The 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5 to 14 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta.[2]
In the final, Team Alberta, skipped by Brendan Bottcher defeated Team Wild Card 2, skipped by Kevin Koe in an all-Alberta final, and a re-match of the 2019 Brier final. It was Bottcher's first Brier championship after losing the previous three finals. The first six ends of the final were evenly matched with Koe leading 1–0 heading into the seventh end. In the seventh, Koe's first rock picked, and he missed a double on his second shot, allowing Bottcher a draw for three, to go up 3–1. The two teams exchanged singles in the 8th and 9th ends, and in the 10th end, with just 30 seconds left on their time clock, Koe conceded with one rock left, as his team had no possibilities to score two points to tie the game.[3] As champions, Bottcher and his team went on to represent Canada at the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship, where they finished in sixth place.[4]
The event was originally scheduled to be held in Kelowna, British Columbia.[5] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, it was announced that most Curling Canada championships still being held in the 2020–21 curling season (including the World Men's Curling Championship, which will be held at the same site) would be moved to a centralized "bubble" (similar to that of the NHL as in Edmonton) at Canada Olympic Park. All events will be held behind closed doors with no spectators admitted.[6] In addition, due to COVID-19 restrictions and logistics, many provincial playdowns have been cancelled, with teams being selected by their respective member association instead.
When Ontario played Newfoundland and Labrador in Draw 11, it marked the first time that two openly LGBTQ skips (John Epping and Greg Smith respectively) played against each other at the Brier.[7]
Teams
Source:[8]
| Canada
|
Alberta[9]
|
British Columbia[10]
|
| St. John's CC, St. John's
Skip: Brad Gushue
Third: Mark Nichols[a]
Second: Brett Gallant[b][a]
Lead: Geoff Walker
Alternate: Ryan McNeil Lamswood[b][a]
|
Saville SC, Edmonton
Skip: Brendan Bottcher
Third: Darren Moulding
Second: Brad Thiessen
Lead: Karrick Martin[c]
Alternate: Pat Janssen[c]
|
Vernon CC, Vernon
Skip: Jim Cotter[d]
Third: Steve Laycock[d]
Second: Andrew Nerpin[e]
Lead: Rick Sawatsky[e]
Alternate: Tyler Tardi[e]
|
| Manitoba[11]
|
New Brunswick[12]
|
Newfoundland and Labrador
|
| Morris CC, Morris
Skip: Jason Gunnlaugson
Third: Adam Casey
Second: Matt Wozniak[f]
Lead: Connor Njegovan[f]
Alternate: Jacques Gauthier[f]
|
Gage Golf & CC, Oromocto
Skip: James Grattan
Third: Jonathan Beuk
Second: Andy McCann
Lead: Jamie Brannen[g]
Alternate: Kevin Keefe[g]
|
St. John's CC, St. John's
Skip: Greg Smith
Third: Greg Blyde[h]
Second: Alex McDonah
Lead: Evan McDonah[h]
Alternate: Adam Boland[h]
|
| Northern Ontario[13]
|
Nova Scotia[14]
|
Ontario[11]
|
| Community First CC, Sault Ste. Marie
Skip: Brad Jacobs
Third: Marc Kennedy
Second: E.J. Harnden
Lead: Ryan Harnden[i]
Alternate: Lee Toner[i]
|
Halifax CC, Halifax
Skip: Scott McDonald[j]
Third: Paul Flemming[k]
Second: Scott Saccary[k]
Lead: Phil Crowell
Alternate: Kevin Ouellette[k]
|
Leaside CC, Toronto
Skip: John Epping
Third: Ryan Fry
Second: Mat Camm
Lead: Brent Laing
|
| Prince Edward Island
|
Quebec[16]
|
Saskatchewan[17]
|
Crapaud Community CC, Crapaud &
Montague CC, Montague
Skip: Eddie MacKenzie[l]
Third: Tyler Smith[l]
Second: Sean Ledgerwood[m]
Lead: Ryan Lowery
Alternate: Aaron Bartling[l][m]
|
Glenmore CC, Dollard-des-Ormeaux,
CC Etchemin, Saint-Romuald &
CC Valleyfield, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
Skip: Mike Fournier
Third: Martin Crête
Second: Félix Asselin[n]
Lead: Jean-François Trépanier
Alternate: William Dion[n]
|
Wadena Re/Max CC, Wadena
Skip: Matt Dunstone
Third: Braeden Moskowy
Second: Kirk Muyres
Lead: Dustin Kidby
|
| Northwest Territories
|
Nunavut[18]
|
Yukon
|
| Yellowknife CC, Yellowknife[o]
