CHARLOTTETOWN — Bruce Mouat has caught them all. Mouat and his Scottish squad scored a decisive 10-3 victory over Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., in the HearingLife Tour Challenge men’s final Sunday to cross off the last Grand Slam of Curling title from the list.
Coincidentally, Mouat had to defeat the only other men’s skip who had accomplished the feat.
It’s the seventh Grand Slam title overall for the team of Mouat, third Grant Hardie, second Bobby Lammie and lead Hammy McMillan Jr., who have been hot out of the gate this season. Mouat won two titles on tour in August and leapfrogged Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz for No. 1 in the world rankings.
Team Mouat maintained that top form all week finishing with an unblemished 6-0 record.
Mouat opened the final with the hammer and made the two-point conversion with an open hit for a deuce in the first.
Gushue chipped and rolled into the four-foot circle in the third, but it wasn’t enough to count for shot rock as Mouat stole one to pad his lead 3-0.
The 15-time Grand Slam champion Gushue recovered in the fourth and tapped for two, however, Mouat matched with a hit to count a couple in the fifth to re-establish the three-point advantage.
Gushue was forced to hit for a single in the sixth and Mouat poured on the pressure in the seventh. Mouat was already sitting shot rock and pulled off a double takeout for a five-count to put the game out of reach.
Meanwhile, Saskatoon’s Team Rylan Kleiter drew for the winning point in the extra end to edge Norway’s Team Magnus Ramsfjell 6-5 to earn the Tier 2 men’s title.
Kleiter, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall and lead Trevor Johnson receive an invitation to the WFG Masters in January.
UP NEXT
Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan faces Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., in the women’s final.
Halifax’s Team Christina Black takes on Team Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan on the Tier 2 side.
Watch live on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet+ at 3:30 p.m. AT / 2:30 p.m. ET.