The inaugural season of the World Curling Federation’s World Cup series finished in Beijing (CHN) in a familiar way, with victories for Canada’s men and women.
The Canadians fielded outstanding teams in this all-star match-up, and two-time men’s World Champion Kevin Koe had his rink in excellent form all week. They emerged from Group B with the same number of points as Ross Paterson’s Scotland team, but won that match-up, 7-6, to advance to the final against a surprise Group A winner in China, skipped by Qiang Zou.
They had outlasted Sweden’s world champs skipped by Niklas Edin, and PyeongChang Olympic champ John Shuster’s rink from the U.S. In the final, the game was played tightly, but Koe scored single points in ends 2-3-5-6 and another in the eighth for a 5-3 win.
The women’s tournament had Canada’s Jennifer Jones – the 2018 World Champion – outlasting Japan and Satsuki Fujisawa to advance to the final, while Silvana Tirinzoni’s reigning World Champions from Switzerland made it out of Group B. The final showcased the high skill on both sides, with multiple points scored in five different ends. Ultimately, Jones was able to coax points out of six of the eight ends for a 9-6 win, despite two three-point ends for the Swiss.
In the Mixed Doubles, Norway’s Olympic bronze medalists Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten were able to get past Canada’s Laura Walker and Kirk Muyeres, 8-3, thanks to three big-scoring ends, including three points in the second end and two each in ends 5 and 7.
Summaries:
World Curling World Cup Grand Final
Beijing (CHN) ~ 8-12 May 2019
(Full results here)
Men/ Final: Canada (Koe) d. China (Zou), 5-3. Group A standings: 1. China (Qiang Zou), 12 points; 2. Sweden (Niklas Edin), 9; 3. United States (John Shuster), 8; 4. Canada (Matt Dunstone), 7. Group B standings: Canada (Kevin Koe), 12; 2. Scotland (Ross Paterson), 12; 3. Switzerland (Yannick Schwaller), 9; 4. Norway (Thomas Ulsrud), 3.
Women/ Final: Canada (Jones) d. Switzerland (Tirinzoni), 9-6. Group A standings: 1. Canada (Jennifer Jones), 10; 2. Japan (Satsuki Fujisawa), 10; 3. China (Yulin Jiang), 9; 4. United States (Nina Roth), 7. Group B standings: 1. Switzerland (Silvana Tirinzoni), 13; 2. Russia (Anna Sidorova), 12; 3. Sweden (Anna Hasselborg), 6; 4. Korea (Minji Kim), 5.
Mixed Doubles/ Final: Skaslien/Nedregotten (NOR) d. Walker/Muyeres (CAN), 8-3. Group A standings: 1. Canada (Laura Walker/Kirk Muyeres), 14; 2. United States (Sarah Anderson/Korey Dropkin), 12; 3. Switzerland (Michele Jaeggi/Sven Michel), 7; 4. China (Cao Chang/Yuan Mingjie), 3. Group B standings: 1. Norway (Kristin Skaslien/Magnus Nedregotten), 1; 2. Canada (Kadriana Sahaidak/Colton Lott), 11; 3. Switzerland (Jenny Perret/Martin Rios), 7; 4. Russia (Maria Komarova/Daniil Goriachev), 2.
