Five skips who could win their first Grand Slam title this season
There’s always something special about seeing someone win their first Grand Slam of Curling title.
Eun-ji Gim and her South Korean team captured their first last season at the KIOTI National after going undefeated through the event in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
Joël Retornaz and his Italian team joined the club the year before and that opened the door as they’re now four-time Grand Slam champions.
Will we see a first-time winner this season? Here are five candidates:
ROSS WHYTE
Ross Whyte and his squad came close last season losing 3-2 to Team Retornaz in the WFG Masters men’s final. It was the first Grand Slam final for Whyte, who went on a sensational run on the penultimate day of the tournament. Whyte edged Team Niklas Edin 5-3 in a tiebreaker to advance to the playoffs and then eliminated Team Brad Gushue 5-2 in the quarterfinals plus Team Yannick Schwaller 9-4 in the semifinals all in a day’s work.
Whyte followed that up with a run to the semis at Co-op Canadian Open and scored a bit of revenge as his team ousted Retornaz in the quarterfinals to end the Italian team’s consecutive title streak in the series at three.
The reigning Scottish champions qualified for the playoffs in all five Grand Slam events last season and have reached the quarterfinals in the HearingLife Tour Challenge and Co-op Canadian Open to start this season. That consistency makes them a leading candidate here to take the next step.
Whyte is currently ranked sixth in the world.
YANNICK SCHWALLER
Yannick Schwaller is also a one-time finalist and was close to capturing the Players’ Championship in 2023 until his team got Koe’d in the men’s final. Schwaller was up by two points in the eighth end, however, Kevin Koe’s team held the hammer and pulled off an unreal shot to score three and win 5-4.
The reigning Swiss champions qualified for the playoffs in eight straight Grand Slam appearances until missing the cut in the Players’ Championship to finish last season.
Schwaller, ranked third in the world, is already off to a hot run this month winning the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic back-to-back. The team made the quarterfinals in the HearingLife Tour Challenge and the semifinals in the Co-op Canadian Open.
While Schwaller seeks his first Grand Slam title, sharp-shooting Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel, who throws fourth on the team, won the Canadian Open in 2018 with skip Peter de Cruz.
EUN-JUNG KIM
Eun-jung Kim and her South Korean team competed in the Tier 2 division of the HearingLife Tour Challenge last season. After winning that event and climbing back into the top flight, Kim looks poised to capture a major championship in the series.
Kim has qualified for the playoffs in four consecutive Grand Slam of Curling events including a run to the semifinals at the Co-op Canadian Open.
The 2018 Olympic silver medallist Kim is ranked fifth in the women’s division.
STEFANIA CONSTANTINI
Retornaz proved in the men’s division it’s possible for an Italian team to rise to the top. Team Stefania Constantini could follow suit in the women’s division. Constantini has already won Olympic gold in mixed doubles and now has a top team in the women’s division.
Team Constantini earned silver at the European Championships last season and just missed the podium at the worlds losing to South Korea (Team Gim) in the bronze medal game.
Constantini, ranked eighth in the world, has advanced to the quarterfinals in back-to-back Grand Slam of Curling events.
XENIA SCHWALLER
We’re going double Schwaller on this list. Yannick’s cousin Xenia Schwaller made her Grand Slam of Curling debut in April at the Players’ Championship following a banner season winning four tour events plus the gold medal at the world junior championships.
Schwaller, who is ranked No. 11, added another tour title in September at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard.
We’ve seen teams hot on tour pull off unpredictable Grand Slam wins before — see Team Casey Scheidegger at the 2017 Canadian Open or Team Bruce Mouat at the 2017 National — and this Team Schwaller could be the next one to ride a hot streak.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Sept. 24 and has been updated.