 Italy's Joel Retornaz (Photo: Baden Masters) won 6-1 over Scotland's Cameron Bryce in the final of the 2023 Baden Masters to kick off the 2023-24 season. By: Cameron Sallaj After having one of their most successful seasons to date, the Italian men's rink consisting of Joel Retornaz, Amos Mosaner, Sebastiano Arman and Mattia Giovanella picked right back up where they left off at the end of the 2022-23 season. The team, which captured their first Grand Slam title last year at the 2022 Masters went undefeated en route to capturing their first title in Baden. In the final, the team went up against a strong Scottish front in Cameron Bryce from Border. The Italian rink, who took first place through the round robin with a perfect 4-0 record began the game with the hammer and blanked the opening two ends. In the third, a perfect hit and roll by Amos Mosaner on his second rock allowed Joel Retornaz an open hit to count two points and open the scoring in the championship game. After conservative play through the first three ends, the Italians took full control in end four. Facing four on his last, Bryce needed a draw to the full eight foot to count the Italian rink down to just a steal of one. His rock slipped deep, however, and gave Retornaz a steal of three for a comfortable 5-0 lead through the first half. Team Bryce could only manage to count a single in the fifth end, still trailing the Italians by a four-point deficit. In six, Joel Retornaz comfortably secured victory with an open takeout to count one and win the game 6-1. This is the first time a team from Italy has won the Baden Masters. Over the years, teams from Switzerland and Norway have dominated with Sweden and Canada also securing a few titles. Some famous Baden Masters champions include Brad Gushue, Niklas Edin, Thomas Ulsrud, and Yannick Schwaller. The Retornaz rink ranked first following the twenty-team preliminary round which split the teams into four pools of five. The Italians opened with a 10-1 win over Kyle Waddell (Hamilton, SCO) followed by a 9-0 routing of Lars Brauchli (Wildhaus, SUI). They then defeated Lukas Hostmaelingen (Oslo, NOR) 9-2 before closing out their round robin with a stolen 6-5 extra end win over Marco Hosli (Glarus, SUI). In the playoffs, the reigning Masters champions won 6-2 over Waddell in the quarterfinals before an 8-0 shutout win against James Craik (Forfar, SCO) to qualify for the championship game. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Team Retornaz will look to build on their momentum from the 2022-23 season which included their first Slam title, a European bronze medal and a fourth-place finish at the World championship. Along with the Slam circuit, the team is registered in the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the Soo Curlers Fall Classic, and the Curling Stadium Western Showdown. Watch the replay of the 2023 Baden Masters final between Joel Retornaz and Cameron Bryce: |
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Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner (Photo: Stephen Fisher/World Curling) claim Italy's first World Mixed Doubles Championship crown.
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