Skip: Greg Skauge
Third: Tom Naugler
Second: Brad Patzer
Lead: Robert Borden[p]
Alternate: David Aho[p]
|
Iqaluit CC, Iqaluit[q]
Skip: Peter Mackey
Third: Jeff Nadeau
Second: Greg Howard
Lead: Jeff Chown
Alternate: Brady St. Louis
|
Whitehorse CC, Whitehorse
Skip: Dustin Mikkelsen
Third: Alexx Peech[r]
Second: Brandon Hagen
Lead: Robert Mckinnon
Alternate: Ray Mikkelsen[r]
|
| Wild Card #1[19]
|
Wild Card #2[19]
|
Wild Card #3[20]
|
| West St. Paul CC, West St. Paul
Skip: Mike McEwen
Third: Reid Carruthers
Second: Derek Samagalski
Lead: Colin Hodgson
|
The Glencoe Club, Calgary
Skip: Kevin Koe
Third: B.J. Neufeld
Second: John Morris
Lead: Ben Hebert[s]
Alternate: Mike Caione[s]
|
Penetanguishene CC, Penetanguishene
Skip: Glenn Howard[t][u]
Third: Scott Howard
Second: David Mathers
Lead: Tim March[u]
Alternate: Wayne Middaugh[t]
|
CTRS ranking
As of the 2019–20 season, where at least three out of four players remained on the same team for the 2020–21 season.[21]
Map of teams
Team Canada Provincial Winners Wild-Card Teams
Wild card selection
In previous years, a wild card game was played between the top two teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings who did not win their provincial championship; the winner of this game was usually granted the final spot in the tournament. However, with many provinces cancelling their provincial championships due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, thus not allowing many teams to compete for a chance to play at the Brier, Curling Canada opted to include three wild card teams instead of the usual one. These teams directly qualified and did not participate in a play-in game.[22]
For selection, teams must have 3 of 4 returning players from the previous season.
Round-robin standings
Final round-robin standings
| Key
|
|
|
Teams to Championship pool
|
Round-robin results
All draw times are listed in Mountain Standard Time (UTC−07:00).[23]
Draw 1
Friday, March 5, 6:30 pm
Draw 2
Saturday, March 6, 8:30 am
Draw 3
Saturday, March 6, 1:30 pm
Draw 4
Saturday, March 6, 6:30 pm
Draw 5
Sunday, March 7, 8:30 am
Draw 6
Sunday, March 7, 1:30 pm
Draw 7
Sunday, March 7, 6:30 pm
Draw 8
Monday, March 8, 1:30 pm
Draw 9
Monday, March 8, 6:30 pm
Draw 10
Tuesday, March 9, 8:30 am
Draw 11
Tuesday, March 9, 1:30 pm
Draw 12
Tuesday, March 9, 6:30 pm
Draw 13
Wednesday, March 10, 8:30 am
Draw 14
Wednesday, March 10, 1:30 pm
Draw 15
Wednesday, March 10, 6:30 pm
Draw 16
Thursday, March 11, 8:30 am
Draw 17
Thursday, March 11, 1:30 pm
Draw 18
Thursday, March 11, 6:30 pm
Championship pool standings
The top four teams from each pool advance to the championship pool. All wins and losses earned in the round robin were carried forward into the championship pool.
Final Championship Pool Standings
Championship pool results
Draw 19
Friday, March 12, 12:30 pm
Draw 20
Friday, March 12, 6:30 pm
Draw 21
Saturday, March 13, 12:30 pm
Draw 22
Saturday, March 13, 6:30 pm
Playoffs
To offset for the extra pool stage games played due to the additional Wild Card teams admitted to the tournament, the playoffs reverted to the former system consisting of only a semi-final and final, with only top three teams qualifying. The "page playoff" 1-2 game and the "quarter-final" 3-4 game were not played.
Semifinal
Sunday, March 14, 12:30 pm
Final
Sunday, March 14, 6:30 pm
Statistics
Top 5 player percentages
After Championship Pool; minimum 6 games
| Key
|
|
|
First All-Star Team
|
|
|
Second All-Star Team
|
Perfect games
Round robin and championship pool only; minimum 10 shots thrown
Awards
The awards and all-star teams were as follows:
- All-Star Teams[24]
First Team
Second Team
- Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award[24]
- Hec Gervais Most Valuable Player Award[25]
Final standings
Provincial and territorial playdowns
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many provincial playdowns were cancelled, with member associations electing to send their 2020 champions to the Brier.
