Koe, Tirinzoni set to defend Tour Challenge Tier 1 titles

Reigning champs Kevin Koe and Silvana Tirinzoni are gearing up to defend their Tour Challenge Tier 1 titles and conquer the curling mountain in Cranbrook, B.C.

The Tier 1 division fields have been announced for the second Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event of the season running Nov. 8-13 at Western Financial Place.

Fifteen of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the globe will compete in Tier 1. Teams received invitations to the event based on their World Curling Tour total Order of Merit (OOM) ranking as of Oct. 3. In the event a team declined, the next-ranked team on the OOM received an invite.

See the world’s best go head-to-head including Brad Gushue, Mike McEwen and Brad Jacobs on the men’s side and Rachel Homan, Jennifer Jones and Chelsea Carey in the women’s division.

The inaugural Tour Challenge was held a year ago on the opposite side of the country in Paradise, N.L. Koe edged local favourite Gushue for the men’s Tier 1 title while Tirinzoni stunned Homan stealing two in the final frame to capture the women’s Tier 2 title.

Teams earn bonus points at the Tour Challenge Tier 1 towards the Rogers Grand Slam Cup, awarded to the overall men’s and women’s champions following the conclusion of the WestJet Players’ Championship in April.

The Tier 1 winners also receive guaranteed berths to the year-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 25-30, 2017, at WinSport Arena in Calgary.

The Tier 2 teams were announced later Wednesday, click here to see the list.

Tier 2 games from round-robin play through to the semifinals will be held at Memorial Arena with the finals being played simultaneously with the Tier 1 championship games at Western Financial Place.

Tickets are now available, visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for more details. Can’t make it to Cranbrook? Sportsnet will have you covered starting Nov. 10, click here for the full TV schedule. Watch online with Sportsnet Now, click here to subscribe today.

Below is the list of teams set to compete in the Tour Challenge Tier 1:

MEN’S TEAMS

WCT OOM Rank (as of Week 7)	Team	Hometown
1	Brad Gushue	St. John’s, NL
2	Kevin Koe	Calgary, AB
3	Mike McEwen	Winnipeg, MB
4	Niklas Edin	Karlstad, SWE
5	John Epping	Toronto, ON
6	Brad Jacobs	Sault Ste. Marie, ON
7	Reid Carruthers	Winnipeg, MB
8	Steve Laycock	Saskatoon, SK
9	David Murdoch	Stirling, SCO
10	Thomas Ulsrud	Oslo, NOR
11	Brendan Bottcher	Edmonton, AB
12	Charley Thomas	Edmonton, AB
14	John Morris	Vernon, BC
15	John Shuster	Duluth, USA
16	Kyle Smith	Stirling, SCO

WOMEN’S TEAMS

WCT OOM Rank (as of Week 7)	Team	Hometown
1	Rachel Homan	Ottawa, ON
2	Jennifer Jones	Winnipeg, MB
3	Silvana Tirinzoni	Zurich, SUI
4	Val Sweeting	Edmonton, AB
6	Chelsea Carey	Calgary, AB
7	Kelsey Rocque	Edmonton, AB
9	Allison Flaxey	Caledon, ON
10	Anna Hasselborg	Sundbyberg, SWE
11	Kerri Einarson	Winnipeg, MB
13	Tracy Fleury	Sudbury, ON
14	Alina Paetz	Zurich,SUI
15	Ayumi Ogasawara	Sapporo, JPN
17	Michelle Englot	Winnipeg, MB
18	Sherry Middaugh	Coldwater, ON
20	Margaretha Sigfridsson	Skelleftea, SWE