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Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about the 2025 Men's Worlds: Lineups, curlers and skinny for each rink
It's been a few years since Canada recorded a world championship victory in men's curling circles. That came back in 2017 Edmonton, when Brad Gushue and his 'Rock' band drummed up a second straight title for the country. Since then, it's been platinum success by Sweden's Niklas Edin in winning five of the last six events — with Scotland's Bruce Mouat interrupting that tune for one score in 2023 Ottawa. So who's going to be in sound form for the 2025 BKT World Men's Curling Championship, when it begins Friday in Moose Jaw, Sask.? 'We're obviously looking at Bruce Mouat,' said Canada vice-skip Marc Kennedy, turning up the volume on World Curling's top-ranked team, based on points collected during the 2024-25 season. 'And we know Niklas Edin hasn't had a great season, but we know what he's like at the world championship, so he's going to be right in there.' Indeed, Edin is currently ranked 13th on the planet — a far cry from his usual noisy self. But the seven-time world victor and 2022 Olympic king can't be ignored on this stage. Then again, neither can many in a 13-team field — with rinks having qualified from either the 2024 Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships or the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships — popping with contenders for the crown. 'There doesn't seem to be a lot of easy games,' said Kennedy, a key voice himself on the World Curling No. 3 Brad Jacobs crew from Calgary. 'We've had some challenges with (No. 4) Yannick Schwaller from Switzerland this year. (No. 8) Marc Muskatewitz from Germany winning the Euros, I think, puts them in the mix there, as well. And then, of course, the Italians — they're going to be real tough to beat. 'So those are probably the the main ones we have on our radar. But there's also a couple of Asian teams that are going to really put up a good fight. We've played a few of them this year, and they're very tough to beat. 'So looking at that schedule, I think we're preparing for no easy games. We're going to do everything we can to try to get in the top two so we can get that by to the semi. But this is really going to be a one-game-at-a-time approach, going in healthy and rested and just try to get as many wins as we possibly can. 'But the depth here is definitely more is deeper than the Brier, and we're going to have to be ready.' Here's a look at the field for the worlds, set to begin Saturday — including Canada v. Japan's Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi — at Moose Jaw's Temple Gardens Centre (3 p.m. ET, TSN) … Homan's domination provides inspiration for Team Jacobs at upcoming world men's curling championship How curling in Canada evolved from recreational origins to become a competitive sports juggernaut • CANADA (The Glencoe Club, Calgary) — Brad Jacobs (skip), Marc Kennedy (third), Brett Gallant (second), Ben Hebert (lead), Tyler Tardi (alternate) How they qualified: Finished first at 2025 Montana's Brier, after Brad Gushue qualified Canada by finishing fourth at the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Lacombe, Alta. The skinny: Combined, Team Jacobs boasts seven world titles, five Olympic medals and a whopping 26 national crowns, including seven Olympic trials victories and a Canada Winter Games win • AUSTRIA (Kitzbühel Curling Club) — Mathias Genner (skip), Jonas Backofen (third), Martin Reichel (second), Florian Mavec (lead), Matthaeus Hofer (alternate) How they qualified: Finished seventh at the 2024 Euros The skinny: Team Genner began a run to these worlds at the 2023 European championships with a silver-medal finish in the B Division to earn a promotion to last year's A Division of the Euros, during which it scored a 3-6 worlds-qualifying record. Genner is 111th ranked in the world. • CHINA (Harbin CC) — Xu Xiaoming (skip), Fei Xueqing (third), Wang Zhiyu (second), Li Zhichao (lead), Yang Bohao (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Pan Continentals The skinny: Skip Xu, boss of the 