| 2023 Princess Auto Players' Championship | |
| Host City: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Arena: | Mattamy Athletic Centre |
| Dates: | April 11–16 |
| Men's Winner: | Team Koe |
| Curling Club: | The Glencoe Club, Calgary |
| Skip: | Kevin Koe |
| Third: | Tyler Tardi |
| Second: | Brad Thiessen |
| Lead: | Karrick Martin |
| Finalist: | Yannick Schwaller |
| Women's Winner: |  Team Wranå |
| Curling Club2: | Sundbybergs CK, Sundbyberg |
| Skip2: | Isabella Wranå |
| Third2: | Almida de Val |
| Second2: | Maria Larsson |
| Lead2: | Linda Stenlund |
| Coach2: | Jason Gunnlaugson |
| Finalist2: | Silvana Tirinzoni |
| Prev: | 2022 |
| Next: | 2024 |
The 2023 Princess Auto Players' Championship was held from April 11 to 16 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario.[1] It was the fifth Grand Slam event and final major of the 2022–23 curling season.
In the women's final, Sweden's Isabella Wranå won her first Slam title, defeating the World Champion Silvana Tirinzoni rink from Switzerland 6–5. In the game, Wranå took a commanding lead in the fourth end, making an open hit for three to take a 4–1 lead. Tirinzoni scored a single in the fifth, but Wranå replied by getting a deuce in the sixth. The Tirinzoni rink had a chance to score three in the seventh to even the gap, but fourth thrower Alina Pätz missed a split attempt, but did end up getting two, as at least her shooter rolled in the house to score. In the final end, Wranå only had to hit one Tirinzoni rock on her last to win the title.[2]
In the men's final, Calgary's Kevin Koe rink, defeated Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller team 5–4, giving Koe his fifth Grand Slam title as a skip. Up 1–0 after the first, Koe missed a long raise takeout in the second, allowing Schwaller's last rock thrower Benoît Schwarz to draw for two. Schwaller went up 3–1 after Koe missed an angle raise double in the fourth. Koe made a hit and stick for one in the fifth, and Schwarz replied with a draw to the button in the sixth to go up 4–2. The seventh end was blanked, and in the eighth and final end, Koe with his clock in the single digits on his last rock, made a triple takeout to score three to give his team the win. Koe was in a similar situation in the semifinal, where he had to make a slash double against the Brad Gushue rink with only seconds on remaining on his clock. The game would be the last for Koe's second Bradley Thiessen who stepped back from the game.[3]
Both Teams Wranå and Koe won $40,000 with their wins.
The top 12 ranked men's and women's teams on the World Curling Federation's Year-to-Date rankings as of March 13, 2023 qualified for the event. In the event that a team declines their invitation, the next-ranked team on the world team ranking was invited until the field was complete.[4]
Top Year-to-Date men's teams:[5]
Niklas Edin
Joël Retornaz
Brad Gushue
Korey Dropkin
Magnus RamsfjellTop Year-to-Date women's teams:[6]
Gim Eun-ji
Satsuki Fujisawa Anna Hasselborg Isabella Wranå Tabitha PetersonThe teams are listed as follows:[7] [8]
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Locale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary, Alberta | |||||
| – | Winnipeg, Manitoba | ||||
| Korey Dropkin (Fourth) | Andrew Stopera (Skip) | Duluth, Minnesota | |||
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | |||||
| Karlstad, Sweden | |||||
| St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | |||||
| Calgary, Alberta | |||||
| Stirling, Scotland | |||||
| Trondheim, Norway | |||||
| Trentino, Italy | |||||
| Benoît Schwarz (Fourth) | Yannick Schwaller (Skip) | Geneva, Switzerland | |||
| Stirling, Scotland |
Final Round Robin Standings
| Key | ||
|---|---|---|
| Teams to Playoffs | ||
| Teams to Tiebreakers | ||
| valign=top width=10% |
| valign=top width=10% |
|
All draw times are listed in Eastern Time .[9]
Tuesday, April 11, 11:30 am
Tuesday, April 11, 3:00 pm
Tuesday, April 11, 6:30 pm
Wednesday, April 12, 8:00 am
Wednesday, April 12, 11:30 am
Wednesday, April 12, 3:30 pm
Wednesday, April 12, 7:00 pm
Thursday, April 13, 8:00 am
Thursday, April 13, 11:30 am
Thursday, April 13, 3:30 pm
Thursday, April 13, 7:00 pm
Friday, April 14, 8:00 am
Friday, April 14, 11:30 am
Friday, April 14, 3:30 pm
Friday, April 14, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 15, 11:30 am
Saturday, April 15, 3:30 pm
Saturday, April 15, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 16, 5:00 pm
The teams are listed as follows:[7] [10]
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Locale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gimli, Manitoba | ||||||
| Kitami, Japan | ||||||
| Seol Ye-ji | Uijeongbu, South Korea | |||||
| Vancouver, British Columbia | ||||||
| Sundbyberg, Sweden | ||||||
| Rachel Homan (Fourth) | Tracy Fleury (Skip) | Ottawa, Ontario | ||||
| Lauren Lenentine | Winnipeg, Manitoba | |||||
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | ||||||
| – | Cathy Overton-Clapham | Chaska, Minnesota | ||||
| Lethbridge, Alberta | ||||||
| Alina Pätz (Fourth) | Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) | Aarau, Switzerland | ||||
| Sundbyberg, Sweden |
Final Round Robin Standings
| Key | ||
|---|---|---|
| Teams to Playoffs | ||
| Teams to Tiebreakers | ||
| valign=top width=10% |
| valign=top width=10% |
|
All draw times are listed in Eastern Time .[9]
Tuesday, April 11, 11:30 am
Tuesday, April 11, 3:00 pm
Tuesday, April 11, 6:30 pm
Wednesday, April 12, 8:00 am
Wednesday, April 12, 11:30 am
Wednesday, April 12, 3:30 pm
Wednesday, April 12, 7:00 pm
Thursday, April 13, 8:00 am
Thursday, April 13, 11:30 am
Thursday, April 13, 3:30 pm
Thursday, April 13, 7:00 pm
Friday, April 14, 8:00 am
Friday, April 14, 11:30 am
Friday, April 14, 3:30 pm
Friday, April 14, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 15, 11:30 am
Saturday, April 15, 3:30 pm
Saturday, April 15, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 16, 1:00 pm