- Boston Pizza Cup (Alberta): Cancelled
- BC Men's Curling Championship: Cancelled
- Viterra Championship (Manitoba): Cancelled
- New Brunswick Tankard: Cancelled
- The 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard was held January 27–31 in St. John's. In the final, Team Greg Smith defeated Team Colin Thomas 9–8 in a double extra end. The event was held in a round robin between eight teams.
- Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship: Cancelled
- The 2021 Northwest Territories Men's Curling Championship was held January 30–31 in Yellowknife. Team Greg Skauge defeated Team Glen Hudy two games to one in the best of three series. They were the only teams to enter.
- Deloitte Tankard (Nova Scotia): Cancelled
- The Nunavut Brier Playdowns were played at the Iqaluit Curling Club in Iqaluit, January 8–10.[26] Team MacKey (Peter Mackey, Jeff Nadeau, Greg Howard, Jeff Chown) defeated Team Kingdon (Wade Kingdon, Hunter Tootoo, Peter Van Strien, Cory Bell)[27] 3 games to 2 in a best of five series. Team MacKey won three straight games after losing their first two.[28]
- Ontario Tankard: Cancelled
- The 2021 PEI Tankard was held January 29–30 in O'Leary. Team Eddie MacKenzie defeated Team Blair Jay 3 games to 0 in the best of five series.[29] They were the only two teams to enter the event.
- Quebec Tankard: Cancelled
- SaskTel Tankard (Saskatchewan): Cancelled
- The Yukon Men's Curling Championship was not held, as only one team (Dustin Mikkelsen) entered.[30] The defending Thomas Scoffin rink had been deemed ineligible, as it could not field a full team for the championship due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.[31]
Notes
- ^ a b c For the last end of Draw 20, Team Canada's alternate Ryan McNeil Lamswood threw second stones, second Brett Gallant threw third stones and third Mark Nichols sat out.
- ^ a b Team Canada's alternate Ryan McNeil Lamswood threw second stones for the last two ends of Draw 15 and the last three ends of Draw 17.
- ^ a b Team Alberta's alternate Pat Janssen threw lead stones for the last three ends of Draw 4.
- ^ a b Steve Laycock skipped Team British Columbia’s first two games, and Jim Cotter skipped the rest. Cotter threw fourth rocks for all games.
- ^ a b c Team British Columbia's alternate Tyler Tardi threw second stones for the last end of Draw 8 and lead stones during Draw 18.
- ^ a b c Team Manitoba's alternate Jacques Gauthier threw lead stones for the last end of Draw 4 and second stones for the last two ends of Draw 20.
- ^ a b Team New Brunswick's alternate Kevin Keefe threw lead stones for the last two ends of Draw 10.
- ^ a b c Team Newfoundland and Labrador's alternate Adam Boland threw third stones for the last four ends of Draw 7 and lead stones for the last end of Draw 13.
- ^ a b Team Northern Ontario's alternate Lee Toner threw lead stones for the last end of Draw 2.
- ^ Scott McDonald is skipping the Jamie Murphy rink, as Murphy has decided to stay home due to work and family priorities.[15]
- ^ a b c For the last four ends of Draw 15, Team Nova Scotia's alternate Kevin Ouellette threw second stones, second Scott Saccary threw third stones and third Paul Flemming sat out.
- ^ a b c For the last four ends of Draw 5, Team Prince Edward Island's alternate Aaron Bartling threw third stones, third Tyler Smith threw skip stones and skip Eddie MacKenzie sat out. They also used this lineup during Draw 13.
- ^ a b Team Prince Edward Island's alternate Aaron Bartling threw second stones during Draw 15.
- ^ a b Team Quebec's alternate William Dion threw second stones for the last four ends of Draw 5.
- ^ For the last three ends of Draw 16, Team Northwest Territories's alternate David Aho threw second stones, second Brad Patzer threw third stones, third Tom Naugler threw skip stones and skip Greg Skauge sat out.
- ^ a b Team Northwest Territories's alternate David Aho threw lead stones for the last two ends of Draw 4.
- ^ Team Nunavut used a five-player rotation between all positions.
- ^ a b Team Yukon's alternate Ray Mikkelsen threw third stones during Draw 10.
- ^ a b Wild Card #2 alternate Mike Caione threw lead stones for the last three ends of Draw 9.
