Homan faces Tirinzoni, Mouat meets Schwaller in AMJ Players’ Championship finals
TORONTO — Now this is what it’s like when worlds collide. Are you ready to go?
For the first time in the history of the AMJ Players’ Championship, both finals will be rematches of the world championship gold medal games.
Canada’s Team Rachel Homan will face Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni for the women’s title, with Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat meeting Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller on the men’s side Sunday in the Grand Slam of Curling season finale at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Homan defeated South Korea’s Team Eun-jung Kim 9-3 and Tirinzoni downed Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg 12-3 during Saturday night’s semifinals.
Mouat eliminated Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs 6-2 to advance, and Schwaller dispatched Canada’s Team Matt Dunstone 7-5.
Homan has topped Tirinzoni in the past two finals at the women’s worlds, and second Emma Miskew is looking forward to going one more round.
“We know that there’s going to be some challenges out there and to just stick with it,” said Miskew, who has played with Homan since they were in bantam. “It would be nice to play them again. We always have some good battles against them. It’s such a nice rivalry over the years, so I think it would be fun.”
The game plan is pretty straightforward for Team Tirinzoni.
“If you play them, I think every time you have to bring your A game, otherwise you’re just not going to win,” said Alina Pätz, who throws fourth stones for Tirinzoni. “That’s what we have to do tomorrow.”
The record 17-time Grand Slam women’s champion Homan is seeking a first at the AMJ Players’ Championship to become just the second women’s skip to win every title in the series. She has finished runner-up in the AMJ Players’ Championship three times, most recently in 2021 when the event was held in the Calgary bubble.
“It feels great,” Miskew said. “I feel like it’s been a long time since we’ve been in this final, so it’s nice to get to another Slam final this year. We’ve definitely been gritty this week. It hasn’t been the easiest, but we found a way to win a lot of games, so it feels good, too.”
Homan finished pool play with a 4-1 record, including an 8-4 loss to Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura, to finish third in the standings. It was a matter of revenge in the quarterfinals as Homan stole two points in the eighth end to edge Yoshimura 6-4.
Homan rolled past Kim with a three-ender in the fifth and added another count of three in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
The Ottawa-based club has had an unreal season, making the final in all 10 events played and becoming the first in Grand Slam of Curling history to reach five consecutive event finals in a single season.
Homan, who holds a 75-7 record on the 2024-25 campaign, won Grand Slam titles at the Co-op Canadian Open and KIOTI National while finishing runner-up in the HearingLife Tour Challenge and WFG Masters.
Miskew said it would be great to cap the team’s season by winning the one elusive title.
“We’re really proud of our season this year in general, so we’re kind of going into it knowing that we’re ending the season on a winning note anyway, win or lose the game,” Miskew said. “I think we’ll just try and go in there and play free, have some fun out there, and hopefully, we come out with a win for the crowd because they’ve been so great this week.”
Tirinzoni will be playing in the AMJ Players’ Championship for a third consecutive season. She lost to Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå in 2023 and turned the tables when they clashed again last year.
“It feels amazing,” Pätz said. “We struggled a bit at the Slams this season, so we’re very happy now that we made it to the final again.”
The Aarau-based squad missed the playoffs twice in the Grand Slams and finished runner-up to Homan in the Co-op Canadian Open. They also made a lineup switch early in the season, with Selina Witschonke moving to the lead and Carole Howald shifting to second.
Tirinzoni went 4-1 in pool play and earned a bye to the semifinals thanks to a strong draw-to-the-button shootout average.
Hasselborg had an opportunity to score three off the bat in the first, however, she needed to spill her guard into the house. It went from bad to worse as she not only missed the rock, but her shooter went through the rings as well to count one.
Tirinzoni took advantage and converted with the hammer for a deuce in the second and Hasselborg was chasing from there.
The four-time Grand Slam champ Tirinzoni held a 6-3 advantage after scoring three in the sixth and doubled her points total in the seventh as Hasselborg was facing six and went for style points instead of actual points.
Hasselborg took a page out of fellow Swede Niklas Edin’s playbook and fired a super-spinner shot. When it looked like it was going to wreck, Team Hasselborg tapped the guard out of the way and Team Tirinzoni helped it finish on the button for laughs.
Meanwhile, Mouat seeks a record fourth Grand Slam title in a single season after opening with three straight wins at the HearingLife Tour Challenge, Co-op Canadian Open and WFG Masters.
The streak was snapped at the WFG Masters, with a loss to Jacobs in the semifinals. Mouat’s compatriot Ross Whyte skipped his squad past Jacobs in the final there, and Mouat can complete an unprecedented Scottish sweep in the series.
Schwaller reached the AMJ Players’ Championship men’s final for the second time in three seasons and is hungry to win his first title in the series.
Mouat edged Schwaller 5-4 for gold at the men’s worlds last Sunday in Moose Jaw, Sask. Both teams made the trek straight to Toronto, with Mouat getting a head start in the event by taking on Homan in the first Rio Mare Battle of the Sexes charity skins game. Mouat raised $10,000 for Charlie Boy’s Cancer Fundraiser, and Homan earned $2,000 for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.
Mouat also beat Schwaller 7-5 when they squared off in round-robin play Wednesday.
The women’s final kicks off Champions Sunday at noon ET / 9 a.m. PT, followed by the men’s final at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets are available at the Mattamy Athletic Centre box office and online at Ticketmaster.ca.
Watch both games live on Sportsnet 360 or Sportsnet+. Live streaming is also available in free preview via HomeTeam.
