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Players' Championship
Annual Grand Slam of Curling event
Annual Grand Slam of Curling event
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Players' Championship |
| Logo | Players' Championship.jpeg |
| Logo size | 250px |
| Established | 1993 |
| Current host city | Steinbach, Manitoba |
| Current arena | Southeast Event Centre |
| Purse | CAD $175,000 |
| Current men's champion | SCO Ross Whyte |
| Current women's champion | SUI Silvana Tirinzoni |
| Current | 2026 Players' Championship (January) |
| Current men's champion = SCO Ross Whyte | Current women's champion = SUI Silvana Tirinzoni
The Players' Championship, currently known as the AMJ Players' Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the final event of the Grand Slam of Curling tour, and is formerly the championship of the World Curling Tour season.
From 2016 to 2019, it was the penultimate slam of the curling season, and the last of the four "majors". The event was one of the original Grand Slam events when they were instituted in the 2001–02 season for men and for the 2005–06 season for women.
History
The event began as the "VO Cup" before the Grand Slam era in 1993, as part of the very first World Curling Tour season. The event was known as the VO Cup for two seasons before title sponsor Seagram's Distillery pulled out. With no sponsor, the 1995 event was saved at the last minute, and continued the next season thanks to a TV deal with TSN.
A women's event was introduced in 2006.
From 2007 to 2009, it was a qualifying tournament for the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, and had barred foreign teams from entering (unlike the other Slams). Scotland's Eve Muirhead became the first non-Canadian skip to win the event in 2013, while Sweden's Niklas Edin became the first non Canadian skip to win the men's event in 2017.
To date, Edmonton's Kevin Martin has won the most Players' Championships with 8. On the women's side, Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones (and her long-time second, Jill Officer) have won the most championships with 6.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the 2020 Players' Championship and the 2020 Champions Cup were cancelled.
Qualification
The top 12 teams on the men's and women's WCT year-to-date rankings respectively qualify for the event. Teams that decline their invitations are replaced by the next highest ranked team.
Format
Since 2023, and from 2014 to 2021, the event featured 12 teams split into two pools of six which compete in a round robin, with the top six teams advancing to a single game elimination playoff. In 2021, the number of teams earning playoff berths was reduced from eight. The 2022 event was a triple knockout.
Past champions
Men
| Year | Winning team | Runner-up team | Location | Purse | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | ON Russ Howard, Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh, Peter Corner | ON Paul Savage, Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley, Todd Tsukamoto | Calgary, Alberta | $120,000 | |||||
| 1994 | AB Kevin Martin, Kevin Park, James Pahl, Don Bartlett | ON Ed Werenich, John Kawaja, Pat Perroud, Neil Harrison | Calgary, Alberta | $100,000 | |||||
| 1995 (Apr.) | SK Murray McEachern, Rick Schneider, Daryl Nixon, Larry Schneider | SK Brad Heidt, Mark Dacey, Wayne Charteris, Dan Ormsby | Selkirk, Manitoba | $75,000 | |||||
| 1995 (Dec.) | ON Wayne Middaugh, Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley, Scott Bailey | MB Dale Duguid, Dan Carey, Russ Hayes, Doug Armstrong | Jasper, Alberta | $106,000 | |||||
| 1997 | ON Russ Howard, Glenn Howard, Scott Patterson, Phil Loevenmark | SK Randy Woytowich, Rick Schneider, Brian McCusker, John Grundy | Winnipeg, Manitoba | $60,000 | |||||
| 1998 | AB Kevin Martin, Don Walchuk, Rudy Ramcharan, Marcel Rocque | MB Vic Peters, Dave Smith, Chris Neufeld, Don Harvey | Fort McMurray, Alberta | $60,000 | |||||
| 1999 | ON Wayne Middaugh, Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley, Scott Bailey | ON Russ Howard, Glenn Howard, Peter Corner, Neil Harrison | Winnipeg, Manitoba | $150,000 | |||||
| 2000 | AB Kevin Martin, Don Walchuk, Carter Rycroft, Don Bartlett | ON Wayne Middaugh, Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley, Scott Bailey | Winnipeg, Manitoba | $150,000 | |||||
| 2001 | ON Wayne Middaugh, Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley, Scott Bailey | AB Kevin Martin, Don Walchuk, Carter Rycroft, Don Bartlett | Calgary, Alberta | $150,000 | |||||
| 2002 | ON Wayne Middaugh, Graeme McCarrel, Ian Tetley, Scott Bailey | MB Vic Peters, Mark Olson, Chris Neufeld, Steve Gould | Strathroy, Ontario | $150,000 | |||||
| 2003 | MB Jeff Stoughton, Jon Mead, Garry Van Den Berghe, Jim Spencer | ON John Morris, Joe Frans, Brent Laing, Craig Savill | Leduc, Alberta | $150,000 | |||||
| 2004 | AB John Morris, Kevin Koe, Marc Kennedy, Paul Moffatt | AB Kevin Martin, Don Walchuk, Carter Rycroft, Don Bartlett | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | $150,000 | |||||
