TORONTO — Kerri Einarson is aiming to end the Grand Slam of Curling season the same way it began.
The Canadian skip kicked off the 2024-25 campaign by capturing her sixth career title in the series at the HearingLife Tour Challenge in October and has now set her sights on the AMJ Players’ Championship taking place this week at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
It’s been a roller-coaster season for Einarson along the way. Her Gimli, Man., club relied upon super subs throughout the fall as second Shannon Birchard recovers from a knee injury that has kept her out of the lineup for all but one event. Einarson was granted a medical exemption in January and added Karlee Burgess, who previously played with skip Chelsea Carey, for the remainder of the season.
Alternate Krysten Karwacki stepped into the lead role as Briane Harris was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance last season. Harris appealed and was cleared of all wrongdoing in January, however, the team opted to maintain its current lineup with Lauren Lenentine, also formerly with Team Carey, joining as an alternate for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
After earning silver medals at the Canadian women’s curling championship, Team Einarson announced it had parted ways with Harris, who joined Kate Cameron’s crew at third.
With the season drawing to a close, Einarson said it would be great to end things off with another Grand Slam title victory.
“Given everything that we’ve been through this season, it would be nice to finish off really strong,” said Einarson, whose team also includes third Val Sweeting and coach Reid Carruthers. “We’ve had a very successful season, given all of our spares that we’ve played with, so it’s nice to have the same crew that we’ve had for a couple of events now, so it’s feeling a little more normal.”
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Watch early draws from the AMJ Players’ Championship on Sportsnet+
Watch early draws from the final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season on Sportsnet+ this week. Daily draw play begins Tuesday morning.
Einarson got out to a winning start in the event with a 6-4 victory over Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura during Draw 2 action Tuesday.
Steals were key out of the gate for Einarson, who didn’t begin with the hammer but swiped back-to-back points in the opening pair of ends to take a 2-0 lead. Einarson kept the pressure on in the third with a double takeout to sit three that forced Yoshimura to draw to the button for just a single.
Stolen points remained the name of the game in the fourth end. Yoshimura had shot rock locked at the back of the four-foot circle, and Einarson was unable to nudge it enough to concede a point that tied it.
Einarson regrouped in the fifth and made an open tap to score two points and take a 4-2 lead, however, she missed a raise takeout in the sixth that allowed Yoshimura to draw for a deuce and knot it up again.
Although Einarson was forced to hit for just a single in the seventh, the game fittingly ended with yet another steal. Yoshimura had to draw against two with the last rock of the game in the eighth, but her shooter hooked and missed the target.
Karwacki threw 100 per cent in the game with Sweeting also earning an A-plus honours, shooting 92 per cent.
“I thought it was a great first game and it’s nice to always get a win under your belt,” Einarson said. “It was a close battle. A couple steals early and then I gave up one steal, but we battled back and had a couple great ends and game-savers. We played well.”
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AMJ Players’ Championship on Sportsnet
The world’s best curling teams clash in the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season at the AMJ Players’ Championship in Toronto. Watch live coverage Thursday to Sunday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Elsewhere in Draw 2, Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni picked up a 9-4 win over Japan’s Team Momoha Tabata.
In men’s play, Canada’s Team Mike McEwen doubled up on Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz 6-3, and world champs Team Bruce Mouat of Scotland hit for two in the eighth end to edge Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz 8-6.
Mouat and Canada’s Team Rachel Homan faced off in a charity skins game between the two reigning world champions Monday night at the Rio Mare Battle of the Sexes presented by The Curling Group. Mouat won $10,000 for Charlie Boy’s Cancer Fundraiser with Homan earning $2,000 for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. A portion of ticket sales from the sold-out event will also be donated to their charities.
NOTES
The AMJ Players’ Championship is the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, featuring the top 12 men’s teams and top 12 women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening. Six teams qualify for the playoffs in both divisions with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. … If necessary, one tiebreaker draw is slated for Saturday morning. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday. Both finals are on tap Sunday.
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