Homan routs Wrana to get back on track at AMJ Players’ Championship
TORONTO — It all evened out for Canada’s Team Rachel Homan in the AMJ Players’ Championship on Wednesday.
The Ottawa-based club dropped an 8-4 decision to Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura during the early morning draw, however, the two-time reigning world champions bounced back big time with an 8-1 rout over Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå in the evening to split the day.
The 17-time Grand Slam of Curling women’s champ Homan, who is seeking her first AMJ Players’ Championship trophy, improved to a 2-1 record with two more round-robin games to go.
“It felt really good to just come out and make a lot of really good shots,” said all-star lead Sarah Wilkes, who shot a game-high 93 per cent. “We didn’t come out super strong, but it felt good to be able to persevere, keep figuring out the ice and get stronger as the game went on.”
There was an odd symmetry to the day as Yoshimura scored four in the second end that had Homan in chase mode the rest of that game.
After Wranå was limited to a single in the first, Homan scored — you guessed it — four points in the second. Wranå just ticked with her last shot of the end, allowing Homan an easy open draw into the house for the critical count.
“That was a huge momentum swing,” Wilkes said. “Isabella made a great shot in the first end to save her team that end. Then for us to come back, we made a bunch of good shots to get that four.
“Obviously, Isabella got a little unfortunate with her two, but we were able to capitalize on that because you don’t get misses like that often.”
It just wasn’t Wranå’s night as things went from bad to worse. Facing three in the third, Wranå (1-2) came up light to give up a steal of two. Looking at another trio of Homan rocks in the fourth, Wranå chipped off to concede two more.
With the game out of reach but having to play one more end, the 2023 Players’ champion Wranå opted for style points over actual points on her last shot of the fifth, sliding all the way down the sheet with her rock to personally bop Homan’s shot rock.
It’s all in good fun between the two teams as Team Wranå served as Team Homan’s surprise coaches during Monday’s Rio Mare Battle of the Sexes charity skins game against Team Mouat. Homan earned $2,000 for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation while Mouat collected $10,000 for Charlie Boy’s Cancer Fundraiser. A portion of ticket sales from the sold-out game will also be donated to their charities.
“They’re great sports,” Wilkes said. “They’re so kind and a lot of fun. Her last shot was so funny. I really enjoy playing against them.”
The AMJ Players’ Championship is a homecoming for Wilkes, who is originally from nearby Scarborough. This year marks the 10th time since 2013 that the Mattamy Athletic Centre has hosted the AMJ Players’ Championship. The event is on the move for next season, heading to Steinbach, Man., Jan. 6-11, 2026.
“I always love playing in Toronto,” said Wilkes, who now lives in London, Ont. “All my friends and family come and watch. It just has a good vibe to it. I really like it and I’m going to miss it.”
Elsewhere in Draw 7, South Korea’s Team Seung-youn Ha (2-1) picked up a 7-5 victory over Japan’s Team Momoha Tabata (1-2).
In men’s play, both Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat and Canada’s Team John Epping improved to 3-0 records.
Mouat topped Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller 7-5 in a rematch of the World Men’s Curling Championship men’s final. Mouat earned his second gold medal in three years with a 5-4 victory Sunday in Moose Jaw, Sask.
Mouat and Schwaller (2-1) are among six teams that made the trek straight to Toronto from the event.
Epping earned an 8-5 win over fellow Canadian club Team Brad Gushue (1-2).
UP NEXT
Round-robin action resumes Thursday with Draw 8 at 8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.ca.
Live streaming of every game is available in free preview via HomeTeam.
Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins with Draw 9 at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT.
NOTES
The AMJ Players’ Championship is the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, featuring the top 12 men’s teams and top 12 women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening. Six teams qualify for the playoffs in both divisions, with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. … If necessary, one tiebreaker draw is slated for Saturday morning. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday. Both finals are on tap Sunday.