- ^ a b Wild Card #3's alternate Wayne Middaugh threw skip stones for the tournament as Glenn Howard was injured.
- ^ a b Wild Card #3 regular skip Glenn Howard threw lead stones for the last two ends of Draw 6.
References
- ^ a b Devin Heroux (December 8, 2020). "Curlers will face harsh penalties for leaving Calgary bubble". CBC Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Jesse Campigotto (December 2, 2020). "What we know and don't know about the curling bubble". CBC Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Canadian Press (March 14, 2021). "Brendan Bottcher wins 1st career Brier". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ "2021 World men's curling championship: Scores, schedule and standings". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "Lethbridge to host the Brier in 2022". January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ Jesse Campigotto (December 2, 2020). "What we know and don't know about the curling bubble". CBC Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Ted Wyman (March 10, 2021). "Matchup of two openly gay skips at Brier a win for inclusivity in sports". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "Teams". Curling Canada. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ "Alberta selects Laura Walker, Brendan Bottcher for Scotties, Brier". CBC Sports. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ "BC sending Brown, Laycock to Calgary bubble after cancelling playdowns". TSN. January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ a b Devin Heroux (December 21, 2020). "Ontario, Manitoba cancel playdowns for Scotties, Brier". CBC Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ @Devin_Heroux (30 Jan 2021). "JUST IN... New Brunswick has cancelled its men's provincial curling championship. @JamesGrattan has accepted invite. Still waiting to firm up his lineup. This will be Grattan's 14th Brier appearance. #cbccurl" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ The Canadian Press (December 21, 2020). "Ontario, Manitoba cancel provincial playdowns". TSN. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ George Myrer (January 15, 2021). "Nova Scotia's Jill Brothers rink needed an extra end to accept Scotties invite". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ "Ontario's McDonald to replace Murphy on Team Nova Scotia for Brier". January 31, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ Alanna Routledge (January 14, 2020). "Dévoilement des équipes Québécoises masculine et féminine". Curling Quebec (in French). Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ Devin Heroux (January 14, 2020). "Saskatchewan cancels curling provincials after health officials reject curling bubble". CBC Sports. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ @NickMurray91 (10 Jan 2021). "From left to right: Jeff Chown Greg Howard Jeff Nadeau Peter MacKey (Skip) Your 2021 Nunavut men's curling champions" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b @Devin_Heroux (18 Jan 2021). "So with Bottcher and Walker selected... McEwen and Koe will be the two men's teams added based on CTRS. Third team will be chosen based on Curling Canada criteria. The women's side is a little more complicated. Team Fleury a lock... after that... hmmmm. #cbccurl" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @Devin_Heroux (22 Jan 2021). "This is substantial... Curling Canada now saying CTRS will determine third Wild Card team as opposed to "criteria"... That would mean Glenn Howard gets third Brier spot... And Beth Peterson would get third Scotties spot should Birt win PEI. Five Manitoba teams in Scotties. #cbccurl" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "2019–20 CTRS Standings". Curling Canada. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "Canadian rankings to be used to determine final wild-card spots at Scotties, Brier". TSN. 22 January 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- ^ "Draw Schedule". Curling Canada. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "Brier Award Winners Named!". Curling Canada. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
- ^ "It Was Worth The Wait!!!". Curling Canada. March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/nunavutcurling/posts/3610730465630886
- ^ @NickMurray91 (10 Jan 2021). "Came down to the Iqaluit Curling Club for the 5th and deciding game in Nunavut's territorial play downs. Team Kingdon (Wade Kingdon, Hunter Tootoo, Peter Van Strien, Cory Bell) vs Team Mackey (Peter Mackey, Jeff Nadeau, Greg Howard, Jeff Chown) for a trip to the Brier!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @NickMurray91 (10 Jan 2021). "Handshakes. Skip Peter MacKey's team out of the Iqaluit Curling Club will represent Nunavut at this year's Tim Hortons Brier! They came back down 2-0 in the best-of-5 series to earn their spot with a win this afternoon" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Eddie MacKenzie rink wins PEI Tankard with 3-0 record". PEI Curling. January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ "Curling bubble plans provide hope for some teams, while others left disappointed - TSN.ca". 12 January 2021.
- ^ @TeamScoffin (14 Jan 2021). "We are extremely disappointed that our season has come to an unexpected end. Looking forward to what next season has in store" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
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| Macdonald Brier | |
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| Labatt Brier | |
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| Nokia Brier | |
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| Tim Hortons Brier | |
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| Montana's Brier | |
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