Halfway through the season, both teams are well ahead of each other in the Grand Slam of Curling.
Scotland’s Bruce Mouat wins all three men’s titles at the start of the 2024-25 season, while Canada’s Rachel Homan makes it to all three women’s finals and won consecutive championships in the past two editions.
For Homan, it’s a continuation of last season, when her Ottawa team won the Canadian and world championships, two majors and an incredible 67-7 record.
Here’s a rundown of each Grand Slam of Curling event so far this season, and what’s ahead for 2025.
HEARINGLIFE Tour Challenge (October 1-6, 2024; Charlottetown)
Be sure to catch them all! Mouat kicked off the grand slam of curling season by looking at the last title missing from the list. Coincidentally, Mouat had to beat the only male diver to accomplish the feat.
Mouat captured the HearingLife Tour Challenge Level 1 men’s championship with a decisive 10-3 victory over Team Canada’s Brad Gushue and became the second men’s jump roper to win all five different events in the series (third overall ). This is also Moet’s seventh career curling Grand Slam championship. His team achieved a perfect record of 6 wins and 0 losses in the event.
“Thinking back to my early days in the sport, dreaming of winning one of these tournaments seemed impossible,” Mouat said. “It was a surreal moment to finally get to seven games and win every one of them. It’s something very special for all of us, the four of us.”
Canada’s Kerri Einarson is already facing uncertainty with lead Briane Harris temporarily suspended after testing positive for a banned substance (Harris has yet to play a game this season because She is still awaiting a decision on her appeal). Secondary Shannon Bichard also left the lineup as he recovers from a knee injury. Karlee Burgess joined the team for the remainder of the season, while Einarson filled in for Bichard in the first half with super sub Dwayne McEw Dawn McEwen participated in the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
After losing to Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini at the HearingLife Tour Challenge, Einarson won six straight on the way to the title, including a 5-4 victory over Hohmann.
It was a full-circle moment for Einarson, who won the inaugural Tour Challenge Level 2 title in 2015.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Einarson said. “I knew when I got to the majors and had to win the Division II tournament to get in there. Now we’ve won the Division I championship. Our hard work has really paid off.”
Homan also lost to Constantini in a triple-knockout match, but those losses were her only two of the season as she compiled an impressive 40-2 record and a 23-game winning streak. .
Speaking of secondary events, Saskatoon’s Rylan Klett and Halifax’s Christina Black joined the elite ranks of future Grand Slams of Curling with these titles. In the men’s final, Klett defeated Norway’s Magnus Ramsfejer 6-5 in overtime; in the women’s final, Blake defeated Japan’s Saya Yoshimura 7-3. Join the team.
Blake competed in the Chioti Nationals and reached the quarter-finals against the best players in the world, while Clete will compete in the WFG Masters.
Canadian Partnership Open (November 5-10, 2024; Altania Niscu)
Mouat and Homan participated in the Canadian Cooperation Open as defending champions and successfully defended their titles.
The Moët team continued their hot momentum, this time with a score of 7-0, and defeated Gushu again with a score of 6-2 in the final. Mouat and third-place finisher Grant Hardie both shot 98%, second-place finisher Bobby Lammie had a perfect 100%, and leader Hammie Jr. Hammy McMillan Jr. shot a “low” 96 percent from the field.
“It feels really good,” Mouat said. “It was an unbelievable game, we barely missed a shot and all the guys on the team played great. I’m really proud of us.”
Although Team Gushue parted ways with second place EJ Harnden in a shocking shuffle among Canada’s top men’s teams following the HearingLife Tour Challenge, their look was different. Gushue has recruited former captain Brendan Bottcher to his second team. Skip Kevin Coe, Reid Carruthers and Matt Dunstone also made roster changes in the fall, with Harden joining Dunstone.
On the women’s side, Homan went 7-0, earning the home victory for the Beaumont, Alta., resident.
“It’s so cool,” Homan said. “We brought this event here and we wanted it to be a success and it was a sold out weekend. It’s great that we were able to make it to the finals and bring it home for Beaumont.”
The Homan team defeated the Swiss team Silvana Tirinzoni 7-5 in a repeat of last season’s World Championship final. Trailing 3-2, Homan, a Shot of the Year candidate, scored three points in the fourth quarter to regain the lead.
“I’m not quite sure it’s there,” Homan said. “Trying to go for two, you always hope for the best and just finish that hole.”
KIOTI NATIONAL (November 26-December 1, 2024; St. John’s, Netherlands)
The Grand Slam of Curling heads to Old St. John for the Chioti National, and the Mary Brown Center has been packed all week. While the cheers were loud for all teams, St. John’s own Gushue were the clear crowd favorite.
