Teams set for Princess Auto Players’ Championship in Toronto
The field has been finalized for the 2023 Princess Auto Players’ Championship.
Twelve of the top men’s teams and 12 of the top women’s teams from around the world are set to hit the ice for the fifth event of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tour, April 11-16, at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Also on the line will be the Pinty’s Cup, awarded to the season champions of the series.
Team Kerri Einarson, two-time winners of the Princess Auto Players’ Championship, headline the women’s division as the No. 1 ranked club in the world. Einarson has reached six consecutive finals in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling, stretching back to last year’s Princess Auto Players’ Championship, and is first in the Pinty’s Cup standings with 39 points, an eight-point advantage over Rachel Homan’s team.
Team Anna Hasselborg are the defending champions making history a year ago by becoming the first women’s club to complete a career Grand Slam having captured all four majors.
Meanwhile, reigning Olympic and world champions Team Niklas Edin lead the way as the No. 1 ranked club on the men’s side. The Swedish squad have made it to three Grand Slam finals this season and won the HearingLife Tour Challenge as a trio despite losing their skip to a knee injury earlier in the event.
Edin tops the Pinty’s Cup men’s standings with 35 points and four up on Team Brad Gushue, who kicked off the Grand Slam season by defeating Edin no less in the BOOST National men’s final.
WFG Masters winners Team Joël Retornaz and Co-op Canadian Open champions Team Brendan Bottcher, both with 24 points, are also in close contention for the Pinty’s Cup. With roughly double points up for grabs at the Princess Auto Players’ Championship though, the chase for the Pinty’s Cup will surely come down to the wire.
Team Bruce Mouat will look to become the first to win three consecutive Princess Auto Players’ Championship men’s titles following their victories in the Calgary bubble in 2021 and in front of family and friends who came overseas from Scotland to the Mattamy Athletic Centre last year.
Both divisions will be divided into two pools of six teams for round-robin play. The match schedule will be determined in the coming days.
You don’t want to miss the crown jewel event of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season! Full-event and weekend passes plus single draw tickets are now available, please visit Ticketmaster.ca or the Mattamy Athletic Centre box office to purchase yours today.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Broadcast coverage will be available beginning April 13 on Sportsnet and SN NOW.
Men’s Division
| Team | Hometown |
|---|---|
| Team Brendan Bottcher | Calgary, AB |
| Team Reid Carruthers | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Korey Dropkin | Duluth, USA |
| Team Matt Dunstone | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Niklas Edin | Karlstad, SWE |
| Team Brad Gushue | St. John’s, NL |
| Team Kevin Koe | Calgary, AB |
| Team Bruce Mouat | Stirling, SCO |
| Team Magnus Ramsfjell | Trondheim, NOR |
| Team Joël Retornaz | Trentino, ITA |
| Team Yannick Schwaller | Geneva, SUI |
| Team Ross Whyte | Stirling, SCO |
Women’s Division
| Team | Hometown |
|---|---|
| Team Kerri Einarson | Gimli, MB |
| Team Satsuki Fujisawa | Kitami, JPN |
| Team Eun-ji Gim | Uijeongbu, KOR |
| Team Clancy Grandy | Vancouver, BC |
| Team Anna Hasselborg | Sundbyberg, SWE |
| Team Rachel Homan | Ottawa, ON |
| Team Jennifer Jones | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Kaitlyn Lawes | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Tabitha Peterson | Chaska, USA |
| Team Casey Scheidegger | Lethbridge, AB |
| Team Silvana Tirinzoni | Aarau, SUI |
| Team Isabella Wranå | Sundbyberg, SWE |
