#BetweenTheSheets: Who Survived The #IceBubbleWatch?
Did any team play themselves into, or out of, a GSOC invite?
The time has arrived. The red envelope has been ripped open, the announcement is ready to be made. For curling teams this is one of the announcements they look forward to the most throughout the season.
The Men of Curling calendar announcement!!
Ok just kidding, that is not what we are talking about here. But the announcement was made. Check out who will melt your rocks next year HERE and compare the final lineup to the #TwineTime proposed lineup HERE.
The announcement we are actually talking about this week is which teams played their way in (or out) of the first "major" of the season: The Masters.
And the winners are....
If you want to make money as a professional curler (and even then how much are you really making given the costs) you need to play in the Grand Slam of Curling events. Playing #wct events and winning is nice but sometimes the winner's cheque barely covers the costs from the weekend.
The tour season is really built around the #gsoc schedule. Every team wants in. But only a few select ever get the invite. Teams earn an invite based on their Order of Merit (OOM) points, which determine the rankings.
The opening slam of the season, The Masters, is one of the 4 "majors" in the sport (others being The National, Canadian Open, Players' Championship). The majors are the elite of the elite. Top billing from TV and media. Outside of the Canadian championships (Scotties/Brier) these events will attract the most attention.
But only 14 teams receive an invite. The Top 14 in the world. The teams invited to The Masters are the Top 14 based on the OOM as of today (Sept. 17).
15 teams make up the field but the final spot is reserved for a sponsor's exemption. For some #gsoc events a sponsor's exemption invite will be used but it is not required nor used every time. In the case where the sponsor's exemption is not utilized, the #15 ranked team receives the final spot.
Now the blog has been critical of the ranking system for a few seasons now, hence the proposed new Tour-Tier system used to establish the blog #PowerRankings. When the slam invites go out, it is fun to compare the two rankings. Which teams on the right side of the ice bubble on one list but not on the other?
It is worth mentioning invites have been sent out based on the Sept. 17 ranking so we are going under the assumption the Top 15 accept their invite. There are occasions where a team declines their invite but not a common scenario, especially for the opening slam of the season. For ease of argument we will also assume no sponsor's exemption will be handed out for The Masters.
Lets compare the Top 15 OOM to the #PowerRankings for who will be competing in North Bay Oct. 22 - 27.
MEN
#TwineTime #GSOC
Bottcher Koe
Koe Epping
Mouat Bottcher
Edin Edin
Epping Mouat
De Cruz Jacobs
Paterson De Cruz
Gushue Paterson
Jacobs Gushue
Dunstone Dunstone
Howard Schwaller
Matsumura Howard
Muirhead McDonald
McEwen Shuster
McDonald McEwen
There are two differences between the official invite and the #TwineTime ranking. Team Schwaller and Team Shuster received invites due to their #11 and #14 OOM ranking. On the #TwineTime system the teams are currently ranked #17 and #27.
The blog has invite offers going out instead to Team Matsumura and Team Muirhead. Matsumura sits #12 on the Power Rankings but #16 on the OOM, just finishing on the wrong side the #IceBubble. Matsumura missed the cut by less than 15 points. Both Matsumura and McEwen picked up 8.672 OOM ranking points this week in Cornwall. Had Matsumura reached the playoffs they would have qualified. Lucky for McEwen as well picking up those wins vs. Team van Dorp and Team Allen in Cornwall, especially after losing their opening game to Matsumura.
Team Muirhead sits #13 on the Power Rankings but #21 according to OOM. It would appear the biggest difference is the Muirhead vs. Shuster outliers. We have yet to see Muirhead on tour this season though so that hurt their chances on the invite while Shuster we saw at the Stu Sells Oakville, where they picked up 2 wins but failed to qualify for the playoffs.
It is worth noting the Top 5 and Top 10 are the exact same teams, just in a slightly different order overall. Does this mean the current system works best? Could this also mean the #TwineTime proposed Tour-Tier system can work? I will leave that argument up to you rock heads. We already know where I stand.
WOMEN
#TwineTime #GSOC
Homan Homan
Hasselborg Hasselborg
Einarson Einarson
Tirinzoni Tirinzoni
J. Jones J. Jones
Kovaleva Carey
Carey Fleury
Fujisawa Fujisawa
Muirhead Scheidegger
Sidorova Silvernagle
Silvernagle Muirhead
Scheidegger Yoshimura
Fleury Stern
Yoshimura Sidorova
Stern Cannon
Top 5 the EXACT same folks. Same 5 teams. Same order. The Tour-Tier system can work!
Overall the invites are basically the exact same actually. There is only one difference. The Power Rankings would extend an invite to Team Kovaleva while the OOM extend the final invite to Team Cannon.
No disrespect to Team Cannon at all. On the Power Rankings they sit #20 and have had a solid season thus far. For Team Kovaleva, they sit #22 on the OOM rankings. Bit of a discrepancy here. Kovaleva has played two tour events and reached the QF both times. Here is where the Tour-Tier system actually can make sense.
