CurlingZone: Fujisawa makes history on Grand Slam circuit

Japan's Team Satsuki Fujisawa (Photo: Anil Mungal/GSOC) have made history as the first Asian team to win a Grand Slam event, defeating Team Kerri Einarson (Gimli, MB) 5-3 in the Co-op Canadian Open final.

By: Cameron Sallaj

Sunday's final at the Encana Arena in Camrose, Alberta marked history as for the first time in the Grand Slam series, a team from Asia were the champions.

Satsuki Fujisawa and her team of Chinami Yoshida, Yumi Suzuki, Yurika Yoshida, Kotomi Ishizaki, and coach J. D. Lind made their Grand Slam debut back in 2016 at the Humpty's Champions Cup. Since then, the Japanese team from Kitami have been regulars on the Slam tour, having many quarterfinal and semifinal appearances. They also have two Olympic medals, a bronze from PyeongChang 2018 and a silver from Beijing 2022. The one thing that always alluded them, however, was a Grand Slam title.

In Camrose, the Japanese side posted a perfect 3-0 record to qualify A-side as the number one seeds. They then won tight quarterfinal and semifinal games to qualify for their first Grand Slam final. There, they took one the dominant Kerri Einarson rink from Gimli, Manitoba.

Things started well for the Japanese rink, who counted two in the opening end. They then stole a single in the second end after a missed double takeout by Einarson.

After a blank in three, the three-time defending Canadian champions could only get one back in the fourth end, cutting into the Japanese lead 3-1.

To begin the second half, Team Fujisawa scored a single in the fifth. The Einarson rink then got their first multiple score with a deuce in the sixth end, tightening the score 4-3. The Japanese team were forced to one in the seventh, giving them a two-point lead heading into the eighth and final end of play.

In eight, a nose hit by Satsuki Fujisawa on her last left no shot for Kerri Einarson to score her two points to tie the game, forcing the Canadian champs to concede, the final score being 5-3.

Team Fujisawa earns the first-place cash prize of CDN$35,000, along with 75.000 world ranking points, moving them into fourth place in the world. For second place, Team Einarson took home CDN$20,000 and 55.000 world ranking points.

The Co-op Canadian Open is the third event title of the season for Team Fujisawa. The team also won the ADVICS Cup in September and captured the Pan Continental Curling Championships in November. On the Grand Slam tour, this is they reached the semifinals of the BOOST National before failing to qualify at both the HearingLife Tour Challenge and the WFG Masters.

"It was one of our big goals in curling," said Chinami Yoshida in a post-game interview with Sportsnet's Kevin Martin. "We won two Olympic medals and one world championship medal but we hadn't advanced to the Grand Slam final. We took maybe seven years but we did it today, so it feels so amazing."

For Team Einarson, this is their sixth consecutive Grand Slam final appearance, however, now hold a 2-4 record in those six finals. The team defeated Team Rachel Homan in the final of the WFG Masters in December and Team Gim Eun-ji in the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup final last May.

Fujisawa finished 3-0 in the sixteen-team qualifying round of the Co-op Canadian Open. In their opening two games, the team won by 8-6 scores over Team Raphaela Keiser (St. Moritz, SUI) and Team Silvana Tirinzoni (Aarau, SUI) to qualify for the A final. There, they beat Team Einarson 5-4 to secure the number one seed in the playoff round. In the quarterfinals, they beat Team Anna Hasselborg (Sundbyberg, SWE) 8-7 before escaping Team Gim Eun-ji (Uijeongbu, KOR) 7-6 in the semifinals.

Next up for the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling is the Princess Auto Players' Championship scheduled for April 11-16. The event will be held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario where teams will earn their final points in the race to the Pinty's Cup. In the meantime, provincial playdowns, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Tim Hortons Brier, and the World Curling Championships are all on the horizon.

To top ↑