January 12, 2026
Einarson falls in Players’ Championship final on home ice
TAYLOR ALLEN
STEINBACH — Kerri Einarson has waited a long time for a chance to win a Grand Slam of Curling event in her home province.
Unfortunately for the Gimli-based skip, raising a trophy with loads of family and friends in the stands wasn’t meant to be on Sunday as she came up short in a 6-5 loss to Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni in the Players’ Championship final inside Steinbach’s Southeast Event Centre.
“It was a battle,” Einarson told the Free Press. “We got down a little early, had an unfortunate second end missing a couple runbacks just by a hair. But we battled back, we made them make some tough shots, and it was a tough last one. I guess it wasn’t even there.”
After blanking the seventh to retain hammer, Einarson needed to score a pair in the eighth to extend the game into extras. There was a logjam in the house with nine rocks and Tirinzoni was sitting one when Einarson fired a Hail Mary down the ice that ultimately didn’t pay off.
Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, and lead Karlee Burgess dug themselves a hole by going down 3-0 after two and then 5-2 after the fourth end.
“We just got behind the eight-ball early,” said Birchard. “We had an awesome week, and we just have to be proud of ourselves and just take that into the Scotties in a couple of weeks.”
Team Einarson started the slam 1-2 before clawing back. They downed Tirinzoni late Friday — which snapped an 11-game losing skid against the four-time world champion — to qualify for playoffs before beating Sweden’s Isabella Wranå 5-4 in the quarterfinals. Einarson then got another monkey off her back by outlasting Rachel Homan 7-6 in extra ends in Saturday night’s semifinal. Einarson had lost her seven previous meetings against Homan and was 2-12 against the Ottawa Skip since the 2023 Points-Bet Invitational.
With Homan wearing the maple leaf at next month’s Olympics, Einarson will be Team Canada at the upcoming Scotties in Mississauga (Jan. 23-Feb. 1).
“We were obviously very disappointed after the trials, but we put it behind us fairly easily I would say,” said Birchard. “I think we just have to keep focusing on the positives. Everybody is throwing it great, and Kerri is calling a great game and reading the ice really well, so I think we just have to keep that up and we’ll have a really good chance in a couple weeks.”
Both Tirinzoni and Einarson entered Sunday with six career GSOC titles to their names.
Tirinzoni — who has made it to the final at every slam this season — has now won the Players’ Championship three years in a row.
“I didn’t think that was even possible,” said Tirinzoni.
“The Players’ has the top 12 teams in the world, and you could see it this week, like everyone was beating everyone a little bit, so it’s a very tough field. To win it three times in a row is unreal.”
Tirinzoni, fourth Alina Pätz, second Carole Howald, lead Selina Witschonke take home a cheque for $60,000. Einarson and Co. settled for $35,000.
“Team Einarson was scoring great all week, so we knew that even if we’re up three, she’s not going to let go,” Tirinzoni said. “She scored deuces twice and that’s keeping the game close. At the end, I’ve never had an end like that where I didn’t know what to do, really.”
Tirinzoni will be an obvious medal favourite at the Milano Cortina Olympics. The 46-year-old is one of the most decorated curlers in the world but is still searching for her first medal on the world’s biggest stage.
“All this doesn’t really matter when we are (at the Olympics). We cannot take any wins with us,” said Tirinzoni.
“But it’s still good, we know the team is well prepared and we know we have every shot in our pocket if we need it. We’re gonna go there with a lot of confidence.”
The last time the province hosted a GSOC event featuring both men’s and women’s action was the 2014 Masters in Selkirk.
CURLING ● FROM C1
“I haven’t played in Manitoba since the old Portage bonspiel, or provincials way back when. That was like (six) years ago,” said Birchard.
“I hope that the crowd here and the vibes here make the slams want to host it again here in Steinbach, or anyone else here in Manitoba. We know we’ve got great fans, and we love giving them an opportunity to see us live. And if we can do that in future years, we would love it.”
Local players weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the festivities in Steinbach.
“It was probably one of the best (slams), for sure,” said Tirinzoni.
Whyte wins men’s final
Scotland’s curling scene has more to offer than just world No. 1 Bruce Mouat.
The Players’ Championship men’s final early Sunday was a Scottish showdown between Ross Whyte and Kyle Waddell.
Waddell hadn’t lost all week, but it was Whyte — who went 3-2 in the round robin before catching fire in the playoffs — who came away with a 6-3
victory.
“This is special,” said Whyte, 27, who arrived in Manitoba as the No. 5-ranked team in the world. Waddell is just outside the Top 10 at No. 11.
“Really, you want to win every Grand Slam you play in, but to win the Players’ Championship is quite the feeling… I’ll tell you what, the crowds came out and when we can get crowds like that, it just makes our weeks so much more enjoyable.”
The meeting marked the 10th consecutive GSOC final that featured at least one Scottish team.
The win was Whyte’s second career GSOC title. It was Waddell’s first finals appearance on tour.
“That just shows our strength and depth,” said Whyte. “I think people were maybe expecting an all-Scotland final at some point. I think they were expecting Team Mouat in it, but Team Waddell came out this week and being undefeated going into the final, that’s pretty impressive with who they’ve played. But obviously, to put in that sort of performance is very impressive from all the country.”
Whyte’s performance in Steinbach will only increase his odds of British Curling selecting him to represent Scotland at the 2026 World Men’s Curling Championship (March 27-April 4) in Utah. With Mouat going to the Olympics on behalf of Scotland, he is not eligible to be chosen.
Winnipeggers Matt Dunstone (3-2) and Mike McEwen (0-5) both missed the playoffs.
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Team Tirinzoni celebrates winning their third consecutive Players’ Championship in Steinbach Sunday. Tirinzoni is set to represent Switzerland at the upcoming Olympic Games.
CASSIDY DANKOCHIK / THE CARILLON
