Undefeated Teams Homan and Kim Advance to Playoffs
n an exciting conclusion to the women's round-robin draw at the KIOTI National held at the Mary Brown’s Centre, both Ottawa's Team Rachel Homan and South Korea's Team Eun-jung Kim maintained their perfect records, securing their fourth consecutive victories. These wins solidified their spots in the upcoming playoff round, as both teams head into the knockout stages as strong contenders.
Rachel Homan’s team, fresh off a victory at the Co-op Canadian Open where they claimed their 16th Grand Slam of Curling title, continued their stellar form with an 11-6 win over Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå. Homan’s impressive performance helped extend her team’s undefeated streak to four matches. Meanwhile, Team Kim of South Korea overcame Team Kerri Einarson from Gimli, Manitoba, in a closely contested 5-3 victory, keeping their own perfect record intact.
The other results of the day saw Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura edge past Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni with a 6-4 win, while South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim narrowly defeated Team Momoha Tabata 5-4. These results ensured that Team Homan and Team Kim both advanced directly to the playoffs, while other teams scrambled for the remaining spots.
In a dramatic twist, Team Einarson, who had been performing well throughout the competition, suffered their first loss of the round-robin phase, throwing their playoff aspirations into jeopardy. Meanwhile, Team Yoshimura advanced to the quarterfinals based on shootout totals, securing a spot without the need for tiebreakers.
As the competition heats up, Teams Gim, Black, and Ha will face off in tiebreakers to determine who will claim the final playoff spots.
Looking ahead to the quarterfinals, the matchups are set: Homan will face off against Yoshimura, Einarson will take on Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa, and Kim will meet the winner of the tiebreaker between Ha and Tirinzoni.
With the playoffs now upon us, the stakes are higher than ever, and fans can expect thrilling action as these top teams battle for supremacy at the KIOTI National.
