Yes, we are calling it a comeback.
From an eight per cent chance of winning to "statistically dead," here’s a look at the craziest comebacks of the Grand Slam of Curling season.
Of course, one team's comeback is another team's collapse, but we're taking the glass half full approach here.
Special thanks to TCG data and analytics manager Scott Cooke for digging through the archives to find these gems.
First End: Gushue vs. Retornaz, HearingLife Canadian Open round robin
The HearingLife Canadian Open was the final Grand Slam tournament for Brad Gushue, who announced in September that this season would be his last in men's curling. The 15-time Grand Slam champ from St. John’s, N.L., was looking to add one more to his total. Although Gushue came up short, falling in the quarterfinals against John Shuster, the emotional week showed he still had it.
Just look at Gushue's opening game against longtime foe Joël Retornaz of Italy, nearly 20 years after they first faced off at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. Gushue fell behind early, giving up back-to-back steals in the second and third ends, and trailed 4-1 entering the sixth end, with an eight per cent chance of winning the game.
Gushue sparked the comeback with a come-around tap to score a deuce, but Retornaz still held a one-point lead with the hammer and two ends remaining. Facing two in the seventh, Retornaz opted to hit and roll out to concede the tying point but retain the all-important hammer for the eighth and final end.
That came back to bite him, as Gushue made an excellent freeze in the eighth that forced Retornaz into attempting a straight runback. Retornaz's raised rock was off the nose and rolled away, as Gushue stole the 6-4 victory.
Second End: Waddell vs. Y. Schwaller, KIOTI GSOC Tahoe round robin
Kyle Waddell’s Scottish team had a breakout season in the Grand Slam of Curling, from starting in the Tier 2 division of the AMJ Masters to finishing runners-up in the Crown Royal Players' Championship.
Waddell entered the final day of pool play at the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe needing at least one point to remain in contention, but it wouldn’t be easy going up against Yannick Schwaller’s Swiss squad. Things didn’t start well for Waddell as he surrendered a steal of two points in the first end. Schwaller continued to pot pairs of points, converting for deuces in the third and fifth to hold a 6-3 advantage.
Just like Gushue, Waddell entered the sixth end with an eight per cent chance of victory. A cluttered house allowed Waddell to turn the game on a dime as he fired a desperation double raise that found all the right angles to nudge aside Schwaller’s stones and score an equalizing three points.
Singles back and forth in the seventh and eighth ends pushed the game into a shootout. Waddell had just drawn to the button in the eighth, but Schwaller opted to go first in the shootout (what I consider the equivalent of "icing the kicker" in football). Schwaller's fourth Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel drew to the back of the four-foot circle, which may have been good enough against anyone else, except Waddell was the "shootout master" during the season. Waddell landed on the lid to win 8-7 and secure a spot in the playoffs.
Addendum: Wouldn't you know it, the two teams met the next day in the quarterfinals. Schwaller finished the job in the rematch, eliminating Waddell 7-4.
Third End: Maeda vs. Hlushak, CO-OP Tour Challenge JR GSOC U25 round robin
Japan's Takumi Maeda posted a perfect 6-0 record en route to capturing the CO-OP Tour Challenge’s inaugural JR GSOC U25 men’s title, but it wasn’t smooth sailing to start.
Maeda trailed 4-1 with two ends to play, and a five per cent chance of winning, against Edmonton's Peter Hlushak in the opening game of pool play. Never tell Maeda the odds: a three-ender in the seventh tied it up and a steal in the eighth decided the game, 5-4.
Considering JR GSOC teams played only three games in the round robin instead of the usual four, imagine how different things could have turned out?
Fourth End: Ramsfjell vs. Colli, HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 round robin
Another early result that could have affected the outcome of the tournament. Eventual champ Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway trailed 5-1 after four ends, with a five per cent chance of victory, against Italy's Giacomo Colli in pool play.
We’d like to believe Ramsfjell is a fan of the Canadian band Rush as his team proceeded to post a 2-1-1-2 linescore to secure the victory. Ramsfjell scored a deuce in the fifth, stole back-to-back singles in the sixth and seventh, then swiped two more points in the eighth end to win 7-5.
