapped around his wrist of course).

Gushue was still sporting a shiner just a week-and-a-half later during the National, Nov. 10-15 in Oshawa, Ont. Well-rested and given the all-clear from his doctor, Gushue said he felt good enough to be there at the start of the week as he slowly started working out the “sea legs” that hadn’t been on the ice much since the fall.

It turned out Gushue was good enough to win the tournament as his team charged through the field to grab the National title with a 7-2 victory over Reid Carruthers in the final.

Gushue earned his fourth career Grand Slam and his third in the past two seasons with vice skip Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant, and lead Geoff Walker.

6th End: Homan wins-back-to-back, takes inaugural women’s National title

The 2015 National was the first time a women’s division was featured in the history of the event.

Homan made it back-to-back Grand Slam victories finishing with another unblemished 7-0 record, capped with a 5-4 victory over Tracy Fleury, of Sudbury, Ont., in the National women’s final.

There was a bit of controversy in the seventh end when Team Homan kicked off a rock early that Team Fleury wished to measure. The rules dictate that Fleury, who had already scored one, could have taken another point that would have given her a 5-3 lead. Fleury declined though and led 4-3 heading into the final frame.

Homan held the hammer coming home and after Miskew made a brilliant runback to set up shot rock, the skip slipped in another with her final stone to score the winning deuce.

7th End: Historic three in a row for Homan

The Homan train kept rolling right through the Meridian Canadian Open, Dec. 8-13 in Yorkton, Sask.

Homan made it seven titles on tour for 2015 defeating Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones 8-7 in the women’s final for her third consecutive Pinty’s GSOC title.

Only Kevin Martin has won three majors in a row during a single season on the men’s side and Homan has a chance to be the first to complete the season Grand Slam at the Players’ Championship in April.

8th End: Epping’s epic Canadian Open run

The women’s side has seen a dominant run from Team Homan, but the men’s division has had a different winner at all four Pinty’s GSOC events.

At the Meridian Canadian Open it was John Epping’s time to shine. Epping’s Toronto-based team struggled earlier in the season but found their winning ways leading up to the Yorkton event.

Team Epping finished with an overall 6-0 record thanks to some amazing shot-making from the skip including this shot of the year candidate to punch his ticket to the final.

Epping turned in a historic performance in the final with a stunning 100 percent shooting percentage against Gushue to earn the 7-4 victory.

It was Epping’s third career Grand Slam title but his first with the crew of Mat Camm, Patrick Janssen, and lead Tim March.