Homan, Einarson to face off in Players’ Championship women’s final
Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan will play defending champions Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., in an all-Canadian final for the Princess Auto Players’ Championship women’s title Sunday at Calgary’s WinSport Arena.
Team Homan defeated Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni 5-3 in a repeat of last Monday’s Humpty’s Champions Cup final and Team Einarson edged Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg 5-4 in an extra end during Saturday night’s semifinals.
Homan is one win away from becoming the first women’s skip to complete a career Grand Slam — win all four majors — as well as sweep through all six event championships in the series. It was just four weeks ago Homan gave birth to daughter Bowyn and hasn’t missed a game in the women’s division. Homan, who is a two-time Players’ Championship finalist, claimed her record-extending 11th Grand Slam women’s title in the Humpty’s Champions Cup.
Einarson claimed the 2019 Players’ Championship in Toronto beating Hasselborg for the gold. Neither the Princess Auto Players’ Championship nor the Humpty’s Champions Cup were contested last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournaments are being played in a closed bubble environment without fans in attendance.
It’s a rematch of the past two Scotties Tournament of Hearts finals. Einarson won both times including right in the bubble to start the slate of events in February. The two-time Grand Slam title winner also captured the Canadian mixed doubles championship in March with Brad Gushue.
Speaking of Gushue, the 11-time Grand Slam title winner and his crew from St. John’s, N.L., are through to the men’s final following a 6-5 extra-end victory over Winnipeg’s Team Mike McEwen.
Gushue will go up against Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat, who are also looking to make it a double bubble Grand Slam win. The Humpty’s Champions Cup men’s winners ousted Team Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 6-5.
The world silver medallist Mouat holds a 12-1 record through the pair of Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events with his lone loss to Gushue exactly one week ago in the Humpty’s Champions Cup round-robin finale. Mouat avenged the defeat with a victory over Gushue in the semifinals.
The winning teams will cash in $40,000 each and the runners-up receive $25,000 from the combined $350,000 CAD purse.
Championship Sunday begins with the women’s final at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE followed by the men’s final at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on Sportsnet. Online streaming is available at Sportsnet Now (Canada) and Yare (international).
