By Kevin Snow, European curling writer
It was a big week for the European teams at the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe in Stateline, Nev., with Scotland’s powerhouse Team Bruce Mouat taking home their second consecutive men's Grand Slam title, and Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni playing runners-up yet again to Canada’s nearly unstoppable Team Rachel Homan in the women’s final.
Mouat and Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller finished in the top four on the men’s side, while Tirinzoni, Team Xenia Schwaller of Switzerland and Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg were two, three, and four in the women’s bracket.
MEN'S DIVISION
In a meeting of the tournament’s top two teams, Mouat edged out Canada’s Team Matt Dunstone 7-6 in a come-from-behind, shootout victory.
It was a back-and-forth contest that saw the teams tied 4-4 after the sixth, and Mouat collected a deuce in the eighth end to draw even again at 6-6.
Each skip then had one shot at glory, with Mouat’s draw to the button finishing at 9.5 centimetres, squeaking by Dunstone’s distance of 9.8 centimetres.
The win was the 12th Grand Slam title of Mouat’s career, and sixth in the last eight events since the start of last season.
Mouat finished the prelims with a perfect record of 4-0 (12 points) to earn top spot on the men’s side. After knocking off Canada’s Team Mike McEwen in the quarterfinals, Mouat advanced to the final by defeating Team Yannick Schwaller 6-5 in the semis, using an eighth-end steal on a freeze to pave the way.
Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller (3-1, 10 points) ended the week in fourth spot, earning wins over teams skipped by Marco Hösli, John Epping and Rylan Kleiter. They took down Team Kyle Waddell 7-4 in the quarters, then lost to Mouat in the semis.
Following a quarterfinal run at the CO-OP Tour Challenge, Scotland’s Team Kyle Waddell finished in fifth place (3-1, seven points) in their second Tier 1 Slam of the season. Waddell opened the week with a loss to Dunstone and then ran off three straight wins over Kleiter (6-3), Epping (6-5) and Schwaller (8-7). A 7-4 quarterfinals loss to Schwaller ended their week.
Team Ross Whyte of Scotland (3-1, seven points) rebounded from a disappointing 1-3 record at the CO-OP Tour Challenge, posting a sixth-place finish with a record of 3-1 (seven points). Their only two losses of the week both came at the hands of Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs — 6-3 in the prelims and 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
After a championship final loss two weeks ago in the Henderson Metal Fall Classic in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz lost 7-3 to McEwen in a tiebreaker after going 2-2 (six points).
Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin missed the playoffs with a record of 2-2 (six points), good for 10th place overall. Edin now has a record of 7-7 in this season’s three Grand Slams and has only advanced as far as the quarterfinals once.
Switzerland’s Team Marco Hösli had to settle for 11th place (1-3, three points) with their lone victory coming in their final game of the week, a 6-4 decision over Retornaz. All three of their losses were by three or more, and they’ve yet to qualify for the playoffs in three Slams this season.
Team Marc Muskatewitz of Germany found themselves on the outside looking in once again this week, finishing in 12th spot with a record of 1-3 (three points).
WOMEN'S DIVISION
In an all too familiar scene, Team Tirinzoni squared off with Team Homan for their third straight Grand Slam final this season, and fourth in a row dating back to last season’s Players' Championship.
Tirinzoni was clinging to a 4-3 lead after the sixth before Homan rallied for two in each of the seventh and eighth to close out the 7-4 win. Alina Pätz battled with Homan in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to deny the Canadian her remarkable 20th career Grand Slam victory.
This was the 10th Grand Slam final between the two, and Homan now holds an 8-2 advantage all-time.
Team Tirinzoni continued their stellar play in the Slams by going undefeated (4-0, 12 points) in the preliminary round. That was followed by wins over Team Eun-ji Gim of South Korea in the quarterfinals and Team Xenia Schwaller in the semis.
Tirinzoni now has an overall Grand Slam record of 18-3 this season — with the only three losses coming in the three finals to Homan.
Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller continued their upward trajectory, finishing the prelims in third place with a record of 3-1 (nine points). A 5-4 quarterfinal win over Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa moved them into a second straight semifinal appearance, where they were eliminated by their Swiss rivals, Team Tirinzoni.
Despite an up-and-down week, Team Anna Hasselborg from Sweden powered their way to a fourth overall preliminary round finish with a record of 2-2 (seven points). From there, they defeated Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura 7-6 in the quarterfinals, followed by a 6-3 loss to Homan in the semis.
Scotland’s Team Rebecca Morrison (1-3, three points) wound up 14th overall in their first Tier 1 Slam of the season. Their only win was a convincing 6-3 triumph over South Korea’s Team Seung-youn Ha in their third game.
It was a difficult week for Sweden’s Team Isabella Wrana (1-3, two points) as they finished in the basement of the women’s bracket, missing the playoff round for the first time this season. Their lone win was a 5-4 decision over Hasselborg in their last game.