25th-ranked rink, has been to worlds seven previous times, although this is his first visit since 2017 — then as a third under Lui Rui. And Xu has only ever made the playoffs once at worlds — that during his first trip in 2008, with skip Wang Fengchun. • CZECHIA (Zbraslav CC & CC Dion, Prague) — Lukas Klima (skip), Marek Cernovsky (third), Martin Jurik (second), Lukas Klipa (lead), Radek Bohac (alternate) How they qualified: Finished eighth at the 2024 Euros The skinny: It's a fourth consecutive worlds appearance for the 34th-ranked Team Klima with a similar lineup. Klima himself was also at worlds with skip Jiri Snitil in 2015 but has yet to make the playoffs with five wins marking his best effort at the event. • GERMANY (CC Füssen) — Marc Muskatewitz (skip), Benjamin Kapp (third), Felix Messenzehl (second), Johannes Scheuerl (lead), Mario Trevisiol (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Euros then won the 2025 German men's championship The skinny: Team Muskatewitz, the eighth-ranked rink on the planet, took down Team Mouat 9-7 in the gold-medal final of the Euros to help earn his the skip his sixth straight trip to worlds. Muskatewitz boasts the same lineup as year, when it gave Germany its first spot in the playoffs since legend Andy Kapp in 2009, finishing fifth. • ITALY (Trentino Curling Cembra, Cembra) — Joël Retornaz (skip), Amos Mosaner (third), Sebastiano Arman (second), Mattia Giovanella (lead), Giacomo Colli (alternate) How they qualified: Finished sixth at the 2024 Euros and then won the Italian men's championship The skinny: Retornaz, a four-time winner on the Grand Slam of Curling tour, is ranked 12th heading into his 11th worlds appearance, which is his eighth straight and ninth with long-time running-mate Mosaner. The 41-year-old Retornaz is a three-time Olympian trying to better his worlds' bronze medals in 2022 and '24. • JAPAN (SC Karuizawa Club) — Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (skip), Riku Yanagisawa (fourth), Takeru Yamamoto (second), Satoshi Koizumi (lead), Shingo Usui (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2025 Japan curling championships after Japan's Shinya Abe finished runner-up at the 2024 Pan Continentals The skinny: Despite seen previous visits to worlds, Yamaguchi is still looking for his first medal, as is Japan itself. The 40-year-old skip heads the 28th-ranked team at worlds — the same squad that competed but missed the playoffs with a 5-7 record in the event in 2023. It's been a while since Yamaguchi's two playoff berths — in 2016 and '13 under skip Yausuke Morozumi. • NORWAY (Trondheim CK) — Magnus Ramsfjell (skip), Martin Sesaker (fourth), Bendik Ramsfjell (second), Gaute Nepstad (lead), Wilhelm Naess (alternate) How they qualified: Won bronze at the 2024 Euros The skinny: Ramsfjell & Co. have been together through three previous worlds, highlighted by their 10-2 finish in the round robin in 2023. Unfortunately, they lost in the qualification round. This March, they come in as the 14th-ranked team after having played in three grand-slam events during the season, trying to improve on their disappointing 4-8 follow-up a year ago. • SCOTLAND (Gogar Park CC, Edinburgh) — Bruce Mouat (skip), Grant Hardie (third), Bobby Lammie (second), Hammy McMillan (lead), Kyle Waddell (alternate) How they qualified: Finished runner-up at the 2024 Euros The skinny: The No. 1 team in the world — by a wide margin on the points board — heads into the event as the favourite, thanks a sparkling season, including title takes at 3-of-4 GSOC events so far. Team Mouat is in its third campaign together, highlighted by the 2023 worlds crown but looking to rebound from semifinal and bronze-medal-game losses last year. • SOUTH KOREA (Uiseong CC) — Kim Hyo-jun (skip), Kim Eun-bin (third), Pyo Jeong-min (second), Kim Jin-hun (lead), Kim Chang-min (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Korean curling championships under skip Lae Jae-beom and then finished fifth at the 2024 Pan Continentals under Lae. The skinny: Kim Hyo-jun takes command of the 61st-ranked rink, looking to get Korea its first-ever medal at worlds. Korea lost the bronze-medal