Fourth-End Break
Before we get into the heavy-hitters, a shoutout to Kerri Einarson and her Gimli, Man., team for having two of the biggest single-moment swings this season during the HearingLife Canadian Open round robin against China's Wang Rui and the Crown Royal Players' Championship quarterfinals against Isabella Wranå.
Up 3-2 with the hammer in the sixth, Wang held an 81 per cent chance of winning against Einarson … that plummeted to five per cent after a hitting and rolling out to surrender a huge steal of four. Einarson swiped another point in the seventh and won 7-3.
The win probability model was all over the place during the Einarson vs. Wranå match, thanks to six lead changes. Holding the hammer in the extra end, Wranå looked to make a double takeout, but her shooter over-curled and the raised rock was off the mark, as Einarson stole a spot in the semifinals with the 8-7 victory.
Fifth End: Reese-Hansen vs. Lawes, HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 women’s final
The HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 women’s division came down to an all-Canadian final between Taylor Reese-Hansen of Victoria and Kaitlyn Lawes, whose Winnipeg team was skipped by third Selena Njegovan. After settling for a single in the sixth, Reese-Hansen trailed 5-3 to Lawes, with a three per cent chance of winning.
It looked like it would be game over in the seventh. Reese-Hansen came up short on her guard, allowing Lawes to attempt a short runback that would have added three points and ice the championship. As it turned out, Reese-Hansen's rock stopped in the right spot. Lawes's shooter chipped off the guard and then redirected off another, but even the fluke raise couldn't quite make it as it just grazed Reese-Hansen's shot rock that held up for a steal.
That also turned out to be a harbinger of what was to come. Reese-Hansen made an amazing angle raise takeout in the eighth that forced Lawes into a draw to the four-foot circle, but her shooter came up short to concede another steal and push the match into OT.
Reese-Hansen froze for a piece of the button with her last shot of the game, requiring Lawes to play the other side of the sheet and nudge her own rock just a bit sideways to secure the winning point.
Her shooter came up light again, as Reese-Hansen stole the title with the 6-5 victory.
Sixth End: Gray-Withers vs. Henderson, CO-OP Tour Challenge JR GSOC U25 semifinals
Scotland's Fay Henderson was up 5-2 heading into the eighth end when ... OK, it's an article about the greatest comebacks of the season, you should know where this is going by now.
Edmonton's Serena Gray-Withers walked it off with a score of four to win 6-5 and book a spot in the final after having a two per cent chance of winning. Impressive.
Addendum: Gray-Withers also came back from down 3-1 at the fourth-end break to defeat Japan's Yuina Miura 8-4 in the final to win the title. Most impressive.
Seventh End: Bauldic vs. Ueno, HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 round robin
Kamdyn Bauldic of Lloydminster was a sponsor’s exemption in the HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 women’s field and faced 2024 (and eventually 2026) Japanese champ Miyu Ueno to wrap up round-robin play. Bauldic entered the match winless at 0-3 and was already eliminated from playoff contention but looking to end on a positive note and play the spoiler as Ueno was aiming to clinch.
How’s this for the power of positivity? Bauldic was down 5-2 entering the sixth end without the hammer and a two per cent shot at victory. After Ueno was limited to a single, Bauldic scored a deuce in the seventh then stole three in the eighth end to win 7-6. That not only gave Bauldic the victory but knock Ueno out of the playoffs picture as well.
Eighth End: Peterson vs. X. Schwaller, Crown Royal Players’ Championship round robin
Two words: Statistically dead.
That's the best way to describe Tabitha Peterson's team after giving up three steals, including back to back in the fifth and sixth ends, to fall behind 6-1 to Xenia Schwaller at the Crown Royal Players’ Championship.
Some may have just called it a day and shaken hands right there and then, but that’s when Peterson staged the craziest comeback of the Grand Slam of Curling season.
Peterson drew for three in the seventh, however, Schwaller still held a two-point advantage with the hammer coming home. Facing two, Schwaller just needed to make one disappear with her last rock, but her shooter sailed straight through the house untouched to give up the tying steal and force a shootout.
Schwaller went first and overcooked it, with Peterson just needing to draw fully into the eight-foot circle to win 7-6.
Addendum: Peterson pulled off back-to-back steals in the seventh and eighth ends to defeat Wranå 5-4 in her very next game.