| 2005 | AB Kevin Martin, Don Walchuk, Carter Rycroft, Don Bartlett | NL Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Mike Adam, Jamie Korab | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | $150,000 | |||||
| 2006 | AB David Nedohin, Randy Ferbey (skip), Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque | AB Kevin Martin, Don Walchuk, Carter Rycroft, Adam Enright | Calgary, Alberta | title=Players' Championship title toughest to get your hands on | date=April 13, 2006 | page=F3 | newspaper=Calgary Herald | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76351086/calgary-herald/ | access-date=April 23, 2021}} |
| 2007 | AB Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert | AB Blake MacDonald, Kevin Park, Carter Rycroft, Nolan Thiessen | Calgary, Alberta | $100,000 | |||||
| 2008 | ON Glenn Howard, Richard Hart, Brent Laing, Craig Savill | AB Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert | St. John's, Newfoundland | $100,000 | |||||
| 2009 | AB David Nedohin, Randy Ferbey (skip), Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque | ON Glenn Howard, Richard Hart, Brent Laing, Craig Savill | Grande Prairie, Alberta | $100,000 | |||||
| 2010 | AB Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert | NL Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Ryan Fry, Jamie Korab | Dawson Creek, British Columbia | $100,000 | |||||
| 2011 | AB Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert | SWE Niklas Edin, Sebastian Kraupp, Fredrik Lindberg, Viktor Kjäll | Grande Prairie, Alberta | $100,000 | |||||
| 2012 | ON John Epping, Scott Bailey, Scott Howard, David Mathers | ON Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing, Craig Savill | Summerside, Prince Edward Island | $100,000 | |||||
| 2013 | ON Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing, Craig Savill | MB Mike McEwen, B. J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld | Toronto, Ontario | $100,000 | |||||
| 2014 | AB Kevin Martin, Marc Kennedy, David Nedohin, Ben Hebert | ON Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E. J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden | Summerside, Prince Edward Island | $100,000 | |||||
| 2015 | ON Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E. J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden | MB Mike McEwen, B. J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld | Toronto, Ontario | $100,000 | |||||
| 2016 | NL Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker | ON Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E. J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden | Toronto, Ontario | $100,000 | |||||
| 2017 | SWE Niklas Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå, Christoffer Sundgren | MB Mike McEwen, B. J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld | Toronto, Ontario | $150,000 | |||||
| 2018 | AB Kevin Koe, Marc Kennedy, Brent Laing, Ben Hebert | SWE Niklas Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå, Christoffer Sundgren | Toronto, Ontario | $150,000 | |||||
| 2019 | AB Brendan Bottcher, Darren Moulding, Brad Thiessen, Karrick Martin | AB Kevin Koe, B. J. Neufeld, Colton Flasch, Ben Hebert | Toronto, Ontario | $150,000 | |||||
| 2020 | Cancelled | ||||||||
| 2021 | SCO Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan Jr. | NL Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker | last1=Brazeau | first1=Jonathan | title=GSOC looking to hold 2 events in proposed Calgary curling bubble | url=https://thegrandslamofcurling.com/gsoc-looking-to-hold-2-events-in-proposed-calgary-curling-bubble/ | access-date=December 3, 2020 | date=December 3, 2020}} | $175,000 |
| 2022 | SCO Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan Jr. | SWE Niklas Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå (3 player team) | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 | |||||
| 2023 | AB Kevin Koe, Tyler Tardi, Brad Thiessen, Karrick Martin | SUI Benoît Schwarz, Yannick Schwaller (skip), Sven Michel, Pablo Lachat | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 | |||||
| 2024 | NL Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, E. J. Harnden, Geoff Walker | ITA Joël Retornaz, Amos Mosaner, Sebastiano Arman, Mattia Giovanella | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 | |||||
| 2025 | SCO Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan Jr. | SUI Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel, Yannick Schwaller (skip), Sven Michel, Pablo Lachat | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 | |||||
| 2026 (Jan.) | SCO Ross Whyte, Robin Brydone, Craig Waddell, Euan Kyle | SCO Kyle Waddell, Mark Watt, Angus Bryce, Blair Haswell | Steinbach, Manitoba | $175,000 |
Women
| Year | Winning team | Runner-up team | Location | Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | MB Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jill Officer, Georgina Wheatcroft | AB Cheryl Bernard, Susan O'Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire, Cori Bartel | Calgary, Alberta | $100,000 |
| 2007 | MB Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin | BC Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter, Renee Simons | Calgary, Alberta | $100,000 |