Over the past 12 months Kovaleva has won 3 #wct events, qualified in 6 other events, won a Russian championship and finished Top 4 at the European and Women's World Curling Championship. This is not a Top 15 team? Look at those stats!
The #TwineTime system would reward Kovaleva for those results over the past 52 weeks. As well, the Tour-Tier system does allocate them winning a #Tour1000, #Tour500 and #Tour250 event. They are playing a diverse schedule and are producing winning results.
I respect Team Cannon. I like what I am seeing out of them this season. And I do believe they can be a #gsoc team. But I also stand by the Power Rankings and do believe Team Kovaleva is a Top 15 team in the world and very deserving on playing on #gsoc ice on a more regular basis.
Heck Team Sidorova is ranked ahead of them and Kovaleva are the Russian champs! They have defeated Sidorova for the national championship PLUS the world championship playoff...more than once. Again, not against Sidorova. The Power Rankings have them qualifying too. But more to the point Kovaleva is deserving of equal respect.
What say you rock heads? Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts on the invite list. Did you Top 15 make the cut? Who do you think should be there who isn't?
We know who survived the Ice Bubble but how did they do it? Lets take a boomerang slide back in time and look at the results from this past weekend.
#GunnerRunback
#INturn
- The rivalry we all wanted to see happened when Team Epping battled Team Jacobs in the championship final of the #ShortyJenkinsClassic. In the end Epping was able to #DefendTheIce knocking off their rivals, and former teammates for new Epping vice Ryan Fry, in a rematch of last year's final. Jacobs got the better of Epping in the RR but Epping returned the favour in the final, handing Jacobs their only loss of the event. Lets hope this rivalry continues to build throughout the season.
- One event this season, one championship title. Jennifer Jones and company went a perfect 7-0 in their season kick-off to win the Shorty Jenkins Classic, knocking off Team Fleury in the final. There was a bit of irony on the ice as Jill Officer was subbing on Team Fleury, playing with her niece Kristin MacCuish, and reaching the final against her long-time friend and teammates Jones.
- Speaking of season-opening success, Team Einarson and Team Carey both went 5-0 in the RR and navigated the playoff bracket to reach the final against one another. Kerri Einarson vs. Chelsea Carey. An old Manitoba rivalry refueled in the championship final of the #BoosterJuiceShootOut. Einarson would get the better of her former provincial rival, winning the title and completing the perfect 7-0 weekend.
- At the #KingCashSpiel in Maple Ridge, B.C., the new-look Sean Geall team surprised a few people when they knocked off perennial B.C. powerhouse Jim Cotter in the championship final. On the women's side, Kristen Ryan returned to the ice after taking last season off and started off with a W when her new team defeated Sarah Daniels in the final.
- Who are the #TeamUpset flag bearers of the week? Well the blog warned you in the preview about Team Calvert in Cornwall and they did not disappoint. Placed in the #GroupOfDeath, Calvert went 4-1 in the RR with victories over Team Koe, Team Ulsrud and Team Howard. They knocked off Team Paterson in the QF before having their magical run end vs. Team Jacobs in the SF. Special mention to #TeamOranje van Dorp as well, who went 3-2 on the weekend and just missed the playoffs losing in a TB to Team Mouat (who they beat in the RR). We saw a few #TeamUpset contenders in the women's draw with Korea's Team Gim reaching the SF and #PolarPower Team Galusha reaching the QF. And special shout out to Team Peterson reaching the QF in Edmonton, surviving two tie-breaker games just to get there.
- There was curling action south of the border this weekend as well at the #USOpen of Curling - Contender Round. The final saw Scott Dunnam's rink from Pennsylvania take home the title after knocking off Ontario's Jordan Chandler. Dunnam went a perfect 7-0 on the weekend while Chandler lost his opening 2 games before reeling off 4 straight, including 2 in the playoffs, to reach the final.
- And we always end the #INturn with a special mention for those additional teams not already mentioned above who reach the #PlayoffBracket over the weekend. The teams in Cornwall include: Team De Cruz, Team Homan (SF) and Team Koe, Team Schwaller, Team Gushue, Team Tirinzoni, Team Yoshimura, Team Muirhead (QF). In Edmonton: Team Fujisawa, Team Kovaleva (SF) and Team Silvernagle, Team Rocque, Team Scheidegger (QF). In Maple Ridge: Team Richard, Team Craig, Team Thompson, Team Hudyma (SF) and Team Tardi, Team Dangerfield (QF). In Blaine, MN: Team Birr, Team Yamaguchi (SF) and Team Brundidge, Team Sobering (QF).
#OUTturn
- In a RR format with a stacked field of 24 top teams, it was a bit surprising to see only one team go 0-5 this weekend. But what added to the surprise was the team who sat at the bottom of the overall standings: Team McDonald. Who saw that coming? The defending Ontario champs struggled this weekend. To their credit they were drawn in a tough pool with Epping/Jacobs/Schwaller (all of whom reached the playoffs) but it is still surprising to see them as the only 0-5 team. They lost to both Quebec teams (Team Fournier, Team Roy) and overall were outscored on average 6-3. They struggled to score multiple points, only doing so in their 6-8 loss to Schwaller.
