Olympic, world champs Team Edin win again with shorthanded lineup
Published
For the second week in a row, Team Niklas Edin have won a curling event without their star skip.
Playing with just three players – Christoffer Sundgren, Rasmus Wrana and Oskar Eriksson – the Olympic and world champions went a perfect 6-0 to win the IG Wealth Management Western Showdown.
The Swedes defeated Kevin Koe’s new foursome from Calgary, 6-3, in the championship game Monday afternoon from Swift Current, Sask.
The 37-year-old Edin, a six-time world champ, missed the semi-final and final of last week’s Grand Slam victory in Grande Prairie, Alta., due to a knee injury and wasn’t ready to suit up this week for the Western Showdown.
Team Edin, winners of the past four World Men’s Curling Championships and the 2022 Olympic gold medal, have now won four times in six events played this season and sport a record of 32-5.
This was the second loss in a bonspiel final for the new-look Team Koe featuring Canadian junior champion Tyler Tardi at vice. They fell to Brendan Bottcher and his All-Star lineup at the ATB Okotoks Classic in September.
The Swedes took home $12,000 of the $36,000 total purse with Koe’s crew earning $8,000 for their second-place finish.
The Western Showdown had a field of 16 teams, including Ontario’s Team John Epping and Saskatchewan’s Team Colton Flasch, who both were eliminated in the quarterfinal round.
Autumn Gold Curling Classic
South Korea’s Eunji Gim continued their hot start this season with a strong performance at the Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary.
The foursome went 8-1 over the four-day event, including wins over Winnipeg’s Team Abby Ackland in the quarters, Lethbridge’s Team Casey Scheidegger in the semis and finally Switzerland’s Michele Jaeggi, 8-2, in the championship contest.
Team Gim have been very busy this season with appearances nearly every weekend. They own a 43-17 record over 10 events, including a pair of event victories.
Jaeggi and company defeated Team Kailyn Lawes in the quarterfinal and Team Jennifer Jones in the semi-final before running into Team Gim in the final.
Kelsey Rocque, Clancy Grandy and Chelsea Carey all missed the playoffs.
North Grenville Women’s Fall Curling Classic
Led by their 22-year-old skip, Team Isabelle Ladouceur of Waterloo, Ont., captured their third win of the 2022-23 season at the North Grenville Women’s Fall Curling Classic on Sunday.
Ladouceur, third Jamie Smith, second Grace Lloyd and lead Rachel Steele lost their first game of tournament, but reeled off seven straight wins, capping it off with a 7-2 victory over Team Danielle Inglis in the final.
Team Ladouceur are now 27-9 on the season with four straight final appearances and three wins.
Sundbyberg Open
Team Anna Hasselborg defeated fellow Swedes Team Isabella Wrana, 9-4, in the final of the Sundbyberg Open to pick up their second win of the season.
Hasselborg, third Sara McManus, second Agnes Knochenhauer and lead Sofia Mabergs went 5-0 over the three-day event, including a win over Italy’s Team Stefania Costantini in the semi-final.
Team Andreas Hårstad of Norway won the men’s event.
Kamloops Crown of Curling
British Columbia’s Team Corryn Brown also won their second bonspiel of the season, defeating provincial rival Team Diane Gushulak, 7-5, to win their hometown Kamloops Crown of Curling.
Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Dezaray Hawes and lead Samantha Harris won six straight after dropping their opener.
The men’s side saw 2022 B.C. champion Brent Pierce lose to Japan’s Hayato Sato in the final, 6-5.
Superstore Lady Monctonian
Scotties Tournament of Hearts regular Suzanne Birt and her rink from Prince Edward Island shut out Halifax’s Team Sarah Murphy, 7-0 in just four ends, to win the Superstore Lady Monctonian.
Team Birt won the event with six-time Scotties champion Colleen Jones sparing at the third position. Jones also played with Team Birt at the PointsBet Invitational in September.
The Moncton bonspiel featured numerous notable East-coast teams, including New Brunswick’s Team Andrea Kelly and Nova Scotia’s Team Christina Black. Both lost in the playoffs to Murphy’s foursome.
Grand Prix Bern Inter Curling Challenge
Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz, who won the bronze medal at last year’s World Men’s Curling Championship, continued their impressive run this season with a bonspiel win in Bern, Switzerland.
Retornaz, third Amos Mosaner, second Sebastiano Arman and lead Mattia Giovanella went 6-0 at the four-day event, beating Team Wouter Gosgens in the final, and have now won three times on Tour this season.
Challenge Nord-Ouest Air Creebec
Team Steven Munroe downed Team Jasmin Gibeau, 7-6, in the final to win the Val-d’Or, Que., bonspiel.