| 2008 | SK Amber Holland, Kim Schneider, Tammy Schneider, Heather Seeley | ON Krista McCarville, Tara George, Kari MacLean-Kraft, Lorraine Lang | St. John's, Newfoundland | $100,000 |
| 2009 | MB Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin | AB Shannon Kleibrink, Amy Nixon, Bronwen Webster, Chelsey Bell | Grande Prairie, Alberta | $100,000 |
| 2010 | AB Cheryl Bernard, Susan O'Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire, Cori Bartel | AB Crystal Webster, Lori Olson-Johns, Samantha Preston, Stephanie Malekoff | Dawson Creek, British Columbia | $100,000 |
| 2011 | MB Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin | ON Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew, Alison Kreviazuk, Lisa Weagle | Grande Prairie, Alberta | $100,000 |
| 2012 | SK Stefanie Lawton, Sherry Anderson, Sherri Singler, Marliese Kasner | MB Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jenna Loder, Ashley Howard, Breanne Meakin | Summerside, Prince Edward Island | $100,000 |
| 2013 | SCO Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton | SWE Maria Prytz, Christina Bertrup, Maria Wennerström, Margaretha Sigfridsson (skip) | Toronto, Ontario | $100,000 |
| 2014 | MB Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen | ON Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew, Alison Kreviazuk, Lisa Weagle | Summerside, Prince Edward Island | $100,000 |
| 2015 | SCO Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams, Sarah Reid | RUS Anna Sidorova, Margarita Fomina, Alexandra Saitova, Ekaterina Galkina | Toronto, Ontario | $100,000 |
| 2016 | SCO Eve Muirhead, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Vicki Adams, Sarah Reid | MB Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen | Toronto, Ontario | $100,000 |
| 2017 | MB Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen | AB Val Sweeting, Lori Olson-Johns, Dana Ferguson, Rachelle Brown | Toronto, Ontario | $150,000 |
| 2018 | USA Jamie Sinclair, Alex Carlson, Vicky Persinger, Monica Walker | MB Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen | Toronto, Ontario | $150,000 |
| 2019 | MB Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Meilleur | SWE Anna Hasselborg, Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer, Sofia Mabergs | Toronto, Ontario | $150,000 |
| 2020 | Cancelled | |||
| 2021 | MB Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Meilleur | ON Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew, Sarah Wilkes, Joanne Courtney | Calgary, Alberta | $175,000 |
| 2022 | SWE Anna Hasselborg, Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer, Sofia Mabergs | MB Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Meilleur | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 |
| 2023 | SWE Isabella Wranå, Almida de Val, Maria Larsson, Linda Stenlund | SUI Alina Pätz, Silvana Tirinzoni (skip), Carole Howald, Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 |
| 2024 | SUI Alina Pätz, Silvana Tirinzoni (skip), Selina Witschonke, Carole Howald | SWE Isabella Wranå, Almida de Val, Maria Larsson, Linda Stenlund | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 |
| 2025 | SUI Alina Pätz, Silvana Tirinzoni (skip), Carole Howald, Selina Witschonke | ON Rachel Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew, Sarah Wilkes | Toronto, Ontario | $175,000 |
| 2026 (Jan.) | SUI Alina Pätz, Silvana Tirinzoni (skip), Carole Howald, Selina Witschonke | MB Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Karlee Burgess | Steinbach, Manitoba | $175,000 |
References
References
- "Gushue, Homan headline field for Players' Championship".
- "8 Ends: Players' Championship set for special 25th anniversary".
- (March 30, 1995). "WCT title 'spiel at crossroads". Regina Leader-Post.
- (December 9, 1995). "World Curling Tour on verge of big break". Edmonton Journal.
- "About the Players' Championship - Grand Slam of Curling".
- (March 13, 2020). "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling.
- "Qualification for the Players' Championship - Grand Slam of Curling".
- "Format and Qualification".
- "Format for the Players' Championship - Grand Slam of Curling".
- (February 21, 1993). "Savage en route again to championship battle". Calgary Herald.
- (February 22, 1993). "Icy Jackpot". Calgary Herald.
- (March 26, 1994). "Rivalry Takes Road". Calgary Herald.
- (March 24, 1997). "Howard heading off to Olympic trials". Regina Leader-Post.
- (March 21, 1997). "Local Scene". Regina Leader-Post.
- (March 30, 1998). "Peters positive". Winnipeg Sun.
- (March 30, 1998). "Martin wins World Tour championship". Red Deer Advocate.
- (March 18, 1999). "B.C.'s trio has just one win after four draws". Vancouver Sun.
- (March 18, 2000). "Top guns shot down at world curling tourney". Edmonton Journal.
- (March 21, 2001). "In the hack...". Calgary Herald.
- (April 13, 2006). "Players' Championship title toughest to get your hands on". Calgary Herald.
- (December 3, 2020). "GSOC looking to hold 2 events in proposed Calgary curling bubble".
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