2001 Players' Championship

The 2001 Husky WCT Players' Championship, the championship of the men's World Curling Tour for the 2000-01 curling season was held March 21–25, 2001 at the Calgary Curling Club in Calgary, Alberta. The total purse for the event was $150,000 with $40,000 going to the winning team. The top Canadian team received a berth into the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.[1]

2001 Husky WCT Players' Championship
Host cityCalgary, Alberta
ArenaCalgary Curling Club
DatesMarch 21–25
WinnerOntario Team Middaugh
Curling clubSt. George's G&CC
SkipWayne Middaugh
ThirdGraeme McCarrel
SecondIan Tetley
LeadScott Bailey
FinalistAlberta Kevin Martin
« 2000
2002 »

Wayne Middaugh of Ontario defeated Kevin Martin of Alberta in the final, 10–5. Middaugh made a triple take out in the first end to go up 3–0. In the second end, Martin ticked a guard on his final shot, which was an attempted hit for two. The miss gave Middaugh a steal of one to go up 4–0.[2] Martin got one the scoreboard with a single in the third, but missed a draw attempt in the fourth, allowing Middaugh to make a tap for three to go up 7–1.[3] That put the game out of reach for Martin, as Middaugh played a peel game to protect the lead.

As the two finalist teams had already qualified for the Olympic Trials, the berth went to the winner of a special third place playoff between Russ Howard of New Brunswick and Peter Corner of Ontario. Howard won that game 7–3.[4]

The event was the last Players' Championship to be held before the creation of the Grand Slam of Curling, which included the Players' as one of its events.

The semifinals and finals were aired on Global TV.[5]

Teams edit

The event featured the top 20 Canadian money earners on the World Curling Tour, the top two European earners, and the top American team, along with a sponsors exemption (Vic Peters). Kerry Burtnyk, Kevin Park[6] and Randy Ferbey elected to not participate (Team Ferbey was preparing for the 2001 World Men's Curling Championship). John Morris, Greg McAulay, Jeff Stoughton, Bert Gretzinger, Wayne Middaugh and Kevin Martin had already qualified for the Olympic Trials.[7]

The teams were as follows:[8]

Skip Third Second Lead Locale Season earnings to date ($CA)[1]
Dave Boehmer Brent Braemer Terry McRae Mike Pohl   Winnipeg, Manitoba $22,500
Tom Brewster Graeme Connal Ron Brewster Mark Brass   Howwood, Scotland $16,161
Craig Brown Ryan Quinn Jon Brunt John Dunlop   Madison, Wisconsin $16,250
David Climenhaga[a] John Climenhaga Kent Stannard Brad Kucek   Edmonton, Alberta $20,000
Peter Corner Pierre Charette Todd Brandwood Scott Foster   Hamilton, Ontario $35,975
Bryan Derbowka Dean Klippenstine Jeff Sharp Ryan MacGregor   Yorkton, Saskatchewan $22,750
Glen Despins Art Paulsen Dwayne Mihalicz Phillip Germain   Strongfield, Saskatchewan $29,050
Rob Ewen Gerry Adam Michael Vereschagin Ken Ewen   Jansen, Saskatchewan $21,000
Bert Gretzinger Bob Ursel Mark Whittle Dave Mellof   Kelowna, British Columbia $25,000
Dale Duguid[b] Don Westphal Guy Thibaudeau Dale Ness   Saint-Lambert, Quebec $40,000
Glenn Howard Richard Hart Collin Mitchell Jason Mitchell   MacTier, Ontario $29,200
Russ Howard James Grattan Rick Perron Grant Odishaw   Moncton, New Brunswick $49,350
James Kirkness Travis Graham Chris Galbraith A. J. Girardin   Winnipeg, Manitoba $23,825
Bruce Korte Darrell McKee Roger Korte Rory Golanowski   Saskatoon, Saskatchewan $21,150
Allan Lyburn Rob Fowler Mark Taylor Ross Granger   Brandon, Manitoba $32,275
Kevin Martin Don Walchuk Carter Rycroft Don Bartlett   Edmonton, Alberta $36,250
Greg McAulay Brent Pierce Bryan Miki Jody Sveistrup   New Westminster, British Columbia $34,801
Chad McMullan Ken Tresoor Ryan Fry Jeff Steski   Winnipeg, Manitoba $22,952
Wayne Middaugh Graeme McCarrel Ian Tetley Scott Bailey   Victoria Harbour, Ontario $61,950
John Morris Joe Frans Craig Savill Brent Laing   Waterloo, Ontario $27,700
Scott Patterson Greg Cantin John McClelland Phil Loevenmark   North Bay, Ontario $20,575
Vic Peters Dave Smith Chris Neufeld Don Harvey   Winnipeg, Manitoba $19,825
Jeff Stoughton Jon Mead Garry Vandenberghe Doug Armstrong   Winnipeg, Manitoba $29,400
Bernhard Werthemann[11] Raphael Brütsch Thomas Lips Phillip Raspe   Basel, Switzerland $29,762

Round-robin standings edit

The top two teams in each pool advanced to the playoffs.

