Canada's Rachel Homan achieved a record-breaking 20th Grand Slam of Curling championship by defeating Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni 7–4 in the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe final on Sunday.
This marked the third straight Grand Slam women’s final between the two highest-ranked teams in the world, with Homan’s side prevailing each time.
The Ottawa-based team of skip Rachel Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, and lead Sarah Wilkes went unbeaten with a 7–0 record throughout the event, earning $42,000 from the prize pool.
“Yeah, it's an unbelievable feeling, especially winning a game that was a battle out there for both teams,” Homan said. “It's just really fun to play such an amazing team, and being able to pull out the win is an awesome feeling.”
The final marked the only loss of the week for Team Tirinzoni — skip Silvana Tirinzoni, fourth Alina Pätz, second Carole Howald, and lead Selina Witschonke — who still took home $34,000. Tirinzoni maintained an 18–3 record in Grand Slam competition this season, with all her defeats coming against Homan in finals.
The Swiss squad began the match with the hammer, hoping to avoid a repeat of last month’s CO-OP Tour Challenge, where an early miss led to a crucial four-point steal for Homan.
Author’s summary: Rachel Homan cemented her dominance in curling with a flawless run and a record 20th Grand Slam title, continuing her winning streak against Team Tirinzoni.