
By Jonathan Brazeau
NISKU, Alta. — Bruce Mouat's Grand Slam of Curling trophy haul now goes up to 11.
Mouat and his Scottish squad captured their 11th championship after defeating Matt Dunstone's Canadian club 5-2 during the CO-OP Tour Challenge men's final Sunday at the Silent Ice Center.
Mouat, third Grant Hardie, second Bobby Lammie and lead Hammy McMillan Jr., cashed in $34,500 by successfully retaining the title they won last season in Charlottetown.
The team lost just once during the week to Team Joël Retornaz in the preliminary round but took the rematch against the Italian club in the semifinals.
"It feels great," Lammie said. "I think we had a very strong week. Obviously, only dropped one game, but I think in the playoffs, we kind of all turned it up a wee bit.
"That's when we usually play our best, in the playoffs. It kind of gets the nerves going, gets the excitement going, and brings out the best in us. Just delighted to get the win and No. 11."
It was sort of a double title defence for Mouat, who also captured the Canadian Open almost a year ago at the Silent Ice Center. Both title wins were part of a record-breaking 2024-25 campaign as Mouat became the first to win four Grand Slams in a single season.
"It feels very good," Mouat said. "After last season, we wanted to come back and prove that it wasn't like a fluke that we won four. We wanted to continue the momentum that we built from last year, and it's exactly what we did this week.
"We played really well, especially in the playoffs. We’re back to our old selves, which was really nice to see."
Just like last year, there were plenty of Mouat fans in the stands.
"I don't know what it is about Nisku, but people seem to like us and support us, so that's really nice," Mouat said. "We're obviously encouraging the crowd to have a great time as well. We just want to put on a bit of a show for them. Very proud of us and really glad to be back here."
Team Mouat was dialed in from the start and set the tone with the hammer in the opening end. Mouat delivered a precise draw shot that Lammie and McMillan swept excellently to score a deuce.
"That's probably one of the most difficult draws you can get," Lammie said. "Bruce played it to perfection, had to squeak past both guards and just the weight was spot on.
"To be honest, it was a wee bit of a guess as well because it's the first end. You're not entirely sure of the weight, but thankfully, he guessed right today and we managed to put it on the lid for two. I think that kind of helped give us, obviously, the head start, and we could control the game from there."
Mouat called it one of the best shots they made as a team in their eight years together.
"It's pretty incredible that we were able to see it, we were able to play it, able to line call it and able to sweep it perfectly," Mouat said. "Really proud of us."
Dunstone was competing in his second straight Grand Slam final after winning last month's AMJ Masters, but had no answers for Mouat.
After Dunstone was forced to hit for a single in the second, Mouat tapped for another pair of points in the fourth to lead 4-1 at the break.
An uncharacteristic error from Mouat left the door open in the fifth end, with Dunstone looking to hit and possibly score a multiple count. Instead, it led to a steal as Mouat's stone jammed at the back of the house to stick around for shot rock.
Dunstone blanked the sixth end, and a brilliant double from Mouat forced him to take one in the seventh, leading to early handshakes.
"Throw it as hard as you can, try and hit the nose with a bit of rotation and then just hope for the best," Mouat said. "We were fortunate enough that the angle set up quite nicely for us to get it out there."
The Winnipeg-based crew of Dunstone, third Colton Lott, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden earned $25,500 from the prize purse.
Elsewhere, Japan's Team Takumi Maeda won the inaugural Jr. GSOC U25 men's title with an 8-3 win over Canada's Team Jordan McNamara.
Team Makenzie Kennedy, from nearby Beaumont, defeated Calgary's Team Katherine Sipka 4-3 in an all-Alberta final for the U15 championship.
Earlier, Canada's Team Rachel Homan won a milestone 19th Grand Slam title after trouncing Switzerland's Team Silvana Tirinzoni 8-2 in the CO-OP Tour Challenge women's final.
Edmonton's Team Serena Gray-Withers claimed the U25 women's title with an 8-4 victory over Japan's Team Yuina Miura.
UP NEXT
The Grand Slam of Curling is set for its first international event with the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nev. The third stop on the calendar takes place Nov. 4-9. Tickets are available at GSOCtickets.com.