Unbeaten Homan set for another test vs. 5-0 Tirinzoni on TSN
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Tuesday night's clash between Switzerland and Canada could very well be the best game of the round robin at the BKT Tires World Women's Curling Championship.
On one side, we have Team Homan, the most dominant squad in curling this season. On the other, there's Team Silvana Tirinzoni, the rink who is looking to win an incredible fifth straight title at the World Women's Curling Championship.
Watch Canada vs. Switzerland LIVE at 6pm ET/3pm PT on TSN1, TSN.ca and TSN App
The 44-year-old Tirinzoni and last rock thrower Alina Pätz, 34, have won the last four women's worlds titles together, playing with different combinations of front-end players over that stretch. The newcomer on this year's team is 25-year-old second Selina Witschonke, while 30-year-old lead Carole Howald is in her second year with the rink.
Switzerland as a country has won eight of the past 11 women's worlds competitions.
In Sydney, Team Tirinzoni has already topped Korea, United States, Estonia, Turkey and Japan. A win on Tuesday afternoon against Norway would send the Swiss to 6-0 for the tournament and would extend their winning streak at the women's worlds to an incredible 42 games, dating back to the Calgary worlds bubble in 2021.
Team Tirinzoni have gone 14-0 in each of the past two World Women's Curling Championships and hold a total record of 58-5 during their four-year reign which started in 2019 (the 2020 women's worlds were cancelled due to COVID-19).
It's been much of the same for Team Tirinzoni in 2023-24.
The second-ranked team on the planet went 67-13 before the women's worlds, winning five events, highlighted by a near-perfect run at Swiss nationals in early February and an 11-0 showing at the European Curling Championships in November.
When it comes to their results against Team Homan, Team Tirinzoni have lost all three games against the Canadians this season, including two Grand Slam finals.
If Tirinzoni and company are going to repeat as world champions for a fifth time, they will more than likely have to beat Homan at some point in the playoffs.
The Canadian champions, who went a perfect 11-0 at the recent Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary, have now won 21 straight games and are an incredible 54-5 on the season.
Canada and Switzerland are first and second, respectively, when it comes to team shooting percentage. Team Homan is at 88.6 per cent while Team Tirinzoni is close behind at 88.1 per cent.
Tuesday's contest could give a sneak peak into which one of these dominant teams may have the edge as championship weekend approaches.