Power Rankings - W8

#BetweenTheSheets: Power Rankings

ATB Okotoks, Mother Club and Gord Carroll rock the mountain

Alberta once again hosted two big tour events this past weekend alongside the staple Mother Club in Winnipeg and the men's edition of the Gord Carroll in Whitby (the women's edition was held the previous week remember).

For some reason I always truly define the start of the curling season when the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic hits the ice. Not sure why? Maybe I just like the name of the event?

Either way, the curling season is well under way.

Plus the blog includes mixed doubles results and will continue to do so moving forward.

What did we learn this weekend?

🥌 Add another chapter to the Brendan Bottcher vs. Kevin Koe rivaly?

🥌 Fresh face #NextGen USA teams making waves?

🥌 And an all-international final in Leduc with a #TeamUpset finalist?

Here is what you may have missed last weekend.

#TheRunback

Men

🥌 ATB Okotoks Classic - Team Bottcher (AB) def. Team Koe (AB). The squads are different but the skipper rivalry remains the same. Bottcher takes the early season advantage on rival Koe, going 6-0 to claim the title. Koe entered the final undefeated as well with both teams qualifying via A-side.

🥌 Mother Club Fall Curling Classic - Team Wiebe (MB) def. Team McDonald (MB). Wiebe went a perfect 6-0 in winning the championship, including being the only undefeated team in the RR with a 4-0 record.

🥌 Gord Carroll Curling Classic - Team Violette (USA) def. Team Mooibroek (ONT). USA FTW in a battle of undefeated teams heading into the final. Both went 3-0 in the RR to earn the SF bye.

Women

🥌 Curling Stadium Alberta Curling Series Major - Team Kitazawa (JPN) def. Team Keiser (SUI). A final battle between the two B-qualifiers as both upset the A-qualifiers (Team Gim, Team Scheidegger) in the SF after knocking off C-qualifiers (Team Skrlik, Team Ha) in the QF.

🥌 Mother Club Fall Curling Classic - Team Lawes (MB) def. Team Anderson (USA). Lawes goes 6-1 on the weekend to win the title, after a 3-1 RR and needing the long route to the championship with QF and SF wins. A solid season debut for Anderson in their first event as a new team.

Mixed Doubles

🥌 Curling Stadium SaskTour Series Mixed Doubles - Team Martin/Laycock (SK) def. Team Springer/Springer (SK). Nancy Martin / Steve Laycock go 5-0 en route to claiming the title, including being the only undefeated team after the RR (3-0).

Should the blog also include a weekly mixed doubles #PowerRankings? Share your thoughts and let the blog know if you would be interested in this addition.

Lets head to the mountain with a reminder the number in parenthesis below refers to last weeks rankings.

#PowerRankings

Women

1. Team Tirinzoni (1) - The #1 ranking stays in the Swiss Alps. The world champs return to the ice this weekend at the Women's Masters Basel.

2. Team Hasselborg (2) - The #SwedishVikings won the Euro Qualifier series this past weekend over Team Wrana. They will represent the home nation at the 2022 European Curling Championships and try to regain the title they last won in 2019.

3. Team Gim (3) - Chalk up another SF appearance, their third in a row. Consistent? Yes! But small (very small) growing concern about hitting a SF roadblock right now?

4. Team Lawes (8) - The new team has really hit their stride already. 2 events. 2 finals. 1 title. 12-2 record overall. They head to the PointsBet Canada Invitational on a 5-game winning streak. Chalk them up as the favs, even as the #2 seed, when making your bracket?!

5. Team Yoshimura (4) - The team finally took a weekend off after reaching 4 straight championship finals to start their season. There certainly are a lot of strong women's teams coming out of Japan right now with Yoshimura leading the way this season...thus far anyway.

6. Team Scheidegger (9) - 2 events into the season for the new team and 2 SF results. If you are looking for a dangerous #BracketBuster in Fredericton this weekend, this could be your team as the #6 seed. They open with the fan-friendly game vs. Team Galusha.

7. Team Jones (6) - They may be the #5 seed at the PointsBet Canada Invitational this weekend but, based on season results thus far, they may also be considered the favourite to reach the final from the top half of the bracket.

8. Team Homan (7) - Only one event under the slider thus far but it was a championship final appearance. A strong #3 seed this weekend in Fredericton. A possible blockbuster SF against Team Lawes awaits? Assuming they survive Team Birt and Team Scheidegger / Team Galusha of course.

9. Team Kitazawa (NR) - The team from Nagano is making their ascension up the mountain folks. The championship win in Leduc was their first title of the season. They have played 4 tournaments this season, adding last weekend's title to their previous 2 SF results and a QF finish. They will be in Canada competing at tour events over the next 4 consecutive weeks so keep your eyes on them to possibly continue their climb here. 

