Canada’s 2010 Olympic hopeful captures his eighth career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event title; Great Britain’s Eve Muirhead wins women’s Three Nations Cup
MISSISSAUGA, ONT., October 25, 2009 – Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) captured his eighth career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event title this afternoon after defeating Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) 6-4 in the finals of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont. A tournament featuring five of Canada’s top 2010 Olympic hopefuls and nine international 2010 Olympic qualifiers, the Grey Power World Cup of Curling concluded with a five-day total attendance of 41,701.
Team Howard’s victory over Koe marked the fourth straight year that the squad has captured this event. Previously known as the Masters of Curling, Howard defeated Koe in the finals of this event for third consecutive season.
Overall, Howard has won five of the past seven Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events.
Howard’s eighth career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling title moves him into a tie with Wayne Middaugh (Etobicoke, Ont.) for second place on the all-time list. Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.) holds the record for most Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event titles with 13.
In the tournament’s championship game, Koe jumped on his opponent early, grabbing a steal of two in the first end after Howard’s draw attempt to the button came up heavy.
“I kind of put the guys behind the eight ball (with that one),” said Howard. “Best line ever, (third Richard Hart) says, ‘don’t worry about it skipper we’re never going to give up’. And that’s true. We just kind of hung on and hung on, and got a couple of key misses out them.”
With Howard trailing 3-1 after three frames, the 2007 World Championship gold medallist evened the game heading into the fourth end break after making an open draw for two points.
After Koe scored a point in the sixth with a triple takeout, Howard grabbed his first lead of the game in the seventh with another open hit for two points and a 5-4 advantage.
In the eighth end, Howard secured the victory with a steal of one point after Koe was forced to attempt a difficult angle runback on the game’s final shot.
With the loss, Koe fell to 0-6 in career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event finals.
“It’s disappointing,” said Koe. “We played good early that game and we really had a chance in the middle to get up a few on them. Unfortunately, we missed that chance and in the second half of the game they picked up their game. We made some misses and they really jumped all over them.”
As tournament champions with a perfect 9-0 record, Howard’s team won $24,000 (CDN) and earned 40.000 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points. By finishing second with a 6-3 mark, Koe’s squad took home $14,000 (CDN) along with 27.000 CTRS points.
The final of the women’s Three Nations Cup was also contested today as Great Britain’s Eve Muirhead (Perth, Scotland) defeated Stefanie Lawton (Saskatoon, Sask.) 9-3 to capture the inaugural trophy.
Tied at 2-2 after four ends, the turning point in the game came in the fifth frame. With Muirhead already sitting one, Lawton attempted to score a double but accidentally chipped out her own rock, allowing Muirhead to grab a steal of two points.
“All I had to do was tap it back,” said Lawton, referring to her miscue in the fifth. “I obviously threw it a little heavy and it ran there a little bit. It was a little bit straighter spot on the ice. We knew that, but we just didn’t take the time to talk about it.”
The Scotland-based team put the game away in the seventh, scoring five points.
Muirhead concluded the Three Nations Cup with a 3-1 record, earning $2,000 (CDN) while Lawton finished with a record of 2-2, earning $1,500 (CDN).
In the tournament’s consolation final, Shannon Kleibrink (Calgary, Alta.) earned her first victory, defeating reigning World Championship gold medallist Bingyu Wang (Harbin, China) 6-3. Kleibrink finished the tournament with a 1-3 mark while Wang’s loss evened her record at 2-2.
The Grey Power World Cup of Curling was also the site of the first on-site playoff for the annual Capital One Million Dollar Button contest. Clay Graves, 64, of Toronto, Ont. emerged from a pool of six randomly selected contestants today when his rock landed 5’3” inches from the button.
The on-site playoff aired live on CBC Television during the fourth end break of the men’s final.
“One shot, one time, no sweeper, no broom – that’s a big challenge,” said Graves following his attempt. “I’ve been watching the games here so I knew there was a lot of swing in the ice and I knew it was fairly fast.”
As the contestant with the closest attempt to the button, Graves advances to the semi-finals of the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest in Winnipeg, Man. where he’ll compete against five other qualifiers for the chance to advance to the finals for an opportunity to attempt to cover the button for $1 million (CDN), live on CBC Television.
The finals of the Capital One Million Dollar Button will take place during the championship game of the BDO Classic Canadian Open, the third leg of the men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
Related posts:
- Martin, Howard & Koe Remain Unbeaten at Grey Power World Cup of Curling
- Martin and Howard Through to the Quarterfinals of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling
- Olympic Trial Teams Perfect to Open Grey Power World Cup of Curling
- Howard and Koe to Faceoff in Final
- World’s Best Curlers to Rock Windsor for Grey Power World Cup of Curling
Tags: capital one grand slam of curling, eve muirhead, glenn howard, Grey Power World Cup, Grey Power World Cup of Curling, kevin koe, three nations cup