Brad Jacobs’ side faced Gushue in the quarter-finals in a thrilling clash between two of Canada’s top clubs. Jacobs led by one in the seventh and elected to give up a steal to preserve the Hammers in the final over. The decision was met with boos from the crowd, and Jacobs raised his arms and twirled his fingers, accepting the villain role.
Jacobs’ plan worked, as he hit a single in the eighth inning to win 6-5 and advance.
“First of all, we all love it,” Jacobs said. “A lot of people have expressed apologies. A lot of people actually feel like it’s unnecessary, but you know what? Curling needs more of this.
“In any other sport, there’s a team that people want to win, and there’s a villain, and I know we’re all Team Brad, and the Battle of Team Brad has been going on for how many years? Over a decade. We welcome that. That’s good theater, that’s good television, it’s good for the sport and it’s worth it for all the bums sitting in those seats.
“I think to myself, if anyone can get to a point in their life where they’re being booed by over 6,000 people in an arena, they’ve probably done something right in their life. We took it. I know it rained a little when we marched, but they get a lot of rain here, so they’re used to it, right?”
Jacobs defeated Scotland’s Ross White 6-3 in the semi-finals to set up an advantage over Mua in the title race.
Moet lost to American team John Schuster 6-3 in the round robin, suffering its first loss of the Grand Slam season. The team got back on track, winning four straight games and reaching the finals.
Mouat took control late in the game, scoring deuces in the sixth and eighth innings to defeat Jacobs 5-3. This gave Mouat his third consecutive men’s curling championship Grand Slam and his ninth Grand Slam by taking sole fourth place on the men’s curling championship list.
“It’s kind of unbelievable,” said Mouat, who won his first major at nationals seven years ago. “I saw footage from 2017 when we won the championship, so I have a few more wrinkles on my face and a few more gray hairs. It’s incredible to think back on that so long ago and realize that our journey has only just begun.
“The fact that we are being recognized as legends now is incredible for all of us because we’ve known these guys since we were kids or wanted to be close to their potential positions and to really realize what we’re doing is incredible. Unbelievable.”
Team Homan continued to crush the women’s division, posting another perfect record of 7-0. Homan scored two runs in the eighth inning to help her team beat Swedish team Anna Hasselborg 6-5 in the final.
Don’t let the flawless record fool you, because this is no small feat. Homan also needs to defeat Yoshimura in the quarterfinals and South Korea’s Eun-jung Kim in the semifinals.
“It’s unbelievable,” Homan said. “It’s definitely a different way to win the game in the end. We had two battles in the quarterfinals and semifinals and came from behind to win. We just want to keep playing better in the playoffs and try more manage those mistakes.”
Homan has now won a record 17 women’s major championships in curling and is just one step away from tying legendary men’s curler Kevin Martin for the most titles of any player.
WFG Masters (January 14-19; Guelph, Ontario)
The Grand Slam of Curling returns next week with the WFG Masters, and with all events and weekend passes already sold out, the hype continues to build.
This is the second time the Sleeman Center has hosted the Grand Slam of Curling, following the 2010 National Curling Competition. The tournament was a men’s invitational tournament at the time, and Gushue won his first career championship in the series.
Now featuring men’s and women’s divisions and some interesting storylines, this is sure to be a must-see event. Can Moet win its fourth consecutive championship? Can Homan tie Martin? Or will combo breakers ruin winning streaks?
There is also a new rule that will be tested during the tournament, which will see teams lose the hammer throw if they go two blanks in a row. Oh, and did we mention there’s a draft to determine the pool from which teams select opponents? What a conspiracy.
Last season’s WFG Masters was held in Saskatoon. The Italian team Joel Retonazzi defeated the Scottish team Ross White, who entered the finals for the first time, 3-2, successfully defending the men’s championship and winning the Grand Final for the third consecutive time. Through. Not surprisingly, Homan defeated Tirinzoni 8-4 to capture the women’s title, her fourth title at the Masters.
Players Championship (April 8-13; Toronto)
After a short break, the Grand Slam of Curling season resumes with The Players Championship, returning to Toronto’s Mattami Sports Center for the tenth time since 2013.
Only the top 12 men’s and top 12 women’s teams in the world based on their rankings so far this year will receive invitations to the season’s prestigious finals main event.
Last season, Gushue’s team narrowly defeated Ray Tornads in the men’s curling final, winning his 15th Grand Slam men’s title in this event. Gushu’s last shot tied the score, winning 7-6, and even won the opponent’s cap. Tirinzoni returned as the defending women’s champion, defeating Sweden’s Isabella Urana 6-5.
