It’s a quick turnaround for Kevin Koe and his Calgary-based rink.
Team Koe just won the Tim Hortons Brier on Sunday but the Canadian champions are right back at it competing in the Syncrude National Grand Slam of Curling, running March 12-16 in Fort McMurray, Alta.
A National title win would complete a career Grand Slam for Koe. He won the Players’ Championship in 2004, the Masters in 2012 and the Canadian Open in 2013.
It’s not going to be easy though as the field also sees Olympic gold medallist Brad Jacobs and reigning world champion Niklas Edin vying for the title. Previous National champions Glenn Howard, Kevin Martin and Jeff Stoughton will also look to add another title to their trophy cases.
Syncrude National: Live schedule & scores | TV schedule
Here’s a quick rundown of the 18 teams in the chase for the National:
TEAM BOTTCHER
Members: Brendan Bottcher (skip), Tom Appelman (third), Bradley Thiessen (second) and Karrick Martin (lead)
From: Edmonton, Alberta
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 28th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Missed playoffs
Recap: Bottcher skipped Canada to gold at the 2012 world junior curling championship and earned the bronze medal at the 2013 Winter Universiade. The team also features Karrick Martin, son of Kevin Martin, at lead. Although Team Bottcher didn’t make it out of the round-robin at the Canadian Open they scored a 4-3 upset win over Team Morris.
TEAM DACEY
Members: Mark Dacey (skip), Stuart Thompson (third), Stephen Burgess (second) and Andrew Gibson (lead)
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 38th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: Dacey won the Brier championship and earned a bronze medal at the worlds in 2004. He was a win away from representing Nova Scotia at this year’s Brier but fell to Jamie Murphy 12-8 in the provincial final. Dacey got off to a slow start and trailed 5-0 after the second end, however his team rallied back to close the gap 9-8 heading into the 10th but couldn’t complete the comeback.
TEAM EDIN
Members: Niklas Edin (skip), Sebastian Kraupp (third), Fredrik Lindberg (second) and Viktor Kjall (lead)
From: Karlstad, Sweden
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 6th
2013 Masters: Lost to Glenn Howard in quarterfinals
2013 Canadian Open: Missed playoffs
Recap: The reigning world champions and Olympic bronze medallists look to shine at the National. Edin was the first non-Canadian skip to guide his team to a Grand Slam tournament final at the 2011 Players’ Championship. Edin has had Brad Jacobs’ number of late defeating the Canadian skip to win the world title and again during the round-robin at the Sochi Olympics.
TEAM ERIKSSON
Members: Oskar Eriksson (skip), Kristian Lindström (third), Markus Eriksson (second) and Christoffer Sundgren (lead)
From: Lit, Sweden
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 18th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Missed playoffs
Recap: Oskar Eriksson also serves as the alternate for Team Edin and with them he won gold at last year’s world championship and bronze at the Sochi Olympics. His own rink opened the Canadian Open with a shocking win over Glenn Howard.
TEAM FANSET
Members: Travis Fanset (skip), Chad Allen (third), Patrick Janssen (second) and Tim March (lead)
From: Toronto, Ontario
WCT Order of Merit ranking: N/A
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate*
Recap: The asterisk beside the Canadian Open is because Fanset, Janssen and March played on Mark Kean’s team and finished with a 4-1 record in the round-robin but lost 6-5 to Jeff Stoughton in the quarterfinals. The trio also reached the Canadian Open semifinal with Kean in 2012.
TEAM GUSHUE
Members: Brad Gushue (skip), Brett Gallant (third), Adam Casey (second) and Geoff Walker (lead)
From: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 7th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Finalists
Recap: Gushue won the National championship in 2010 and came oh-so-close to winning a second Grand Slam title at the Canadian Open in November. If not for a stunning shot Kevin Koe pulled off with his last shot in the final end to score the winning point Gushue would have stolen the win. Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist, represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the Brier for the eighth consecutive year and 11th time overall.
TEAM HESS
Members: Pascal Hess (skip), Florian Meister (third), Meico Oehninger (second) and Stefan Meienberg (lead)
From: Zug, Switzerland
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 31st
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: Hess’ team ranks 12th on the money list having earned $29,618 to date this season. They won the White’s Drug Store Classic in Swan River, Man., in November. The team competed in the Tier II group at the 2012 Masters.
TEAM HOWARD
Members: Glenn Howard (skip), Wayne Middaugh (third), Brent Laing (second) and Craig Savill (lead)
From: Penetanguishene, Ontario
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 3rd
2013 Masters: Champions
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Kevin Koe in semifinals
Recap: Howard’s team has claimed three of the last five Grand Slam titles and were dominant in all three wins with undefeated records at the 2012 Canadian Open, the 2013 Players’ Championship and the 2013 Masters. A loss to Koe in the Canadian Open semifinals spoiled Howard’s bid to sweep the Grand Slam this season and earn the $1-million bonus. Howard looks to bounce back from an upset loss to Greg Balsdon in the Ontario provincial final.
