By Jonathan Brazeau
VICTORIA — Switzerland's Team Yannick Schwaller and Norway's Team Magnus Ramsfjell will face off in the season's first Grand Slam of Curling men's final Sunday at the Co-op Invitational.
Schwaller scored two points in the eighth end to edge Canada's Team Brad Jacobs 6-5 in Saturday night's semifinals to secure a spot in the championship game.
It's the fourth career Grand Slam final for Schwaller, who is seeking his second title in the series after winning the Canadian Open last season.
"Oh, it's fantastic," said Schwaller, whose Geneva club holds the No. 1 spot in the world rankings. "It's what you're playing for: shots at winning Grand Slams. Tomorrow we have one, the first one of this (Olympic) cycle. I hope to grab it right away and get rid of that feeling to win a Slam in the cycle."
Ramsfjell advanced to his first-ever top-tier Grand Slam final with a 7-4 victory over Switzerland's Team Marco Hösli.
While Schwaller is running it back with the same roster that also earned bronze at the Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina, Ramsfjell and his cousin, second Bendik Ramsfjell, have two new teammates in third Steffen Walstad and lead Mathias Brænden.
"Surreal is the first word that comes to mind," Bendik said. "It's crazy that we're like a new squad and we really found our footing coming here.
"I would say we played really well through the group stage. There's definitely a little bit of extra in the tank going into the final against Schwaller."
Although Jacobs entered the semifinals as the undefeated top seed and started with the hammer, back-to-back steals led to an early 2-0 lead for Schwaller.
Jacobs showed why he's the reigning Olympic champ and charged back with a three-ender in the third.
The teams traded singles in four and five, then again in six and seven, as Schwaller held the hammer coming home, trailing 5-4.
An open hit was all Schwarz-van Berkel needed to score the winning deuce.
"We were playing so much better in the first half, to be honest, it should have been nowhere close to tied," Schwaller said. "We had a bad break there in the third end, missed one shot really, and they capitalized brutally. Then they did good in the second half, and it was toe-to-toe, really.
"It still feels like a deserved win in the end. … We were also a bit lucky in the eighth end, but all in all, I would say we were the better team, but of course, we could have fallen short for not taking our chances."
Ramsfjell surged in the late stages against Hösli, breaking a 3-all tie with a nifty double touch to score a deuce in the seventh. The Oslo club then held on to steal two in the eighth.
Strategy might not be Bendik's forte, but he provided enough insight into what he believes will be the key against Schwaller.
"Just keep it close and be there when the opportunity arises," Bendik said. "There's going to be a few, and it's a matter of just being there for that shot. Hopefully, we get one miss out of Benoît."
When Schwaller captured his first career Grand Slam title at the Canadian Open, Ramsfjell was on the ice for the celebration.
Ramsfjell had won the tournament's Tier 2 title, leading to a group photo of the championship teams.
Two months later, they were battling for the final spot on the Olympic podium in Milano Cortina. Schwaller thumped Ramsfjell 9-1 to earn the bronze, but Ramsfjell went out in style with a spin-a-rama on his final shot.
The teams met earlier this week during the preliminary round, with Schwaller winning in a shootout after Schwarz-van Berkel covered the pin.
Statistically speaking, they were the top two teams of the week. Team Ramsfjell led with a plus-11 EDGE, while Team Schwaller was right behind at plus-eight.
One thing is for sure: Sunday's final will not come down to another shootout, with the extra end back on the menu if needed.
"If we do what we did today, I think that's good enough, but we have to replicate that," Schwaller said. "Since we've entered the playoffs, it feels like we've got another gear in finally, and that's what we were looking for in the round robin.
"Now, every player is so comfortable out there. We have great flows, good strategy, good communication, and it's just more or less bringing that to the ice as well again tomorrow."
Watch the Co-op Invitational men's final live Sunday on Sportnet One, Sportsnet+, ESPN+, DAZN or Rock Channel at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
