News Champions Cup

Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen and Ottawa’s Rachel Homan can now plan on curling until the end of the season.

The two skips were victorious this past weekend at the Masters — the second event and first major of the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season — qualifying them for berths to the Champions Cup, running April 26 to May 1, 2016, at the Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre in Sherwood Park, Alta.

McEwen, winner of six Pinty’s GSOC events, defeated Jim Cotter of Vernon, B.C., 5-3 in the men’s final while Homan capped an undefeated run through the tournament winning her third Masters title in four seasons with a 6-4 victory over Edmonton’s Val Sweeting on Sunday.

“I’m very excited to play,” McEwen said. “I have no idea what it’s going to feel like playing in something May 1st, give or take a day or two there, but I’m really looking forward to that type of event. It’s such a unique setup. I’m happy to be in there.”

Team McEwen third B.J. Neufeld expressed how key it was for them to lock up a spot this early in the season.

“It’s important, we want to be in that event,” Neufeld said. “It’s going to be a little bit different event but it’s going to be a great one. We definitely wanted to be there badly so we’re excited to have our ticket.”

Team Homan second Joanne Courtney grew up in Edmonton and is looking forward to playing in a Grand Slam event close to home.

“I think it’s going to be an awesome event,” Courtney said. “It sounds like a really exciting concept. I’m excited to have the world junior champs there. I just think it’s going to be a really unique thing and it’s great that we’ve booked our spot there.”

McEwen and Homan join Calgary’s Kevin Koe and Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland as skips who have qualified for the Champions Cup after they won the season-opening Tour Challenge Tier 1 men’s and women’s titles, respectively, to earn the first spots.

The Champions Cup features all of the men’s and women’s winners on the Pinty’s GSOC season plus champions from select events including the Tim Hortons Brier, Scotties Tournament of Hearts and world championships. The inaugural Champions Cup is sure to feature an epic showdown among the curling elite with a $200,000 total purse on the line.

Below is a list of the qualifying events for the Champions Cup. In the event a team wins more than one qualifying event (e.g. a team wins the Masters and Canadian Open), the winner of the next ranked World Curling Tour event based on strength of field will be invited to complete the 15-team lineup.