Reigning champs Kevin Koe and Silvana Tirinzoni are gearing up to defend their Tour Challenge Tier 1 titles and conquer the curling mountain in Cranbrook, B.C.
The Tier 1 and Tier 2 division fields, featuring a total of 60 teams, were announced Wednesday for the largest Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event of the season running Nov. 8-13 at Western Financial Place.
Fifteen of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the globe will compete in Tier 1. Teams received invitations to the event based on their World Curling Tour total Order of Merit (OOM) ranking as of Oct. 3. In the event a team declined, the next-ranked team on the OOM received an invite.
Fifteen men’s teams and 15 women’s teams will also compete in the Tier 2 division. Ten men’s and women’s teams received invitations to the event based on their World Curling Tour total Order of Merit (OOM) ranking as of Oct. 3 after the Tier 1 division lineup had been finalized. The remaining five men’s and five women’s teams were invited from within the region of the event.
The inaugural Tour Challenge was held a year ago on the opposite side of the country in Paradise, N.L. Koe edged local favourite Brad Gushue for the men’s Tier 1 title while Tirinzoni stunned Rachel Homan stealing two in the final frame to capture the women’s Tier 2 title.
Gushue and Homan, the No. 1 ranked teams in the world, will be back and looking to settle the score.
Teams earn bonus points at the Tour Challenge Tier 1 towards the Rogers Grand Slam Cup, awarded to the overall men’s and women’s champions following the conclusion of the WestJet Players’ Championship in April.
The Tier 1 winners also receive guaranteed berths to the year-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 25-30, 2017, at WinSport Arena in Calgary.
The Tier 2 offers an excellent opportunity for teams to fast track their way into the elite ranks as the winners will receive guaranteed berths to the Meridian Canadian Open taking place Jan. 3-8, 2017, in North Battleford, Sask. For other teams that have played in the series previously it’s a chance to reclaim their spot among the world’s best.
Jim Cotter defeated Mark Kean for the Tier 2 men’s title while Kerri Einarson topped Chantelle Eberle’s team in the Tier 2 women’s final. The victories vaulted Cotter and Einarson into Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling series regulars and they both return to the Tour Challenge in the Tier 1 division.
Tier 2 games from round-robin play through to the semifinals will be held at Memorial Arena with the finals being played simultaneously with the Tier 1 championship games at Western Financial Place.
Tickets are now available, visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for more details. Can’t make it to Cranbrook? Sportsnet will have you covered starting Nov. 10, click here for the full TV schedule. Watch online with Sportsnet Now, click here to subscribe today.
Below is the list of teams set to compete in the Tour Challenge:
| Tier 1 | Men’s Teams | Women’s Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Brad Gushue | Rachel Homan | |
| Kevin Koe | Jennifer Jones | |
| Mike McEwen | Silvana Tirinzoni | |
| Niklas Edin | Val Sweeting | |
| John Epping | Chelsea Carey | |
| Brad Jacobs | Kelsey Rocque | |
| Reid Carruthers | Allison Flaxey | |
| Steve Laycock | Anna Hasselborg | |
| David Murdoch | Kerri Einarson | |
| Thomas Ulsrud | Tracy Fleury | |
| Brendan Bottcher | Alina Paetz OR Binia Feltscher* | |
| Charley Thomas | Ayumi Ogasawara | |
| John Morris | Michelle Englot | |
| John Shuster | Sherry Middaugh | |
| Kyle Smith | Margaretha Sigfridsson |
| Tier 2 | Men’s Teams | Women’s Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Glenn Howard | Krista McCarville | |
| Tom Brewster | Jacqueline Harrison | |
| Jason Gunnlaugson | Julie Tippin | |
| William Lyburn | Shannon Kleibrink | |
| Bruce Mouat | Casey Scheidegger | |
| Craig Brown | Cory Christensen | |
| Jean-Michel Menard | Stefanie Lawton | |
| Brady Clark | Nina Roth | |
| Mark Bice | Joelle Brown | |
| Greg Balsdon | Hannah Fleming | |
| Dean Joanisse | Marla Mallett | |
| Andrew Bilesky | Diane Gushulak | |
| Tyler Tardi | Karla Thompson | |
| Stephen Schneider | Corryn Brown | |
| Sean Geall | Kerry Galusha |
* Both teams received invites based on qualification and only the team that will not attend the European playdowns will accept the invitation.
