By Jonathan Brazeau

Alina Pätz and Danny Casper are now assured invites to the GSOC Open.

Team Pätz and Team Casper took the titles at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, part of the new Satellite Events series that was created to help teams qualify for the Grand Slam of Curling through established tour stops.

Pätz defeated Team Xenia Schwaller 6-4 and Casper beat Team Jordon McDonald 9-5 during Monday’s finals in Oakville, Ontario, to become the first to qualify for the GSOC Open.

The fourth Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, running Dec. 1-6 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, features 16 teams in the men’s and women’s divisions: the top 12 teams from the world rankings as of Nov. 3, two sponsors’ exemptions and two Satellite Events qualifiers.

Should Casper and Pätz maintain their top-12 rankings by the qualification cutoff date, the Grand Slam of Curling will reallocate the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard entries to the highest-finishing teams from the event that are not ranked in the top 12.

The Henderson Metal Fall Classic, Oct. 21-24 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and the Swiss Chalet Women’s Curling Stadium Spiel. Nov. 6-8 in North Bay, Ontario, will qualify the other two Satellite Events spots for the GSOC Open.

Pätz stymies Schwaller for second title

It’s only mid-September and the first season of an Olympic quad, but a rivalry is already brewing between Pätz and Schwaller.

Their Swiss squads faced off for the second time in a tour final already this young season, and for the second time, Pätz upended Schwaller to claim the trophy.

Schwaller never trailed until the seventh end, when Pätz pulled ahead 5-4 with a tap for two points.

Still, that gave the hammer to the reigning world champion for the final frame. Schwaller attempted a high-risk manoeuvre with her final shot, looking to hit off her own stone from the top of the house and roll in to potentially remove Pätz’s shot rock and earn the championship. However, her shooter landed right on the nose of her stone, leaving Pätz’s rock untouched for an insurance point.

Pätz, who entered the week No. 6 in the world rankings, is off to a near-perfect start in her return to skipping after throwing last rocks and serving as the vice for Silvana Tirinzoni during the past eight seasons. Her Geneva-based club, which includes third Selina Witschonke, second Stefanie Berset and lead Renée Frigo, posted a 6-1 record at the Euro Super Series three weeks ago in Stirling, Scotland, capped with an 8-5 come-from-behind victory over Schwaller in the final.

Team Pätz also lost just once in Oakville, dropping a 6-4 decision to Team Kayla Skrlik in the opening round of the triple knockout stage. Pätz then rattled off five consecutive victories to reach the final, including wins over Team Carly Howard in the quarterfinals and fellow Swiss squad Team Corrie Hürlimann in the semifinals earlier Monday.

Schwaller has also had a stellar start to the season – the two losses to Pätz remain her team’s only defeats so far. After falling in the Stirling final, the Zurich club of Schwaller, third Selina Gafner, second Fabienne Rieder and lead Selina Rychiger went on an undefeated 7-0 run through the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic last weekend in Waterloo, Ontario.

The team qualified A-side in Oakville and added victories over Team Giulia Zardini Lacedelli in the quarterfinals and Team Sherry Middaugh in the semifinals to set up the showdown against Pätz.

Schwaller has ascended to No. 2 in the world rankings, a rapid rise for a club that has been a tour de force on the scene since capturing gold at the world juniors in February 2024. After defeating Olympic silver medallists Team Tirinzoni in last season’s Swiss finals, Team Schwaller went on an incredible roll at the women’s worlds, beating Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson in the gold medal game.

Pätz, who skipped Switzerland to gold at the women’s worlds in 2015, appears to have the upper hand out of the gate, but this is only the beginning of a rivalry that’ll surely be one of the most intriguing over the next four years.

Casper victorious in season debut

Casper channelled his Olympic form to lift his American squad in the late stages of his championship match against McDonald.

Up by one without the hammer coming home, Casper pulled off an incredible shot into a cluttered house with his final stone to knock back two of McDonald’s rocks and sit three.

That game-saver forced McDonald into a tricky angle raise that missed the mark, allowing Casper to tack a steal of three on the board and hold on.

It was the first event altogether for the Chaska, Minnesota, team of Casper, third Luc Violette, second Ben Richardson and lead Aidan Oldenburg since representing the United States at the Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina last February.

Casper, who entered Oakville at No. 7 in the world rankings, lost only one game early in the event to Team Caden Hebert, as the reigning world junior champions from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, pulled off an 8-6 upset. Casper took the rematch in the B-qualifiers 6-2 to advance to the playoffs, then added wins over Team John Shuster in the quarterfinals and Team Brendan Bottcher in the semis to reach the championship match.

McDonald denied a rubber match for the title between Casper and Hebert. After qualifying through the C-side and eliminating Team Marco Hösli in the quarterfinals, McDonald dispatched Hebert in the semis to advance.

It was a bounce-back week for the Winnipeg foursome of McDonald, third Jacques Gauthier, second Elias Huminicki and lead Cameron Olafson after missing the playoffs in the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic.

Up next

The Satellite Events series continues this weekend with the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall, Ontario, and Japan’s Karuizawa International. Both events will qualify teams for the GSOC Co-op Invitational, Oct. 13-18, in Victoria, B.C.