TEAM JACOBS
Members: Brad Jacobs (skip), Ryan Fry (third), E.J. Harnden (second) and Ryan Harnden (lead)
From: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 1st
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: Team Jacobs missed the first two stops of the Grand Slam of Curling this season to focus on their bid to represent Canada in Sochi. It certainly paid off as they ran the table at the Canadian Olympic trials and then won gold in Sochi. The last Slam event they entered, the 2013 Players’ Championship, saw them reach the semifinals round where they lost to eventual champion Glenn Howard.
TEAM KIM
Members: Soo-Hyuk Kim (skip), Tae-Hwan Kim (third), Jong-Duk Park (second) and Yoon-Ho Nam (lead)
From: South Korea
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 81st
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: Team Kim competed in the Medicine Hat Charity Classic but lost 6-1 in six ends to Regina’s Scott Bitz. They won the bronze medal in the 2013 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships with a single steal in the 10th end to defeat New Zealand’s Peter de Boer.
TEAM KOE
Members: Kevin Koe (skip), Pat Simmons (third), Carter Rycroft (second) and Nolan Thiessen (lead)
From: Calgary, Alberta
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 4th
2013 Masters: Lost to Kevin Martin in quarterfinals
2013 Canadian Open: Champions
Recap: Koe’s team enters the National not only as the previous Slam winner but also as the Brier champion. Koe also needs a National title to cap a career Grand Slam.
TEAM LAYCOCK
Members: Steve Laycock (skip), Kirk Muyres (third), Colton Flasch (second) and Dallan Muyres (lead)
From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 16th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Missed playoffs
Recap: Laycock’s team sustained a disappointing 1-4 record at the Canadian Open although their lone victory was a huge 7-1 win over Winnipeg’s William Lyburn and capped the game with a four-ender in the sixth. They most recently represented Saskatchewan for the first time at the Brier and just missed out of the playoffs with a 6-5 record.
TEAM MARTIN
Members: Kevin Martin (skip), David Nedohin (third), Marc Kennedy (second) and Ben Hebert (lead)
From: Edmonton, Alberta
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 8th
2013 Masters: Finalists
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Brad Gushue in the quarterfinals
Recap: Martin sustained a back injury earlier this season but his team has still been in the playoff mix as usual. The team came close at the Masters but ran into undefeated Glenn Howard in the final and came up just short. Meanwhile, Gushue’s score of four in the eighth end to win 7-4 ended Martin’s run at the Canadian Open. Martin has won the most National championships (four) and is the only skip to repeat as champion at the event.
TEAM MCEWEN
Members: Mike McEwen (skip), B.J. Neufeld (third), Matt Wozniak (second) and Denni Neufeld (lead)
From: Winnipeg, Manitoba
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 5th
2013 Masters: Missed playoffs
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Rob Rumfeldt in tiebreaker
Recap: Finalists at the National and Players’ Championship tournaments last season and look to get back on track at the National after losing to Jeff Stoughton in the Manitoba provincial final. Team McEwen scored big in October picking up titles at the Canad Inns Prairie Classic and the Cactus Pheasant Classic (where they beat Team Martin 8-1 in the semifinals and shut out Team Michel 8-0 to win the championship) and they were ranked as high as second in the WCT’s order of merit.
TEAM MICHEL
Members: Sven Michel (skip), Claudio Paetz (third), Sandro Trolliet (second) and Simon Gempeler (lead)
From: Adelboden, Switzerland
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 11th
2013 Masters: Lost to Niklas Edin in tiebreaker
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: Team Michel represented Switzerland at the Sochi Olympics where they finished with a 3-6 record, however they earned a 5-4 win over Team Jacobs. Michel opened with a 2-0 record at the Masters before dropping two straight and needing a tiebreaker to advance but they couldn’t get past Edin.
TEAM MOROZUMI
Members: Yusuke Morozumi (skip), Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (third), Tetsuro Shimizu (second) and Kosuke Morozumi (lead)
From: Karuizawa, Japan
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 40th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: With the spirit of March Madness in the air, Team Morozumi could play the upset at the National. They stunned Team Edin and Team Jacobs during the preliminary round at last year’s world championship with identical 10-8 victories, both times scoring doubles in the extra end.
TEAM STOUGHTON
Members: Jeff Stoughton (skip), Jon Mead (third), Mark Nichols (second) and Reid Carruthers (lead)
From: Winnipeg, Manitoba
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 2nd
2013 Masters: Lost to Glenn Howard in semifinals
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Brad Gushue in semifinals
Recap: Stoughton capped a career Grand Slam winning the National title a year ago. Only three other players have completed the feat as skips: Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard and Wayne Middaugh. Team Stoughton has been semifinalists at the past three Slam events and just recently won bronze at the Tim Hortons Brier.
TEAM VIRTUE
Members: Brock Virtue (skip), Braeden Moskowy (third), Chris Schille (second) and D.J. Kidby (lead)
From: Regina, Saskatchewan
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 26th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
Recap: Team Virtue returns after making their Grand Slam debut at the 2012 Masters. Virtue won his first Saskatchewan provincial championship in 2013 but fell just short of defending the title this year losing 7-6 to Steve Laycock in the SaskTel Tankard final.
