LONDON, Ont. — Rachel Homan and her Canadian club have picked up where they left off in the Grand Slam of Curling.
After reaching all five women's finals in the series last season, Homan has kicked off the 2025-26 campaign by reaching Championship Sunday for a record-tying sixth consecutive time, matching fellow Canadian Kerri Einarson's remarkable run through the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
Team Homan will take on Switzerland's Team Silvana Tirinzoni for the AMJ Masters women's title (3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT).
Homan defeated Sweden's Team Isabella Wranå 7-5, and Tirinzoni topped South Korea's Team Eun-ji Gim 6-3 during Saturday night's semifinals.
"It’s always a great game against them," Team Homan second Emma Miskew said. "We know they’re always going to play really well. I think it’s just going to take a matter of who can capitalize the most on any little mistake out there.
"I think that with the frost, sometimes there are some mistakes that are unexpected, so we’ll just try to learn from them and see who manages it the best."
The team can continue to rewrite the media guide Sunday. Both Homan and Miskew hold a record 17 Grand Slam women's titles and will aim to tie legendary men's skip Kevin Martin for the most of all players in series history.
Homan and Tirinzoni, the top two teams in the world rankings, met twice in Grand Slam finals last season. While Homan was victorious at the Canadian Open, Tirinzoni came out on top at the season-ending Players' Championship. Homan also defeated Tirinzoni to successfully defend the gold medal at the World Women's Curling Championship.
"Oh, it feels awesome," said Carole Howald, who throws second stones for Team Tirinzoni. "Being out on the ice, on the arena ice, it’s always gotten better throughout the week. It feels great to be back in the final and right now Team Homan just won, so it's a battle again."
Both teams enter the AMJ Masters women's final undefeated, although Homan needed a pair of shootouts during the round-robin plus an extra end against Japan's Team Momoha Tabata in the quarterfinals.
"We’re just starting our season and we were just trying to come out here and get the most out of all of our throws as we could," Miskew said. "We didn’t have a ton of practice ice yet, so this was a battle. It wasn’t perfect, but we found a way to grind it to get to the final and it’s exciting that we were able to do that."
Tirinzoni cruised to four straight regulation wins in the round-robin and eliminated Team Xenia Schwaller in an all-Swiss showdown during the quarters.
"We learn every game and it was tough in the beginning," Howald said. "We pulled off a win every time, so it was good. Right now, we are unbeaten throughout the season, so let’s keep it that way."
It's only the second event of the season for Homan and Tirinzoni. While Homan was a semifinalist in the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic two weeks ago in Cornwall, Ont., Tirinzoni ran the table through the Women's Masters Basel event in Basel, Switzerland.
"I think we need to play our A game, that’s for sure," Howald said. "Just make maybe half a shot more than they do, then we’re going to be close."
Defending champ Ross Whyte and his Scottish squad will play in the AMJ Masters men's final for a third consecutive season, taking on Canada's Team Matt Dunstone.
Whyte advanced with a 6-5 win over Team Bruce Mouat in a rematch of last season's Scottish Curling Championships final, while Dunstone defeated Team Brad Jacobs 6-5 in an extra end during a rematch of last season's Montana's Brier.
TIER 2 FINALS, WHEELCHAIR MEDAL GAMES SET
There will be bonus curling on the ice at the Western Fair Sports Centre.
As Whyte and Dunstone face off for the AMJ Masters men's title, Canada's Team Kevin Koe will clash with Team Danny Casper of the United States in the Tier 2 men's final, while Canada White will play Italy for bronze in the GSOC Wheelchair Invitational.
During the Homan-Tirinzoni women's final, Scotland's Team Rebecca Morrison will play Japan's Team Ikue Kitazawa in the Tier 2 women's final, while Canada Red and Great Britain meet for gold in the GSOC Wheelchair Invitational.
The Tier 2 took place during the week at the St. Thomas Curling Club in St. Thomas, Ont., with the GSOC Wheelchair Invitational at the KW Granite Curling Club in Waterloo, Ont.
HOW TO WATCH
Tickets for the AMJ Masters are available at GSOCtickets.com with online streaming for all games at rockchannel.com.
Broadcast coverage of the Tier 1 finals is available in Canada on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
