Baden Masters Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: The Battle In Baden

An international field kicks off the season at the Baden Masters

Are you done with Summer Fun?

Over the warm sun? Gardening? Hikes in the mountains? Trips to the beach?

If so, curling is ready to welcome you back to the Ice House.

From the links to the rinks, the 2024/25 curling season is upon us.

And first up is the Baden Masters in Baden, Switzerland where some of the top international men's teams will battle it out for Baden supremacy.

Who can get their season off on the right slide? And who will slip up in the return to the ice?

Bring on the season opening #TwineTimePreview!

The Baden Masters started in 2000 and this year will be the 24th edition of the event.

Yes, the Baden Masters event even survived the COVID-19 pandemic, running a tournament in 2020 and 2021.

The annual event is known to be the start of the curling season, operating in mid-August.

Over the years the tournament has grown and is now considered a staple on the World Curling Tour.

The tournament purse has also grown over the years. If we look back to 2007, when Canada's Brad Gushue took home the title, the prize purse was 25,000 Swiss franc (CHF).

Last year's tournament, won by Italy's Team Retornaz, offered a purse of 35,000 CHF. From a Canadian dollar perspective, this is roughly the equivalent of $55,483.

There is money to be won in the Swiss Hot Springs folks.

As a little geography lesson, Baden is located in northern Switzerland. The town's name, Baden, comes from the German word for "baths". A perfect name for a town famed for its mineral hot springs dating back to the Roman era.

From a curling event lens, the Baden Masters is classified as a 500 tour event.

Confused on what a "500 tour event" means? The quick answer is two-fold:

1. The event must offer a minimal purse of 35,000 CHF
2. The point allocation is 500 points (Champion), 350 (Finalist), 250 (SF) and 180 (QF).

For an complete overview of the World Curling Tour event classifications, from Champions series events to 100 series, visit HERE. 

The system, which came into effect June 2020, looks very similar to the proposed #TwineTime system from August 2018. Oddly enough, here we are exactly 6 years later and seeing the system in place. 😉

The Baden Masters has a history of drawing international competitors every season.

The past 4 years alone have produced different winners from different countries (Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Italy).

Canada's Brad Gushue is a 3-time champion here as well, last winning the title in 2013.

Scotland and Netherlands have never landed on top of the podium (yet?!) but Scotland's Team Bryce was a finalist last year and Team Gosgens from #TeamOranje was a finalist in 2020 and 2022.

Fun Fact: In 2021, Sweden's Team Hasselborg and Switzerland's Team Schori became the first female teams to enter the tournament. Hasselborg just missed the playoffs with a 2-2 RR record while Schori finished 1-3.

Even though this event starts the season, it has the field look of a world championship preview.

But enough chitter-chatter, you came here for the 2024 Baden Masters preview. Lets get down to business.

#TwineTimePreview

Baden Masters

Baden, SUI

Format: 20 team RR with 4 pools of 5. Top 8 qualify.

2023 Champion: Team Retornaz (ITA)

#Fav

The Champs Are Here!

When you open the season as the #1 ranked team in the world and aiming to #DefendTheIce, tough not to be listed as the #Fav.

Italy's Team Retornaz made #HIStory last season with their results, from winning slam titles to tour titles to the ascension to the #1 ranking.

But there was also some unfinished business. They slipped up in the playoffs at the European Curling Championships. They won a bronze medal at the World Men's Curling Championships but, given their season up to that point, it wasn't as of a celebratory moment as past podium finishes.

The question now is, how does the team handle the pressure of being a #Fav?

And, with the home Olympics on the horizon, this is an important season for Team Retornaz to continue showing they are a legit gold medal threat in Torino.

Rewind to last year's Baden Masters and perhaps this championship win kick started the success of the season.

The team went a perfect 7-0 to capture the title. And they didn't just win the event, they DOMINATED.

When you outscore your 4 RR games by a 34-8 margin and then sweep the playoff bracket outscoring the opposition 20-3 in 3 games, you OWNED the field.

This year might be a bit more of a challenge though.

Retornaz highlights Pool A, joined by Scotland's Team Craik (SF last year, losing to Retornaz), Switzerland's Team Brunner (QF last year), Germany's Team Muskatewitz and Philippines Team Pfister.

They will be challenged right out the hack, which can be a blessing and a curse, depending on the results.

#TeamUpset

Do not let the nationality representation fool you into believing this is a "bingo square" team in the field.

While the Philippines may still be a developing competitive curling nation, the Pfister brothers are not to be taken lightly.

