| 2023 KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Regina, Saskatchewan |
| Arena | The Co-operators Centre |
| Dates | May 2–7 |
| Men's winner |  Team Bottcher |
| Curling club | Calgary CC, Calgary |
| Skip | Brendan Bottcher |
| Third | Marc Kennedy |
| Second | Brett Gallant |
| Lead | Ben Hebert |
| Coach | Paul Webster |
| Finalist |  Brad Gushue |
| Women's winner |  Team Homan |
| Curling club | Ottawa CC, Ottawa |
| Skip | Rachel Homan |
| Third | Tracy Fleury |
| Second | Emma Miskew |
| Lead | Rachelle Brown |
| Coach | Ryan Fry |
| Finalist |  Kerri Einarson |
« 2022 | |
The 2023 KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup was held from May 2 to 7 at The Co-operators Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan.[1] It was the sixth and final Grand Slam event of the 2022–23 curling season. This was the last edition of the Champions Cup before the event was put on hiatus for the 2023–24 season. The total combined purse of the event was $210,000.
Both the men's and women's events featured an all-Canadian final, the first time this has happened since the 2018 Tour Challenge. The men's final featured Team Brad Gushue from Newfoundland and Labrador against Team Brendan Bottcher from Alberta, while the women's final pitted Team Kerri Einarson from Manitoba against Ontario's Rachel Homan.[2]
In the men's final, Team Bottcher defeated Team Gushue 5–3, giving Bottcher his fifth career Slam title. The game started off with a miss by Bottcher though, as he hit-and-stuck on a blank attempt, taking a 1–0 lead after the first. Down 2–1 after four, Gushue got the game's first deuce in the fifth following a successful draw attempt. Bottcher scored two right back in the sixth with an open hit. Gushue blanked the seventh to keep hammer in the last end. On his last shot, he opted for a difficult "around the horn" takeout to score two for the win, but he couldn't quite make it, giving Bottcher a steal of one and losing the game.[3]
In the women's final, Team Homan downed Team Einarson 6–5 in an extra end, giving Homan her 13th Slam title. Einarson started off with a steal of one in the first thanks to a successful angle raise take out, followed by a missed double takeout attempt by Homan. Homan missed a double takeout on her last shot again in the second, giving up another steal of one. Homan came up short on a draw attempt in the third to go down 4–0 after three. Homan finally got on the board in the fourth with a draw to the button against five or six Einarson counters. Homan continued to claw back with steals in the next two ends when Einarson came up light in the fifth and jammed a double takeout attempt in the sixth. Einarson finally scored with the hammer in the seventh when she missed a blank attempt, with her shooter rock not able to roll out of the rings. Homan was able to score two in the eighth to tie the game, forcing an extra end. In the extra, Einarson attempted to bump her own rock onto the button on her last, but wasn't able to beat out a Homan counter that was covering the pin, giving the win to Homan.[4]
- ^ "KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "Eight Ends: Takeaways from the 2023 KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup". Sportsent. May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "Bottcher beats Gushue to win KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup men's title". Sportsent. May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "Homan completes comeback to capture KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup women's title". Sportsent. May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.