10. Team Grandy (5) - You can't win 'em all and this was perhaps just one of those weekends every team experiences. A W/L/W/L/W/L C-side elimination can happen. The result is not catastrophic enough to knock them out of the Top 10...but there are teams coming for their spot. Unfortunate they will not be in Fredericton. It would have been interesting to see how they would do given their nice start to the season.

Hon. Mention: Team Fujisawa, Team Einarson, Team E. Kim, Team Keiser

Men

1. Team Schwaller (1) - #HoppSchwiiz indeed as the small European country remains atop the women's and men's Power Rankings mountain. Schwaller is having a great start to the season. Bring on the #GSOC schedule next.

2. Team Retornaz (2) - #ForzaAzzurri is the famous footy chant from Italian fans meaning "Come on, the blues!" Hopefully Italian sports fans are also watching their curling because they have a legit world champion contender in their house. Lets hope this team can be competing at a few #GSOC events this season.

3. Team Bottcher (NR) - Hard to not make the new look Team Bottcher the fastest climbing team on the mountain this week after an undefeated opening weekend, including taking down provincial rival Koe in the final. They also posted big playoff wins over Team Sturmay (QF) and Team Dunstone (SF). They have all the momentum heading to Fredericton as the #2 seed.

4. Team Koe (NR) - Similar to their provincial rivals above, a solid start to the season for the new look Team Koe in reaching the final after qualifying A-side. The only difference between the #3 spot is the result in the final last weekend. Did that result also set up as a preview for the final in Fredericton? Team Koe is the #4 seed in the top half of the draw. Of course there is a small roadblock named Gushue lurking as a possible SF opponent.

5. Team Walstad (3) - #KomIgjen translates to "Let's Go / Come On" in Norwegian. Norwegian curling fans have had lots to cheer for over the years and, thus far, this season is no exception. Again, another international team who would be fun to see compete on #GSOC ice this season to see how they stack up.

6. Team Edin (4) - Similar to above, the #SwedishVikings did not play this past weekend but we should see them on the ice again at the start of October at the slam. They may continue to drop down the rankings due to inactivity but nothing to be concerned about.

7. Team Carruthers (10) - Following up a championship appearance with a QF showing this past weekend is a solid start to the season for the Alberta swing of their schedule. They will arrive in Fredericton as a dangerous #5 seed, in the top half of the bracket with Gushue/Koe. Their opening match vs. MB contender Team Calvert will be fun to watch.

8. Team Whyte (5) - The mountain never gives way too much for teams who did not compete so the Scottish boys take a small tumble but regain footing to stay in the Top 10. It will be fun to see them on the #GSOC ice. They could be a #TeamUpset grand slam title contender this season.

9. Team Flasch (NR) - The Lightning Bolt returns to the Top 10 after a SF appearance in Okotoks. Losing a SF to a guy named Kevin Koe is never a bad loss either. After back-to-back SF showings, they head to Fredericton as the #7 seed. If anyone is familiar with #MarchMadness, you are aware how dangerous a #7 seed can be...especially to that #2 seed (Warning Bottcher!). They open vs. #10 seed Team Sturmay, a team they just defeated last weekend in an A-qualifier.

10. Team Wiebe (HM) - Welcome Wiebe! The newest #NextGen team to crack the Top 10 following their championship performance at the Mother Club last weekend. And coming off a SF result the weekend prior in Leduc. The Mother Club result may have solidified them as the biggest challenger to Manitoba pre-season fav Team Carruthers this season, going 6-0 against provincial competition. A leading #TeamUpset flag bearer for the season as well?

Hon. Mention: Team Dunstone, Team Gushue, Team Yanagisawa, Team Violette

What say you curling fans? Share your thoughts on the Top 10 or even a Top 5 on social media or in the comments below.

Do you think a team should be ranked higher? Lower? Is there an unranked team the blog should be keeping an eye out for?

Keep those comments coming as we slide into the season. We want to see increased fan engagement and interaction this season.

#StayTuned

All eyes will be on Fredericton, New Brunswick this weekend with the PointsBet Canada Invitational as #MarchMadness hits the curling ice. Perhaps we call this #SeptemberSweeps? Or maybe #FanaticFall?

Remember, PointsBet Canada opened a Bracket Challenge fantasy event for the event. Full details and how to register to play can be found HERE.

#TwineTime has already created an entry and will be participating in a special #Sweep16Bracket media challenge. The winner of the media challenge fantasy event will have an honourary $1,000 donation made in their name to For the Love of Curling on behalf of PointsBet Canada.

Note, a PERFECT BRACKET can net you a prize of $1,000,000.00!!!! 👀👀👀👀

Be careful of those #BracketBusters rockheads!

You can share your completed bracket on social media using #Sweep16Bracket.