Kerri Einarson Claims Historic Fifth Scotties Championship in Nail-Biting Final
Canadian curling history was made on Sunday evening as Team Canada skip Kerri Einarson captured her fifth Scotties Tournament of Hearts national title in a thrilling championship finale. The dramatic 4-3 victory over Team Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes required an extra end to decide the champion at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.
A Championship Decided by Inches
The championship came down to the absolute wire, with Einarson's rink securing victory through a steal of one point in the eleventh end. The decisive moment arrived when Lawes attempted to remove an Einarson stone from the button but failed to push it sufficiently beyond the eight-foot circle to count her own rock. This narrow margin of error proved the difference between championship glory and runner-up status.
"What an amazing feeling—just overwhelmed," an emotional Einarson told the enthusiastic crowd following her victory. "I'm super proud of us. It was a grind this week. We had to make some big, clutch shots to get ourselves into this final."
Clutch Performances When It Mattered Most
The championship-winning performance was highlighted by several critical shots throughout the tense final match. Most notably, Einarson executed a spectacular long angle raise with hammer in the tenth end to save the game and force the extra frame that would ultimately decide the championship.
"All I thought in my head was, 'Just make this one for your team, Kerri, and take it to an extra,'" Einarson recounted about the pivotal tenth-end shot. "I threw it, Val called it, and we swept it great. So...yeah...it was a clutch one."
End-by-End Breakdown of the Championship Final
The championship match unfolded as follows:
- Lawes executes hit-and-roll for blank — 0-0
- Lawes comes up light on open draw to four-foot — 1-0 Einarson
- Lawes executes hit-and-roll for blank — 1-0 Einarson
- Lawes misses raise to hit-and-stick for two — 2-0 Einarson
- Lawes executes hit-and-roll for blank — 2-0 Einarson
- Lawes draws to four-foot for two — 2-2
- Einarson misses hit-and-roll for blank — 3-2 Lawes
- Einarson executes hit-and-roll for blank — 3-2 Lawes
- Einarson executes hit-and-roll for blank — 3-2 Lawes
- Einarson executes angle raise-and-stick for one — 3-3
- Lawes misses double raise to hit-and-stick for one — 4-3 Einarson
Road to the Championship
Both teams demonstrated remarkable resilience to reach the championship final. Lawes had dominated Einarson 10-2 in Saturday's 1-v-2 playoff qualifier, forcing Einarson to use her second life of the weekend to survive Sunday afternoon's semifinal. Lawes had also defeated Einarson 9-4 during round robin play, making Einarson's championship victory particularly impressive given these previous setbacks.
Lawes herself earned a second chance at Scotties glory when Olympic representative Rachel Homan opted out of the tournament to focus on preparing for the upcoming Winter Games in Cortina, Italy. This decision opened a spot for the next-best rink on the Canadian Team System Ranking list, which happened to be Lawes—the runner-up to Beth Peterson in the Manitoba provincial playdowns.
Historic Accomplishments for Team Canada
The victory marks significant milestones for each member of the championship rink. For second Shannon Birchard, this sixth Scotties title ties her with curling legends Colleen Jones, Jennifer Jones, and Jill Officer for the most championships in tournament history. For skip Kerri Einarson and third Val Sweeting, this represents their fifth Scotties championship honors. For lead Karlee Burgess, this victory marks her maiden national title.
The championship-winning team from Manitoba's Gimli Curling Club—consisting of skip Kerri Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, and lead Karlee Burgess—successfully reclaimed the crown previously held by Olympic representative Rachel Homan, who had won the previous two Scotties tournaments.
