1 week Ago By Jonathan Brazeau
TORONTO — Matt Dunstone is on the board in the AMJ Players’ Championship. Dunstone and his Canadian club downed Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz 7-2 in only five ends during Draw 6 action Wednesday to pick up their first win of the tournament. Team Dunstone played well on opening night Tuesday with all four members shooting in the 90s, but just couldn’t get the win, falling 4-3 to Team Brad Gushue.
Dunstone and his crew remained sharp and shot 86 per cent as a unit against Retornaz, who dropped to 0-2. “Obviously, dropped one yesterday, so to start 0-2 in this event, you’re climbing a steep hill given you only qualify six (for playoffs),” Dunstone said. “We knew this one was one we had to have.
I thought we played really well last night and just a couple things off here or there and those sorts of things cleaned themselves up here today.” Dunstone, who shot a game-high 93 per cent, opened with the hammer and converted for a deuce in the first end. The game went off the rails for Retornaz in the fourth.
Trailing 3-1, Retornaz gave up a critical steal of four points and looked to shake hands but had to play one more end before he could concede. Retornaz hit to score a single in the fifth before the gloves came off for good. Watch early draws from the final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season on Sportsnet+ this week.
Daily draw play begins Tuesday morning. Pool B at the event is almost a Brier redux as all the Canadian teams in the event just so happened to be grouped with Dunstone, Gushue, Team Brad Jacobs, Team John Epping and Team Mike McEwen. Retornaz is the only non-Canadian in Pool B.
It's obviously a coincidence as the pools are determined via world rankings, but an odd one no less. "It’s funny how the rankings always find a way to sort themselves in goofy ways," Dunstone said. "I mean, we’re getting our Canadian fix between the Brier, this and the (Olympic) Trials creeping up in November.
The more we can play those teams, the better. It’s fun to be in the all-Canadian pool again." It’s been a season of highs and heartbreak for the Winnipeg-based squad.
Dunstone won three events on tour to reach the No. 2 ranking in the world. The team represented Manitoba at the Montana’s Brier but lost to Jacobs in last month’s final.
Dunstone also shuffled his roster mid-season, parting ways with third B.J. Neufeld and adding second E.
J. Harnden, brother of lead Ryan Harnden. Colton Lott moved switched second to third to accommodate the shuffle.
“I think we’ve had a really good year,” Dunstone said. “Obviously, a lot has gone on with our team. I think we’ve really taken a step forward, back to what we did two years ago.
The version of this team feels like we’re back to where we need to be. "We’re still missing that Slam title and that’s one that this team wants. That would be a lovely way to end what’s been a really good year.
” This year marks the 10th time the Mattamy Athletic Centre has hosted the AMJ Players’ Championship since 2013. The event is on the move next season, taking place Jan. 6-11, 2026, at the Southeast Event Centre in Steinbach, Man.
Dunstone said it’s been far too long since Manitoba has hosted a Grand Slam of Curling event, with the most recent one being the 2018 Elite 10 in Winnipeg and the 2014 Masters in Selkirk before that. "There have been very few far and between," Dunstone said. "Outside of a provincial championship, we haven’t been able to play in Manitoba, where our team is based out of.
I’m excited to go and play my first Slam in Manitoba, and we’re going to have a lot of people cheering us on." The world's best curling teams clash in the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season at the AMJ Players' Championship in Toronto. Watch live coverage Thursday to Sunday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Elsewhere in Draw 6, Switzerland's Team Marco Hösli took two points for the win in the eighth end to edge Scotland's Team Ross Whyte 6-5. Both teams are at 1-1. Philipp Hösli, Marco's brother, throws fourth stones for the club and pulled off an amazing slash double with the last shot of the game.
"It’s a great feeling always if you win at a Grand Slam, especially if you make a shot like this," Marco said. "It’s always emotional and it feels great." In women's play, South Korea's Team Eun-jung Kim (2-0) earned a 5-2 win over Canada's Team Kerri Einarson (1-1) and Switzerland's Team Silvana Tirinzoni (2-0) picked up a 6-3 victory over South Korea's Team Eun-ji Gim (0-2).
"I feel great," said Tirinzoni, whose team took home silver medals last month at the World Women's Curling Championship. "It’s nice conditions, we like it, and we feel comfortable. I didn’t really know how we were going to play after worlds.
Two weeks of a break, we didn’t practise a whole lot, but it felt like we were really comfortable from the first end on." NOTES The AMJ Players’ Championship is the fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, featuring the top 12 men’s teams and top 12 women’s teams from around the world. .
.. Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening.
Six teams qualify for the playoffs in both divisions, with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. ..
. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw is slated for Saturday morning. .
.. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday.
Both finals are on tap Sunday..
