2001 Telus Canadian Open

The 2001 Telus Canadian Open curling men's Grand Slam tournament was held December 13–16, 2001 at the Peace Memorial Multiplex in Wainwright, Alberta.^[1]

It was the very first Grand Slam event ever, with the Slam series beginning that season.^[1] The event featured a purse of $100,000 with the winning team receiving $30,000.^[2]

Telus was brought on as a sponsor in late November. It was originally planned to feature 32 teams, but was reduced to 24 due to the reluctance of some tour teams to boycott playdowns for the Brier, due to an ongoing dispute between the World Curling Players Association and the Canadian Curling Association. Local teams were added to the event at the last minute with the promise of not having to boycott playdowns.^[2]

The semifinals and final were televised on Sportsnet.^[1]

The final pitted Wayne Middaugh of Midland, Ontario against Jeff Stoughton from Winnipeg. Middaugh won the match 8–7.^[3]

The event was seen as a success for the fledgling tour. World Curling Tour executive director Chad McMullan (who also competed in event) indicated that the event had near-sellout crowds. It also saw a television audience of 250,000, more than twice the average for 10 events Sportsnet aired the previous season, and not far behind the 369,000 average viewership of the 2001 Nokia Brier which aired on rival TSN.^[4]

Teams

Teams included 13 of the top 25 teams on the World Curling Players Association ranking system, as well as five local teams.^[1] Notable absences were Russ Howard (due to family health problems),^[2] Bert Gretzinger and Greg McAulay. Teams that did not boycott the Brier (Randy Ferbey, John Morris and Guy Hemmings) were deemed ineligible.^[1]

Format

The event was a 24-team triple-knockout competition.^[1]

Knockout brackets

A Event

Scores:^[5]

A				Qualifier 1

Wayne Middaugh	7

Pierre Charette	6
		Wayne Middaugh	8

		Kevin Park	4
Dave Boehmer	6

Kevin Park	8
				Wayne Middaugh	6

				William Lyburn	1
Kerry Burtnyk	6

William Lyburn	9
		William Lyburn	6

		Glen Despins	1
Glen Despins	9

Mert Thompsett	2

Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Qualifier 2

Mell Wells	5

Ken Berg	4
		Mell Wells	4

		Allan Lyburn	9
Allan Lyburn	7

Brad Hannah	5
				Allan Lyburn	3

				Glenn Howard	5
Jeff Stoughton	2

Dale Duguid	8
		Dale Duguid	3

		Glenn Howard	4
Glenn Howard	6

Dean Olson	4

Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Qialifier 3

Kevin Martin	10

Rick Snethum	3
		Kevin Martin	10

		Chad McMullan	7
Chad McMullan	9

Scott Patterson	2
				Kevin Martin	7

				Vic Peters	1
Bruce Korte	7

Tim Schneider	6
		Bruce Korte	6

		Vic Peters	8
Vic Peters	7

Rich Moffatt	6

B Event

Scores:^[6]

B						Qualifier 4

Pierre Charette	4

Dave Boehmer	8
		Chad McMullan	4

		Dave Boehmer	5



				Dave Boehmer	7

				Kerry Burtnyk	6



		Bruce Korte	6

		Kerry Burtnyk	7
Kerry Burtnyk	6

Mert Thompsett	4
						Dave Boehmer	10

						Allan Lyburn	6

B						Qualifier 5

Ken Berg	8

Brad Hannah	7
		Kevin Park	9

		Ken Berg	8



				Kevin Park	5

				Jeff Stoughton	8



		Glen Despins	6

		Jeff Stoughton	7
Jeff Stoughton	8

Dean Olson	4
						Jeff Stoughton	4

						Vic Peters	6

B						Qualifier 6

Rick Snethum	7

Scott Patterson	6
		Mell Wells	9

		Rick Snethum	1



				Mell Wells	2

				Rich Moffatt	8



		Dale Duguid	5

		Rich Moffatt	10
Tim Schneider	4

Rich Moffatt	10
						Rich Moffatt	4

						William Lyburn	11

C Event

Scores:^[7]

C						Qualifier 7

		Chad McMullan	2

		Bruce Korte	10



				Bruce Korte	7

				Glen Despins	6
Ken Berg	4

Glen Despins	9
		Glen Despins	10

		Mell Wells	6



						Bruce Korte	1

						Jeff Stoughton	2



		Kerry Burtnyk	8

		Dale Duguid	4
Rick Snethum	6

Dale Duguid	8
				Kerry Burtnyk	6

				Jeff Stoughton	7

C						Qualifier 8






				Rich Moffatt	8

				Mert Thompsett	10
Mert Thompsett	11

Pierre Charette	6
		Mert Thompsett	8

		Kevin Park	2



						Mert Thompsett	1

						Brad Hannah	6









				Allan Lyburn	5

				Brad Hannah	7
Brad Hannah	8

Dean Olson	3
		Brad Hannah	7

		Scott Patterson	3
Scott Patterson	8

Tim Schneider	2

Playoffs

The playoff bracket was as follows:^[8]

Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final

Wayne Middaugh	6

William Lyburn	4
		Wayne Middaugh	7

		Glenn Howard	6
Glenn Howard	7

Vic Peters	2
				Wayne Middaugh	8

				Jeff Stoughton	7
Jeff Stoughton	5

Dave Boehmer	4
		Jeff Stoughton	9

		Kevin Martin	8
Brad Hannah	5

Kevin Martin	7

Final

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Wayne Middaugh	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	2	0	1	8
Jeff Stoughton	3	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	7

Notes

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Martin thrilled Grand Slam has arrived". Edmonton Journal. December 12, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Slam circuit to make debut". Calgary Herald. December 12, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ "Middaugh dials up another big cheque". Calgary Herald. December 17, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ "Financial health boosted". Calgary Herald. December 22, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ "Telus Canadian Open". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ "Telus Canadian Open - B Event". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ "Telus Canadian Open - C Event". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ "Telus Canadian Open - Playoffs". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

External links

Event site

[Martin-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Martin thrilled Grand Slam has arrived". Edmonton Journal. December 12, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[debut-2] "Slam circuit to make debut". Calgary Herald. December 12, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[3] "Middaugh dials up another big cheque". Calgary Herald. December 17, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[4] "Financial health boosted". Calgary Herald. December 22, 2001. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[5] "Telus Canadian Open". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

[6] "Telus Canadian Open - B Event". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

[7] "Telus Canadian Open - C Event". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

[8] "Telus Canadian Open - Playoffs". CurlingZone. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

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