CALGARY – Forget about the on-ice wars between the Flames and Oilers; the Battle of Alberta played out in Calgary with the curling world watching.
Team Alberta (Brendan Bottcher) defeated Calgary’s Team Wild Card 2 (Kevin Koe), 4-2 in nine ends to win its first Tim Hortons Brier on Sunday (March 14), claiming the top men's spot in the country.
Hoisting the elusive crown was a long-time coming for the Edmonton-based team, which finally won after four-straight Brier finals appearances.
"Just absolutely amazing," said Bottcher after the game. "We worked so hard in the last three years and it's been so tough, so just like I say, just proud of the guys. We all came to play tonight and we definitely can be proud of that."
After six ends of strategic play in the final, Koe was up 1-0 after a hammer in the third end. Things picked up in the seventh end, though, when Bottcher took advantage of two missed shots by Koe that included a pick and roll on the last rock.
Bottcher went up 3-1.
Koe pulled the game within one in the eighth after saving the game with a double knockout, when he was facing five Alberta stones.
But Bottcher put Alberta back up by two with a single point in the ninth end.
Team Koe conceded in the 10th after he was unable to find a game-tying shot as his team’s time ticked away.
Koe came in the game shooting 87 per cent, second among skips, but it was Bottcher who stole the show in the finals.
With an impressive 97 per cent, Bottcher tied for best shooting percentage at a Brier’s final with Brad Gushue in 2020 and Kevin Martin in 2009.
To go along with his title, Bottcher received the Hec Gervais playoff MVP award and Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award.
Team Alberta – Bottcher, Darren Moulding, Brad Thiessen, and Karrick Martin – won the $100,000 grand prize and booked a ticket to represent Canada at the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship, which will also be held in Calgary from April 2 to 11.
After the game, Team Koe congratulated the new champions.
"They’re a great team, it was only going to be a matter of time," said Koe. "They played well [Sunday] and didn’t give us a lot of chances, and like I said, when we had little opportunities we didn’t capitalize. I'm sure they'll represent us great and do well at worlds."
Team Koe - Calgary's Koe, Ben Hebert, B.J. Neufeld and Canmore's John Morris - won the $60,000 prize.
At the Brier, Team Koe had the best overall record heading into the championship, going 10-2. Its two losses at the hands of Team Ontario, and Team Alberta.
Team Alberta defeated Team Saskatchewan (Team Matt Dunstone) on the last stone, 6-5 in the championship play-in earlier Sunday.
Bubble life isn’t over for Morris yet, who’ll now turn his attention toward the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles from March 18-25 at WinSport Arena in Calgary.
He’ll team with Danielle Schmiemann, a 2015 world junior curling championships gold medallist.
Their first game is Thursday (March 18) at 2:30 p.m. against Team Newfoundland and Labrador.