Skip Marc and his brother Enrico have leaned on the Philippines heritage to fly the flag of the archipelago nation as their mother was born in Philippines while the boys were born in Switzerland.

The Pfister's have represented Switzerland at 3 world championships and won a bronze medal at the 2014 European championships.

Last September, Curling Pilipinas announced Marc as the skip of the national men's team, with Enrico joining him. The team, joined by Christian Haller and Alan Frei, made their Philippines debut at the 2023 Pan Continental Curling Championships. Competing in the men's B-Division, they reached the championship final before falling to China and just missing out on A-Division promotion.

Pfister should not be taken lightly even if curling fans are not used to the flag next to his name.

The down side? He has also been drawn into Pool A.

#W2W4

Besides Pool A being the #PoolOfDeath? We could talk more about how difficult the pool is but it is quite obvious given the #Fav and #TeamUpset section above.

Scotland's James Craik is on the rise, a SF result a year ago. Switzerland's Michael Brunner should never be underestimated, proven by the QF result last year. And Germany's Team Muskatewitz was the #TeamUpset of the season last year in reaching the playoffs at the world championships and taking home a Golden Granite Award.

But what about the rest of the field?

The world champions are here. Sweden's King Niklas and his Swedish Vikings will look to start their season off on a winning slide, headlining Pool B.

Last year's finalist, Scotland's Team Bryce, could give the Swedes some RR trouble as could Switzerland's Team Hoesli. And German's Team Totzek will enter the season with revenge on their minds after being usurped by rivals Muskatewitz/Kapp last season.

Canada will also be represented this year as Team Chandler rounds out Pool B.

Pool C will have Scottish bragging rights on the line early as Euro champs Team Mouat and last year's QF Team Waddell find themselves drawn together.

Eyes may fall on the Young Bucks from USA too. Team Dropkin had a let down season last year, compared to previous year results, and will look to right the ship heading into a year with major Olympic storylines. Can they rebound and mount a challenge to current US champs Team Shuster? A strong result in Baden would help get the ball rolling.

Czech King Lukas Klima is always a dangerous under the radar threat, especially on European tour ice.

And Swiss fans will be cheering for Team Schnider to make a playoff push.

Pool D will be led by the new Scottish #1 ranked team, Team Whyte. Whyte won the Scottish championship last season and headlines were made when Scottish Curling made history of their own by deciding not to send their national champions to the world championship, opting instead for main rival Mouat.

To say Team Whyte might have a chip on their shoulder looking to prove the decision wrong would be an understatement. And the race for the Olympic spot in Scotland is heating up with Whyte and Mouat looking to be in a dead heat entering the season while Craik, Bryce and Waddell are breathing down their necks.

Swiss fav Team Schwaller joins Whyte in Pool D. These two teams are very familiar with one another of course, even meeting in the QF here last year (won by Whyte).

Yannick Schwaller is a two-time champion here (2019, 2021). Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel won the title in 2016. And Sven Michel is a two-time champion as well (2011, 2012). Michel actually remains the last team to win back-to-back Baden Masters titles, a feat Retornaz will try to equal this season.

Remember #TeamOranje and their recent Baden successes mentioned earlier? Team Gosgens is also in this pool and have proved to be very dangerous early in the season.

#NextGen representation will be showcased here as well with Norway's Team Hostmaelingen and Switzerland's Team Stocker.

Get the feeling of a mini worlds or mini Euros now based on the field?

There are no "easy" games this weekend.

And one advantage to talking about this event, headlined by mostly European teams? We aren't talking about new teams and lineup switches.

These teams remain in tact and ready to battle it out once again together.

#TwineTimePredictions

Qualifiers: Team Retornaz, Team Edin, Team Mouat, Team Whyte, Team Muskatewitz, Team Bryce, Team Waddell, Team Schwaller

Baden Masters Championship: Team Schwaller def. Team Retornaz

Stay up to date on all the results via the event website HERE.

#StayTuned

Some of you may be asking yourself, "TwineTime, you started the season with an event preview. Where are the season preview blog posts?"

Good catch!

The Season Preview is coming...

👀👀

Until then, get caught up on all the past #TwineTime podcasts on your fav podcast app or HERE.

Plus, did you miss any event interviews from last season? Perhaps from the European Curling Championships? You can watch past interviews on the #TwineTime YouTube channel HERE.

To those competing this weekend in Baden, good luck and good curling.

Remember, the blog is ALWAYS watching...