Tirinzoni outlasts Einarson in Grand Slam final

A magical run at the Grand Slam of Curling’s Players’ Championship came up one shot short for Team Kerri Einarson.

The Gimli-based Team Einarson needed to win a do-or-die game just to make the playoffs at the final Grand Slam of the year, hosted at the Southeast Event Centre. The hometown favourites then squeaked out extra-ends victories in the quarter and semi-finals, much to the delight of the home-town crowd.

It was Team Einarson’s first time playing at a Grand Slam in Manitoba, as the last time a women’s event was in the province was over a decade ago.

After falling behind 3-0 early against Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni thanks to some missed runbacks in the second end leading to a steal, Einarson fought back, creating absolute chaos in the rings in the final end while down two. While it appeared she had a shot for three and to win the game, a raised double attempt slid out of scoring range, leading to a score of just one, and Tirinzoni’s third straight Players’ Championship victory.

“It was a battle,” Einarson told the Winnipeg Free Press after the game.

“We got down a little early, had an unfortunate second end missing a couple runbacks just by a hair. But we battled back, we made them make some tough shots, and it was a tough last one. I guess it wasn’t even there.”

Team Einarson was the only Manitoba-based team on the women’s side of the draw.

“We just got behind the eight-ball early,” second Shannon Birchard said.

“We had an awesome week, and we just have to be proud of ourselves and just take that into the Scotties in a couple of weeks.”

With Homan wearing the maple leaf at next month’s Olympics, Einarson will be Team Canada at the upcoming Scotties in Mississauga (Jan. 23-Feb. 1).

“We were obviously very disappointed after the trials, but we put it behind us fairly easily I would say,” said Birchard.

“I think we just have to keep focusing on the positives. Everybody is throwing it great, and Kerri is calling a great game and reading the ice really well, so I think we just have to keep that up and we’ll have a really good chance in a couple weeks.”

Both Tirinzoni and Einarson entered Sunday with six career GSOC titles to their names.

Tirinzoni — who has made it to the final at every slam this season — has now won the Players’ Championship three years in a row.

“I didn’t think that was even possible,” said Tirinzoni.

“The Players’ has the top 12 teams in the world, and you could see it this week, like everyone was beating everyone a little bit, so it’s a very tough field. To win it three times in a row is unreal.”

Tirinzoni, fourth Alina Pätz, second Carole Howald, lead Selina Witschonke take home a cheque for $60,000. Einarson and Co. settled for $35,000.

“Team Einarson was scoring great all week, so we knew that even if we’re up three, she’s not going to let go,” Tirinzoni said.

“She scored deuces twice and that’s keeping the game close. At the end, I’ve never had an end like that where I didn’t know what to do, really.”

Tirinzoni will be an obvious medal favourite at the Milano Cortina Olympics, and even hinted this may have been the final slam of her career. The 46-year-old is one of the most decorated curlers in the world but is still searching for her first medal on the world’s biggest stage.

“All this doesn’t really matter when we are (at the Olympics). We cannot take any wins with us,” said Tirinzoni.

“But it’s still good, we know the team is well prepared and we know we have every shot in our pocket if we need it. We’re gonna go there with a lot of confidence.”

The last time the province hosted a GSOC event featuring both men’s and women’s action was the 2014 Masters in Selkirk.

“I haven’t played in Manitoba since the old Portage bonspiel, or provincials way back when. That was like (six) years ago,” said Birchard.

“I hope that the crowd here and the vibes here make the slams want to host it again here in Steinbach, or anyone else here in Manitoba. We know we’ve got great fans, and we love giving them an opportunity to see us live. And if we can do that in future years, we would love it.”

Local players weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the festivities in Steinbach.

“It was probably one of the best (slams), for sure,” said Tirinzoni.

In a television interview after the final, Tirinzoni praised the crowd for their knowledge of the game, and thanked them for their applause for her good shots even if they weren’t rooting for her to win against the home province favourite.