HOG LINE: Irwin captures MCT tour championship

Steve Irwin and his rink from Brandon came away with two big wins on Sunday in Carberry,

Einarson makes double takeout in extra end to beat Homan in Masters final

OAKVILLE, Ont. - Kerri Einarson defeated Rachel Homan 6-5 on Sunday to win the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters event at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.

Einarson, from Camp Morton, Man., made a double takeout with her final shot for the extra-end victory. It was her fifth career Grand Slam title.

Homan, from Ottawa, forced an extra end when she scored a single point on an in-off.

Einarson opened the game with a deuce but Homan moved in front with a three-ender in the fifth. Einarson answered with a pair in the sixth and the teams blanked the seventh.

Homan, Einarson advance to final at Grand Slam of Curling’s Masters

OAKVILLE, Ont. - Canada's Rachel Homan and Kerri Einarson are set to clash for the women's title at the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters event.

Ottawa's Homan, a three-time Masters champion, defeated South Korea's Eun Ji Gim 5-3 in Saturday's semifinal. Down 3-1 after the fourth end, Homan came back to score four points in the next three ends to win it.

Einarson of Camp Morton, Man., defeated American Tabitha Peterson 8-3 in the other semifinal. Einarson closed the final three ends with five points, including back-to-back doubles.

In men's action, Edmonton's Brendan Bottcher suffered his first loss of the competition, falling 3-1 to Italy's Joel Retornaz in the semifinals. Retornaz will face Scotland's Bruce Mouat in the final.

Gushue, Dunstone to play for quarterfinal berth at Grand Slam of Curling’s Masters

Brad Gushue and Matt Dunstone are set to clash for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters on Saturday.

Gushue pulled out a key 7-4 win over Norway's Bendik Ramsfjell to finish at 2-2 on Friday. After jumping out to a 4-1 lead after three ends, Gushue of St. John's, N.L., scored three singles within the final four ends to seal the win.

Dunstone of Kamloops, B.C., narrowly edged Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller 6-5, with a single in the extra end to also close pool play at 2-2.

The two rinks will meet Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, with the winner to face Edmonton's Brendan Bottcher in the quarterfinals.

Brooks captures Masters Super League title

After losing to Murray Warren in an extra end in last December’s Westoba Credit Union Masters Super League final, Dale Brooks and his rink came out on top this year.

Kerri Einarson defeats Clancy Grandy 8-4 at Grand Slam of Curling’s Masters

OAKVILLE, Ont. - Kerri Einarson kept her undefeated run going with a third straight win, defeating Clancy Grandy 8-4 at the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters competition on Thursday night.

Einarson of Camp Morton, Man., went up 8-2 with a three-point fifth end before conceding a point in the sixth and final end of the game.

In other results, Jennifer Jones topped Switzerland's Raphaela Keiser 5-4 and American Tabitha Peterson defeated Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa 7-3.

Selena Njegovan joined Einarson at 3-0 with a 9-3 win over South Korea's Eunjung Kim. Njegovan is throwing fourth stones for the team usually skipped by Winnipeg's Kaitlyn Lawes.

HOG LINE: Special Olympics curling back underway in Brandon

It was a long two years for Special Olympics curlers in Brandon.

Rachel Homan defeats Eun Ji Gim 6-2 at Grand Slam of Curling’s Masters

OAKVILLE, Ont. - Rachel Homan defeated South Korea's Eun Ji Gim 6-2 on Wednesday night at the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters competition.

Homan, from Ottawa, secured the round-robin victory with three points in the seventh end.

In other results, Sweden's Anna Hasselborg dumped Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni 8-2 and Calgary's Chelsea Carey edged Switzerland's Michele Jaeggi 6-5.

Sweden's Isabella Wrana posted a 7-4 win over Kate Hogan, who's filling in for skip Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta.

Calgary will host curling’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2024

CALGARY - The last time the Scotties Tournament of Hearts took place in Calgary, the curlers could hear toilets flushing as they swept their rocks down the ice due to the lack of spectators.

COVID-19 restrictions forced the 2021 Canadian women’s curling championship to take place in a bubble at the WinSport Event Centre, with Canadians watching from their couches at home.

Curling Canada expects the stands to be packed in 2024 when the event returns to the venue.

“I remember the adrenalin rush of making a great shot and the fans are all exploding, and your team is riding high,” Amy Nixon, a two-time Scotties champion, said Wednesday at a Curling Canada news conference to announce Calgary as the successful bidder. “In 2024, it will be totally different than the cardboard cut-outs that were here in the stands in 2021.

Three-time champion Rachel Homan off to winning start at Masters

OAKVILLE, Ont. - Rachel Homan is off to a winning start at the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters event.

Homan's Ottawa rink opened the event with an 8-7 win over Sweden's Isabella Wrana on Tuesday afternoon.

Homan, a three-time Masters champion, scored three in the sixth end. Wrana responded with a single in the seventh, then stole one in the eighth in falling just short.

Later in the day, Calgary's Brendan Botcher kicked off his tournament with a 6-5 win victory over Marco Hoesli of Switzerland.

Canadian men’s curling championship makes return to Regina in 2024

REGINA - The Canadian men's curling championship is returning to Regina.

Curling Canada announced Tuesday that the 2024 Brier will take place March 1-10 at the Brandt Centre.

Saskatchewan's capital has hosted the Brier five previous times, most recently in 2018.

The 2024 Brier will be the first men's championship with a new title sponsor after restaurant chain Tim Hortons said it was ending its sponsorship after the 2023 tournament.

New-look Matt Dunstone rink is top Canadian team on year-to-date world ranking list

A strong start to the season has launched the new-look Matt Dunstone team past the rest of the Canadian competition on the world men's curling rankings list.

Dunstone is the top domestic entry on the World Curling Federation year-to-date list at No. 2 behind reigning world champion Niklas Edin of Sweden.

The 27-year-old resident of Kamloops, B.C., won seven straight games to capture the recent Red Deer Curling Classic. It was the third straight final appearance for a team that has opened the campaign with a 34-12 record.

"We found our roles within this team pretty quickly," Dunstone said. "(We know) what each guy needs to do to make the other guy go. That stuff came quite easy. There's no egos on this team and guys just work hard."

HOG LINE: Multiple Manitoba rinks likely at Brier and Scotties

The start of a four-year Olympic cycle brings a ton of changes to the curling landscape.

Iced Capped: Tim Hortons’ title sponsorship of Brier to end after 2023 event

For just the fifth time in its nearly century-long history, the Canadian men's curling championship will have a new title sponsor after this season.

The 2023 Brier, set for March 3-12 in London, Ont., will be the final one with Tim Hortons as title sponsor, Curling Canada said Tuesday. The organization said it is currently "seeking expressions of interest" for title sponsorship of the event, which dates back to 1927.

In a news release, Curling Canada CEO Kathy Henderson thanked Tim Hortons for its long-standing commitment to promoting curling in Canada. She added they will continue to work together at the youth, grassroots and community level through regional marketing and sponsorship commitments.

"We don't often sell this property because it's a pretty big one obviously in the Canadian sports community," said Nolan Thiessen, Curling Canada's executive director of curling fan experience and marketing.

HOG LINE: Steady approach helps Warren reach podium at Masters

A positive COVID-19 test on Tuesday was the only damper on a memorable week for Murray Warren at the Pembina Curling Club in Winnipeg.