Two hometown skips delivered upset wins as the Grand Slam of Curling season opened Tuesday at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, according to Sportsnet.ca.
Taylor Reese-Hansen, 28, defeated Switzerland's Alina Paetz, an Olympic silver medallist, 8-4 in the second draw of the Co-op Invitational. Later, in the night draw, Kayla MacMillan beat 20-time Grand Slam champion Rachel Homan 6-5 in a shootout — MacMillan's first victory as a fourth-stone thrower on the GSOC tour, per Sportsnet.ca.
Why it matters
Both wins came from Victoria curlers playing at home, and both were firsts on the Grand Slam circuit. Reese-Hansen's result was her first-ever GSOC victory, while MacMillan's marked her first as a skip at this level.
MacMillan's win carried additional weight given the opponent. Homan has won 20 Grand Slam titles, and the loss handed the event one of its early headlines — DAZN framed the day around a "shock defeat," though that report focused on Scotland's Bruce Mouat rather than Homan.
How MacMillan held off Homan
Sportsnet.ca reports that MacMillan and her rink were the stronger side through the first four ends, helped considerably by the play of Val Sweeting, who joined the team this season. Sweeting began the year throwing third stones and holding the broom for MacMillan's skip stones, but the team recently decided she would also call the game. According to Sportsnet.ca, Sweeting's composure and read of the moment appeared to help MacMillan settle in.
MacMillan also made a series of strong shots that kept pressure on Homan, building a 4-2 lead at the fourth-end break.
The game shifted after the fifth end. MacMillan missed a chance to score at least two and settled for one, moving ahead 5-2. Sportsnet.ca notes that sequence kept Homan's hopes alive, and that nerves — from playing in her hometown against Homan — began to affect MacMillan.
In the eighth end, MacMillan missed a routine double on her final rock, allowing Homan to steal one and tie the game. That sent the match to a shootout, where MacMillan had little time to dwell on the miss. After Homan nearly placed her draw on the button, MacMillan out-drew her for the win.
Reese-Hansen controls Paetz from the start
In the second draw, Reese-Hansen beat Paetz 8-4. Sportsnet.ca reports the Canadians controlled play throughout and were left with open draws for two and three, pulling away for the result.
Paetz, of Switzerland, is an Olympic silver medallist. The loss was one of several involving prominent European skips on a day when results across all four draws defied expectations.
Mouat's new lineup shows promise in defeat
Scotland's Bruce Mouat, the reigning Olympic champion, opened with a 6-4 loss to Switzerland's Team Marco Hoesli in the second draw. The Times Colonist reported that an Olympic curling champion opened the Victoria event with a win, though the result referenced in that headline does not match Mouat's outcome as described by Sportsnet.ca.
Sportsnet.ca reports that Robin Brydone, new to Mouat's rink, looked comfortable in his fifth game with the team this year. Brydone came from Team Whyte, now Team Hardie, and his aggressive approach fits how Mouat's side prefers to play. Both teams favor attacking rather than waiting for the game to come to them, and both are known for accurate hitting — from soft-weight hits to heavy takeouts — while also being able to place a come-around draw at the top of the house.
Against Hoesli, Brydone made a perfect double in the third end and rolled behind a guard, which helped force Hoesli to take one. In the fifth end, he threw a soft-weight hit-and-roll to sit buried. Sportsnet.ca describes him as the most consistent player in the match, setting up opportunities Mouat's team could not convert.
Bottcher's new Alberta rink wins debut
Brendan Bottcher's newly assembled Alberta team won its Grand Slam debut 6-4 over Sweden's Team Oskar Eriksson in the opening draw.
After two seasons playing with Brad Gushue before his retirement, Bottcher returned to skipping. He brought Gushue teammate Geoff Walker along to play lead, and added Tanner and Jake Horgan from John Epping's team at second and third.
Sportsnet.ca reports the group looked like a team already deep into its season, with established chemistry. For the first seven ends, apart from one mistake in the fifth that led to an Eriksson steal, Bottcher's rink controlled play and held Eriksson to no more than a single point in any end. In the eighth, with Eriksson applying pressure, Bottcher made a clutch draw to the four-foot against two to close out the win.
Day 1 results
Draw 1: Hasselborg 7, Zardini Lacedelli 3; Fujisawa 8, Dupont 5; Casper 10, Yamaguchi 6; Bottcher 6, Eriksson 4.
Draw 2: Reese-Hansen 8, Paetz 4; Einarson 7, Nihira 3; Hoesli 6, Mouat 4; Y. Schwaller 7, Epping 6.
Draw 3: Kang 5, X. Schwaller 3; Hardie 9, Koe 4; Maeda 6, Dunstone 3; Gim 5, Miura 3.
Draw 4: Ueno 6, Wrana 1; MacMillan 6, Homan 5 (SO); Ramsfjell 8, Waddell 6; Jacobs 6, Carson 3.
Broadcast notes
The Globe and Mail reported that a new-look Grand Slam of Curling broadcast team is in place for the season opener. Coverage continues Wednesday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ beginning with Draw 6 at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT. Sportsnet will air three draws per day through Friday. Sportsnet+ and CBC carry the Saturday quarterfinals, CBC airs the semifinals Saturday evening, and championship Sunday is on Sportsnet.
What to watch
With two Victoria skips already through to upset wins and a rebuilt Mouat rink still finding its footing, Wednesday's draws will show whether the opening-day results hold up as a pattern or a one-day anomaly.
