WCT/CCT Recap: Sweden's Edin, Hasselborg keep it rolling

Sweden's Niklas Edin and Anna Hasselborg continued their solid starts to the 2016-17 season by winning the Swiss Cup Basel and Stockholm Ladies Cup respectively on the Curling Champions Tour.

TSN.ca Staff

Niklas Edin , The Canadian Press

Men's Tour

Swiss Cup Basel from Basel, Switzerland (CCT Event)

Sept 29-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $54,000

Sweden’s Niklas Edin continued his hot start to the season by winning the Swiss Basel Cup in Switzerland on the Curling Champions Tour. Skip Edin, third Oskar Eriksson, second Rasmus Wrana and lead Christoffer Sundgren defeated Scotland's David Murdoch in the championship game, 5-4.

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Team Edin also topped St. John’s Mark Nichols, who was still without regular skip Brad Gushue, in the quarter-finals, 4-3. Pat Simmons played vice for Team Nichols this week in Switzerland. Edin beat Kyle Smith of Scotland in the semis, 5-4. They lost just twice all week.

The Swedish crew won the Stu Sell Oakville Tankard earlier this season and have widened their lead atop the WCT money list with the victory in Basel.

Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic from Vernon, BC

Sept 30-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $17,000

Tyler Tardi and his young squad from Langley, BC won their first event as a group in Vernon this weekend. They went 3-2 in the round robin and then beat hometown curler Jim Cotter in the semis, 6-4. Cotter was playing without regular skip John Morris. Tardi went on to beat Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi in the championship game, 5-4.

The small field featured just a dozen teams.

Avonair Cash Spiel from Edmonton, AB

Sept 30-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $12,000

Team Glen Hansen of Edmonton lost their fist game to Charley Thomas and then reeled off six straight to the win the Avonair Cash Spiel, capping it all off with a 4-2 win over Thomas in the final.

KKP Classic from Winnipeg, MB

Sept 30-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $10,000

Chang-Min Kim and his Korean foursome bettered Winnipeg’s Dennis Bohn in the final, 4-2.

Two-time Canadian junior champion Matt Dunstone made it to the semis where he fell to Kim, 6-1.

Women’s Tour

Stockholm Ladies Cup from Stockholm, Sweden (CCT Event)

Sept 30-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $41,408

Team Anna Hasselborg is having a great start to their 2016-17 season. The young Swedish foursome of skip Hasselborg, third Sara McManus, second Agnes Knochenhauer and lead Sofia Mabergs won the Stockholm Ladies Cup in their home country for their second win of the season.

They downed Switzerland’s Silvia Tirinzoni in the semis, 6-3, and Hannah Fleming in the final, 6-2.

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Hasselborg also defeated Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes in the quarters, 5-4. Lawes, a usual vice, was skipping this week as Jennifer Jones is still away taking care of her newborn baby. Former member of Team Rachel Homan, Alison Kreviazuk, filled in at second.

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Team Hasselborg, who are playing just their second year together, won an event earlier this year in Oakville.

Other notable rinks in the 20-team field included two-time world champion Binia Feltscher (failed to make playoffs), Scotland’s Eve Muirhead (failed to make playoffs), Switzerland’s Alina Paetz (failed to make playoffs) and Anna Sidorova of Russia (lost in quarters).

Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic from Vernon, BC

Sept 30-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $41,500

BC’s Marla Mallett was the surprise winner this weekend in Vernon, beating Calgary’s Cheryl Bernard in the final, 7-1.

Skip Mallett alongside, third Shannon Aleksic, second Brette Richards and lead Blaine DeJager lost just once over the four-day event. They beat Edmonton’s Val Sweeting in the quarters, 7-5, and last year’s BC champion Karla Thompson in the semis, 5-2, before getting past Bernard, who also made a great run, in the championship contest.

Mallett is playing with an entirely new rink this season, namely third Aleksic who spent the last couple years with Kelly Scott in BC.

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The 28-team field was a great one with names such as Scotties champ Chelsea Carey (1-4, failed to make playoffs), Manitoba champ Kerri Einarson (2-3, failed to make playoffs), Satsuki Fujisawa of Japan (3-2, failed to make playoffs), Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton (2-3, failed to make playoffs) and two-time word junior champion Kelsey Rocque (lost in semis to Bernard).

Avonair Cash Spiel from Edmonton, AB

Sept 30-Oct 2, 2016

Purse: $9,700

Nadine Chyz defeated Jodi Marthaller in the final, 7-3. The 20-rink field featured teams mostly from Alberta.