By Kevin Snow, European curling writer
Every athlete wants to go out on top, step away from the sport they love on their own terms. Let the fans remember the highest of highs, not the waning performance as time goes on. After all, Father Time is undefeated.
If that’s what Silvana Tirinzoni’s plan is, she authored the perfect final script on Sunday.
Holding on to a 6-4 lead in the eighth end, Team Tirinzoni survived a chaotic last rock scenario to defeat Team Einarson 6-5 in the Crown Royal Players’ Championship in Steinbach, Man., the final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season.
Not only was this Tirinzoni’s seventh career Grand Slam victory, but they became the first team to win three consecutive Players’ Championship titles.
Tirinzoni was almost at a loss for words when it was all done.
“I didn't think that’s even possible," she said. "The Players' are the top 12 teams in the world, and you could see it this week. Everyone is beating everyone a little bit, so it’s a very tough field, and to win it three times in a row, unreal.”
But she wasn’t done there.
An emotional Tirinzoni dropped this bomb when asked by Rock Channel’s Devin Heroux if she had anything else to share: “It’s very possible it’s my last Slam, very possible.”
If this was the last Grand Slam for Team Tirinzoni, they went out in style. Tirinzoni advanced to the women’s final in all five events this season, and that streak goes to six straight when you include last year’s Players’ Championship.
After starting the season with three consecutive Grand Slam championship losses to Team Homan, Tirinzoni has now won back-to-back titles at the HearingLife Canadian Open and Crown Royal Players’ Championship.
Next up for the world No. 2-ranked Swiss squad is a trip to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
While they still have a lot on the line this season, teammate Alina Paetz knows what playing alongside the 46-year-old Tirinzoni has meant for her career.
“It’s an honour. It’s an honour to play with her. She has so much experience. She’s the best strategist in the women’s game, that’s for sure, without a doubt,” stated Paetz. “I’m just happy that I have a leader like her. I hope she stays in the game. I hope it’s not our last Slam, but we will see at the end of the season.”
Here’s a look at how the four European women’s teams fared this week:
WOMEN (preliminary round record, standing)
• Team Silvana Tirinzoni (SUI) (4-1, 11 points, first place) — received automatic bye to semifinals; defeated Team Gim 7-4 in semifinals; defeated Team Einarson 6-5 in championship game.
• Team Isabella Wrana (SWE) (3-2, eight points, sixth place) — defeated Team Fujisawa 9-1 in tiebreaker; lost 8-7 to Team Einarson in quarterfinals.
• Team Anna Hasselborg (SWE) (2-3, six points, eighth place) — did not qualify for playoffs.
• Team Xenia Schwaller (SUI) (1-4, five points, 11th place) — did not qualify for playoffs.
WHYTE BREAKS THROUGH
Sunday’s men’s final was an all-Scottish affair, but it didn’t include one of the familiar faces. An unusually pedestrian week for world No. 1 Team Bruce Mouat opened the door for a championship game pitting Team Kyle Waddell against Team Ross Whyte.
Waddell was undefeated entering the final, while Whyte was looking to break through in their third title game of the season. Whyte held a 4-3 advantage after the fifth end and added two more in the sixth to pull away for a 6-3 victory.
The win was the second career Slam for Team Whyte, adding to their Masters title last season.
In an event that features the top 12 men’s and women’s teams in the world, Whyte came into the week fully expecting it to be a grind. They finished 3-2 in the preliminary round and needed playoff wins over Team John Shuster and Team Yannick Schwaller to qualify for the final.
“It’s a tough week. You look at the field, and you go, ‘Where's your easy one?’ And you can't find it, and you start to look at yourselves and go, OK, this is gonna be a long week," Whyte said. "But brilliant to get through it, beat a lot of good teams, and we fully deserved it this week.”
In addition to the all-Scotland title game, it was the 10th straight final featuring at least one Scottish team. During this run, Mouat (six) and Whyte (two) have combined to win eight of the last 10 Grand Slam events since the start of the 2024-25 season.
With Mouat headed to the Olympics (representing Great Britain) as the clear favourite for gold, and Whyte and Waddell going head-to-head in the Crown Royal Players' Championship, it’s obvious that Scottish curling is in very good hands going forward.
“Yeah, that just shows the strength and depth. I mean, I think people were maybe expecting an all-Scotland final at some point. I think they were expecting Team Mouat in it, but Team Waddell came out this week and, I mean, undefeated going into the final,” Whyte said. “It’s pretty impressive with who they’ve played. We’re obviously there and thereabouts, but to put in that sort of performance is very impressive from all the countrymen.”
Here’s a look at how the six European men’s teams fared throughout the week:
MEN (preliminary round record, standing)
• Team Kyle Waddell (SCO) (5-0, 13 points, first place) — received automatic bye to semifinals; defeated Team Xu 5-4 in semifinals; lost 6-3 to Team Whyte in championship game.
• Team Yannick Schwaller (SUI) (4-1, 12 points, second place) — received automatic bye to semifinals; lost 5-4 to Team Whyte in semifinals.
• Team Ross Whyte (SCO) (3-2, 11 points, third place) — defeated Team Shuster 6-4 in quarterfinals; defeated Team Schwaller 5-4 in semifinals; defeated Team Waddell 6-3 in championship game.
• Team Joel Retornaz (ITA) (3-2, nine points, fifth place) — lost 7-5 to Team Xu in quarterfinals.
• Team Bruce Mouat (SCO) (3-2, nine points, seventh place) — lost 8-6 to Team Shuster in the tiebreaker.
• Team Niklas Edin (SWE) (0-5, zero points, 12th place) — did not qualify for playoffs.