match in 2018, when this year's alternate, Kim Chang-min, was the skip. Last year, Korea was just 2-10 under skip Park Jong-duk. SWEDEN (Karlstads CK) — Niklas Edin (skip), Oskar Eriksson (third), Rasmus Wranaa (second), Christoffer Sundgren (lead), Simon Olofsson (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fifth at the 2024 Euros The skinny: Seven-time world-champ skip Edin is the defending champ, along with his high-profile rink, which remains intact for a ninth-straight year. It's a wowzer 14th visit to the worlds for 40-year-old Edin, but the team comes in just 13th ranked on the planet after sub-standard finishes on the grand-slam circuit. But don't every count out Edin & Co. SWITZERLAND (CC3C Genève) — Yannick Schwaller (skip), Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel (fourth), Sven Michel (second), Pablo Lachat-Couchepin (lead), Kim Schwaller (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fourth at the 2024 Euros and won the Swiss men's curling championship The skinny: The fourth-ranked team in the world is vying to give Switzerland its first gold medal since 1992, when Markus Eggler won worlds. Schwaller & Co. came close two years ago in 2023, earning the bronze. But they'll have to do better than last spring, when the same lineup missed the playoffs with a pedestrian 6-6 mark. The 29-year-old Schwaller, the 2014 world junior champ, skipped his crew to three playoff appearances in GSOC play this season. UNITED STATES (Duluth CC) — Korey Dropkin (skip), Tom Howell (third), Andrew Stopera (second), Mark Fenner (lead), Christopher Plys (alternate) How they qualified: Won bronze at the 2024 Pan Continentals The skinny: Dropkin, 29 and his 11th-ranked Minnesota rink downed Gushue at the Pan Continentals to medal in Lacombe and qualify for these worlds. Dropkin's only other visit to worlds not as an alternate came in 2022, when the skip, third Joe Polo, second Fenner and lead Howell made playoffs with a 7-5 record but bowed out to Gushue in the semi and lost to Retornaz in the bronze-medal match. tsaelhof@
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about the 2025 women's worlds: Lineups, curlers and the skinny for each rink
It's pretty much 'us against the world' if you're Team Homan at the 2025 LGT World Women's Curling Championships. Not because anybody is disrespecting the Canadian champion in Uijeongbu, South Korea. Not even close. In fact, it's quite the opposite for skip Rachel Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes. Everybody is targeting the team from Ottawa … for so many reasons. They are, of course, the defending world title-holders, having triumphed last winter at the event in Sydney, N.S. They are on a remarkable run of success, dating back to the beginning of last curling season with respective win-loss records of 67-7 in 2023-24 and 56-4 so far in 2024-25. And that has them filled with confidence and running hot as the definite favourite to capture the crown for a second-straight year. 'Well … it's our third year together, so I think we find just the more experience we get playing together, the stronger we get,' Fleury said. 'We're all really comfortable with one another now and comfortable in our roles. And I mean … last season was unbelievable, and I think heading into this season, we kind of tried to prepare ourselves like it's OK if this season's not quite as incredible as last season, because obviously that would be hard to replicate. 'But we came out strong again this year, and we're winning a lot of games but still trying to find ways to make small improvements and raise the bar even more.' 'We're just continually trying to find little bits and pieces that each of us can do individually to get better as an individual and what we can do as a team to move forward from game to game and event to event,' agreed Wilkes. 'I think that's a huge part of our success and what keeps us moving forward.' But even all that doesn't mean it's a cake-walk for Team Homan once the worlds begin early Saturday against Lithuania's Virginija Paulauskaite (1 a.m. ET, TSN) and continue later Saturday versus Scotland's Sophie Jackson (6 a.m. ET, TSN) at the Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Rink. The planet is teeming with title contenders. 