Final round-robin standings[12]

Key
Teams to Playoffs
Teams to Tiebreakers
Pool A W L
  Wayne Middaugh 4 1
  Jeff Stoughton 3 2
  Tom Brewster 3 2
  Bryan Derbowka 2 3
  Chad McMullan 2 3
  Bernhard Werthemann 1 4
Pool B W L
  David Climenhaga 4 1
  Russ Howard 3 2
  Glenn Howard 3 2
  Craig Brown 2 3
  Dave Boehmer 2 3
  Allan Lyburn 1 4
Pool C W L
  Greg McAulay 4 1
  Bruce Korte 4 1
  Team Hemmings 3 2
  Glen Despins 2 3
  Vic Peters 2 3
  James Kirkness 0 5
Pool D W L
  Kevin Martin 4 1
  Peter Corner 4 1
  Bert Gretzinger 3 2
  John Morris 2 3
  Scott Patterson 1 4
  Rob Ewen 1 4

Scores edit

Scores were as follows:[13]

Draw 1 edit

  • Middaugh 7, Brewster 4
  • Stoughton 10, Werthemann 4
  • McMullan 8, Derbowka 5
  • Brown 9, R. Howard 5
  • G. Howard 10, Lyburn 2
  • Climenhaga 8, Boehmer 6

Draw 2 edit

  • Peters 7, Hemmings 1
  • McAulay 6, Despins 2
  • Korte 5, Kirkness 2
  • Martin 7, Patterson 2
  • Morris 7, Corner 2
  • Gretzinger 6, Ewen 5

Draw 3 edit

  • Climenhaga 6, G. Howard 5
  • Derbowka 8, Middaugh 2
  • Werthemann 9, Brewster 7
  • Stoughton 5, McMullan 3
  • Boehmer 7, R. Howard 6
  • Brown 5, Lyburn 4

Draw 4 edit

  • Gretzinger 7, Morris 2
  • Team Hemmings 6, Korte 3
  • McAulay 9, Peters 2
  • Despins 7, Kirkness 3
  • Martin 6, Ewen 2
  • Corner 6, Patterson 4

Draw 5 edit

  • Corner 10, Ewen 9
  • Morris 5, Patterson 1
  • Team Hemmings 8, Kirkness 4
  • Korte 8, McAulay 6
  • Despins 5, Peters 2
  • Martin 7, Gretzinger 5

Draw 6 edit

  • Lyburn 6, Boehmer 3
  • G. Howard 6, Brown 3
  • Middaugh 9, McMullan 3
  • Derbowka 9, Werthemann 2
  • Brewster 8, Stoughton 7
  • R. Howard 7, Climenhaga 5

Draw 7 edit

  • Martin 8, Morris 6
  • Corner 8, Gretzinger 4
  • Patterson 9, Ewen 6
  • Team Hemmings 8, Despins 6
  • McAulay 10, Kirkness 3
  • Korte 6, Peters 4

Draw 8 edit

  • R. Howard 10, G. Howard 8
  • Climenhaga 7, Lyburn 3
  • Boehmer 9, Brown 5
  • Middaugh 6, Stoughton 5
  • McMullan 9, Werthemann 5
  • Brewster 4, Derbowka 3

Draw 9 edit

  • Stoughton 8, Derbowka 2
  • Brewster 8, McMullan 7
  • R. Howard 9, Lyburn 4
  • G. Howard 7, Boehmer 6
  • Climenhaga 7, Brown 6
  • Middaugh 6, Werthemann 1

Draw 10 edit

  • McAulay 7, Team Hemmings 2
  • Korte 8, Despins 6
  • Peters 9, Kirkness 6
  • Corner 6, Martin 4
  • Ewen 5, Morris 4
  • Gretzinger 7, Patterson 6


Tiebreakers edit

  • Stoughton 5, Brewster 4
  • R. Howard 8, G. Howard 6


Playoffs edit

[c]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1   Wayne Middaugh 7
8   David Climenhaga 3
1   Wayne Middaugh 6
4   Peter Corner 3
4   Peter Corner 5
5   Greg McAulay 4
1   Wayne Middaugh 10
3   Kevin Martin 5
3   Kevin Martin 8
5   Jeff Stoughton 2
3   Kevin Martin 8 Trials berth
2   Russ Howard 7
2   Russ Howard 8 2   Russ Howard 7
7   Bruce Korte 5 4   Peter Corner 3

Notes edit

  1. ^ Team not listed in source. Roster as of Jan 2001.[9]
  2. ^ Sparing for Guy Hemmings, who could not play due to a new job in France[10]
  3. ^ Teams are seeded by their money-winnings

References edit

  1. ^ a b "In the hack..." Calgary Herald. March 21, 2001. p. 55. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "It's Wayne's world, again". Calgary Herald. March 26, 2001. p. 41. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Martin... Viewers Reach for Remotes". Calgary Herald. March 26, 2001. p. 41. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Howard snags Oly berth". Winnipeg Sun. March 26, 2001. p. 30. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "Curlers insist future glows". Calgary Herald. March 24, 2001. p. 67. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "Despins has sights set on Olympic trials". Regina Leader-Post. March 21, 2001. p. 14. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "Peters taking run at Olympic glory". Regina Leader-Post. March 22, 2001. p. 14. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "Husky WCT Players' Championship -- Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  9. ^ "Extra ends". Edmonton Journal. January 15, 2001. p. 42. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  10. ^ "A last-minute opportunity pays off for Edmonton skip". Calgary Herald. March 24, 2001. p. 67. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Werthemann cashing in on Europe circuit". Calgary Herald. March 22, 2001. p. 46. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Curling". Calgary Herald. March 24, 2001. p. 69. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  13. ^ "Husky WCT Players' Championship -- Round Robin". CurlingZone. Retrieved April 15, 2022.