- This was the first weekend we really saw some Swedish Struggles. Team Hasselborg goes 2-2 and misses the playoffs. Defending champ Team Wrana also does 2-2, missing the playoffs as well. It was a bit surprising when the results were coming in at the Shorty Jenkins to see both Swedish teams fail to reach the playoffs. While it is a testament to how strong the field was, it is still a bit of miss. We are just not used to seeing Hasselborg miss the playoffs. But the Scottish teams proved too strong as Hasselborg lost to both Muirhead and Sophie Jackson to bookend her RR with 2 losses.
- What is going on with Kaitlyn Jones and company? Jones, now skipping 3/4 of the former #gsoc winning Team Flaxey, goes 0-4 in Cornwall. The new team has played two events, failed to qualify in both and sports a disappointing 3-9 record on the season. Perhaps this is still the feeling out phase of this new line-up but they need to turn things around quick. There is too much talent on this team to have the record they have.
With so many top teams competing this weekend, did the Power Rankings mountain survive or did the mountain turn into a volcano of activity? You might be a bit surprised....
#PowerRankings
MEN
- Team Bottcher - 7673 (LW: 1)
- Team Koe - 6810 (2)
- Team Mouat - 5572 (3)
- Team Edin - 5372 (4)
- Team Epping - 5333.5 (5)
Hon. Mention: Team De Cruz, Team Paterson, Team Gushue, Team Jacobs, Team Dunstone
On paper it would appear the mountain remained stable after a weekend of rock chucking between most of the Top 10; however, there are mild changes and important changes when you take a closer look.
The big one will be Team Epping. People may be asking how they could not move up the mountain after winning a #Tour1000 event. Simple. They were able to #DefendTheIce, thus retaining their 1000 points won last season. But what that means is they also do not gain extra points. It was not a case of Epping failing to move up the mountain but rather Epping able to defend his spot on the mountain.
Now look at Team Jacobs. Jacobs reached the final and settled for runner-up, same result as last year. Jacobs defends the 600 points earned last year and retains them this year. However, unlike Epping, Jacobs actually moved up the mountain to #9 from #10 due to Team Howard, last week's #9 team, failing to defend his SF points from last year.
As for Team Howard, failing to reach the playoffs cost them as they take the slip off the top portion of the mountain, falling outside the Top 10 for the first time this season. Their fall was Team Dunstone's gain. Dunstone may have failed to reach the playoff bracket as well but they did pick up 3 wins, compared to Howard's 2, and crack the Top 10.
Special shout-out to Team De Cruz who turned in a SF showing this weekend to take one step up the mountain themselves, moving to #6 and passing Team Paterson. De Cruz is only 400 points outside the Top 5.
WOMEN
- Team Homan - 8000 (1)
- Team Hasselborg - 7390 (2)
- Team Einarson - 6940 (3)
- Team Tirinzoni - 6185 (4)
- Team J. Jones - 4168 (HM)
Hon. Mention: Team Kovaleva, Team Carey, Team Fujisawa, Team Muirhead, Team Sidorova
We have movement among the Top 10 this week. In fact we have a change among the Top 5 for the first time of the season. Welcome Team Jennifer Jones back into the Top 5 after their championship win in Cornwall. Jones bumps Kovaleva, who did score a SF finish in Edmonton, from #5. They are only separated by 123 points though!
The remaining Top 4 stay the same. But we should not be too surprised. They collectively have a large gap between them and spots 5-10. Team Homan reaching the QF in their season opener and Einarson winning the #Tour500 event in Edmonton in their season opener helps solidify their spots among the Top 4. Hasselborg faltered a bit in missing the playoffs in Cornwall, allowing Homan to increase her lead for the #1 spot. And Team Tirinzoni continues to qualify, adding a QF appearance this weekend to the previous finalist and SF finishes already this season.
The rest of the Top 10 stays the same as well, minus a swapping of positions #9 and #10. With Team Muirhead reaching the QF at the Shorty Jenkins and Team Sidorova taking the weekend off, the Scots pass the Russians on the mountain. But they are still 400 points behind #8 Team Fujisawa.
As for Fujisawa, they reached the SF in Edmonton to hold their position at #8. But Team Carey, finalists in Edmonton, put some distance between them at #7 while moving less than 300 points from Kovaleva at #6. Carey is on the move folks.
#StayTuned
We have another packed weekend of #wct action coming up rock heads. There are a handful of dual#Tour250 events in Winnipeg, Kitchener-Waterloo and Calgary. There is also the US Open of Curling, a #Tour500 event, in Blaine, MN.
The men will have one additional event on the ice this weekend with a #Tour250 event in St. Johns, NL.
The blog will be back at the end of the week to preview these events and toss out a few predictions as well.
Enjoy another September week.
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