'Little bit different' worlds in South Korea for Rachel Homan in bid to defend curling title How curling in Canada evolved from recreational origins to become a competitive sports juggernaut Homan wins second straight Scotties final, defends title with perfection Here's a look at the field for the LGT World Women's Curling Championships, with 13 teams having qualified from either the 2024 Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships or the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships set to go head-to-head in 12 round-robin contests apiece to qualify six teams for next weekend's playoffs … • CANADA (Ottawa Curling Club) — Rachel Homan (skip), Tracey Fleury (third), Emma Miskew (second), Sarah Wilkes (lead), Rachelle Brown (alternate) How they qualified: Finished first at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, after winning the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Lacombe, Alta. The skinny: Homan returns with the same lineup that won the worlds last year in Sydney, N.S., and with a wowzer record of 123-7 since the beginning of the 2023-24 curling campaign. • CHINA (Harbin CC) — Wang Rui (skip), Han Yu (third), Dong Ziqi (second), Jiang Jiayi (lead), Su Tingyu (alternate) How they qualified: Finished third at the 2024 pan continental championships The skinny: It's been awhile since Wang, a two-time Olympian, has been on the world stage. The last time was in 2019 Silkeborg (Denmark), capping a run of five appearances in six years. Her rink doesn't have a ton of experience at worlds, with just two previous trips — one by each of Han and Dong. • DENMARK (Hvidovre CC) — Madeleine Dupont (skip), Mathilde Halse (third), Denise Dupont (second), My Larsen (lead), Jasmin Holtermann (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fifth at the 2024 European championships The skinny: Skip Dupont, a three-time Olympian, is a veteran of 14 previous worlds, with two medals from early in the 37-year-old's career — a silver from 2007 Aomori (Japan) and a bronze from 2009 Gangneung (South Korea). It's a fifth straight world visit for the entire rink, which claimed gold at the Euros in 2022 Ostersund (Sweden). • ITALY (CC Dolomiti, Cortina D'Ampezzo) — Stefania Constantini (skip), Guilia Zardini Lacedelli (third), Elena Mathis (second), Angela Romei (lead), Marta Lo Deserto (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fourth at the 2024 European championships The skinny: Constantini, a 2022 Olympic gold medallist in Beijing, returns with the same lineup — albeit shuffled to feature Lacedelli at third — as last year's worlds, which was the 25-year-old's fourth straight as skip. They were the silver medallists at the Euros in 2023 Aberdeen (Scotland). • JAPAN (Sapporo CC) — Sayaka Yoshimura (skip), Kaho Onodera (third), Yuna Kotani (second), Anna Ohmiya (lead), Mina Kobayashi (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2025 Japan Curling Championships after Miyu Ueno finished second at the 2024 pan continental championships The skinny: For Yoshimura, it's a third visit to the worlds in 11 years and only her second trip as a skip. Kotani and Ohmiya were teammates with the 33-year-old for both previous appearances, and they have yet to track down a playoff spot together at worlds. • KOREA (Uijeongbu CC) — Gim Eun-ji (skip), Kim Min-ji (third), Kim Su-ji (second), Seol Ye-eun (lead), Seol Ye-ji (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Korean curling championships and then finished third at the 2024 pan continental championships The skinny: The solid Korean lineup returns in tact after scoring bronze medals at last year's worlds. The 35-year-old Gim and this exact team also copped victories at the 2023 pan continental championships and the 2023 KIOTI National, an event on the Grand Slam of Curling schedule. Gim, herself, is a vet of five previous worlds, while her rink-mates have made a combined four visits. • LITHUANIA (Skipas CC, Vilnius) — Virginija Paulauskaite (skip), Olga Dvojeglazova (third), Migle Kiudyte (second), Ruta Blaziene (lead), Justina Zalieckiene (alternate) How they qualified: Finished eighth at the 2024 European championships The skinny: It's the first-ever berth for Lithuania — male or female — at the worlds. And that rink — Canada's first foe of the worlds — is being guided by 53-year-old skip Paulauskaite. Lithuania copped the last spot from the 2024 Euros with just one win but with the tie-breaking edge over fellow 1-8 record-holders Estonia and Hungary. • NORWAY (Snaroen CC, Oslo) — Marianne Roervik (skip), Kristin Skaslien (fourth), Mille Haslev Nordbye (second), Eilin Kjaerland (lead), Ingeborg Forbregd (alternate) How they qualified: Finished seventh at the 2024 European championships The skinny: Roervik, 41, returns nearly the same squad for a fourth consecutive appearance at the worlds. The exception is new lead Kjaerland in for Martine Rønning. It's the eighth visit — sixth as skip — for Roervik, who was the gold medallist at the world juniors in 2004 Trois-Rivières. Norway finished with a 4-5 record at the 2024 Euros. • SCOTLAND (Holywood CC, Dumfries) — Sophie Jackson (skip), Rebecca Morrison (fourth), Jennifer Dodds (third), Sophie Sinclair (second), Fay Henderson (alternate) How they qualified: Finished third at the 2024 European championships The skinny: Jackson, who throws lead rocks, is another recent staple at worlds, having been in them the last three years and five total before this year's visit. But the 28-year-old has yet to skip a rink to the event's playoffs — a shock given the long proud history of curling in Scotland. Jackson and the same lineup she brought last year did, however, finish 6-3 at the 2024 Euros. • SWEDEN (Sundyberg CK) — Anna Hasselborg (skip), Sara McManus (third), Agnes Knochenhauer (second), Sofia Mabergs (lead), Johanna Heldin (alternate) How they qualified: Finished second at the 2024 European championships The skinny: Considered one of the serious contenders to Homan's crown, decorated Hasselborg — the Olympic champ at 2018 Pyeongchang — is still shooting for her first world title. An eight-time grand-slam victor, the 35-year-old has iced the same squad for a decade, having made the worlds each of the last eight years, including this shot in hopes of finally finding glory after finishing 7-3 at the 2024 Euros. • SWITZERLAND (CC Aarau) — Silvana Tirinzoni (skip), Alina Paetz (fourth), Carole Howald (second), Selina Witschonke (lead), Stefanie Berset (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 European championships The skinny: Homan stepped in last winter to halt Tirinzoni's spectacular hold on the worlds from 2019-23, making her fit to avenge the loss to Canada a year ago in Sydney. The four-time grand-slam champ is primed for more international success, too, after going a perfect 9-0 at the 2024 Euros. The 45-year-old Tirinzoni returns with the same team which lost last year's championship final — 7-5 — to Homan, except for swapping the positions of Howald and Witschonke. • TÜRKIYE (Milli Piyango CA, Erzurum) — Dilsat Yildiz (skip), Oznur Polat (third), Ifayet Safak Çalikusu (second), Berfin Sengul (lead), Iclal Karaman (alternate) How they qualified: Finished sixth at the 2024 European championships The skinny: Türkiye has surprisingly become a mainstay at the worlds, with 28-year-old skip Yildiz at the centre of that charge. She's brought a similar version of the current squad to worlds in the appearances dating back to her 2022 debut, but they have yet to make the playoffs. Yildez was 5-4 at the 2024 Euros. • UNITED STATES (St. Paul CC) — Tabitha Peterson (skip), Cory Thiesse (third), Tara Peterson (second), Taylor Anderson-Heide (lead), Vicky Persinger (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fifth at the 2024 pan continental championships, without skip Peterson The skinny: Peterson, 36, aims to better the bronze she and her younger sister grabbed in 2021 Calgary, which is the only worlds medal earned in seven previous trips. In doing so, the five-time American champ added Anderson-Heide to the crew, which featured the Petersons and Thiesse in the last two worlds — both 6-6 ventures for the Minnesota rink. tsaelhof@
