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By Marty Hastings

ON PEBBLED ICE

Dunstone rolling at first Grand Slam of Curling event south of border

Nov 7, 2025 | 4:02 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops skip Matt Dunstone is not going to lose sleep if his team falls short of gold this week at KIOTI Grand Slam of Curling Tahoe.

The goal is to leave the event — the first Slam on U.S. soil — feeling locked in ahead of the Canadian Olympic curling trials later this month in Halifax.

Dunstone is on track to reach that goal, with a record of 3-0 heading into his final round-robin game, a 7:30 p.m. start on Friday against Jordon McDonald of Winnipeg.

“The last couple of games, especially, we brought some of our best stuff all season,” Dunstone told CFJC Today on Friday morning (Nov. 7).

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“It feels great to have a playoff spot locked up already.”

Slam events are among the most prestigious on the curling calendar, featuring the top teams on the planet and some of the biggest prize purses the game has to offer.

The Lake Tahoe event marks the third Slam of the season.

Dunstone has gold- and silver-medal finishes at the other two and boasts a 14-3 record in Slam games this season.

“I think there’s a group of five-to-six teams and you can flip a coin on any given week on who might be the best team in the world, but we’re definitely one of them, without question,” Dunstone said.

“It’d be hard to put ourselves ahead of Bruce [world No. 1 Bruce Mouat of Scotland] just given what they’ve done over a long stretch of time.”

Team Dunstone, ranked second in the world, earned a 6-5 win over Kyle Waddell of Stirling, Scotland on Tuesday, posted a 7-2 victory over Joel Retornaz on Trentino, Italy on Wednesday and vanquished Marco Hoesli of Glarus, Switzerland, 7-4 on Thursday.

The quarter-finals and semifinals will take place on Saturday, with finals in the men’s and women’s divisions slated for Sunday.

Dunstone said Lake Tahoe reminds him of Sun Peaks.

“But 20 times bigger,” he said. “And it’s right in the middle of their down season. Hopefully, the future of the Grand Slam of Curling is coming to places in the United States. I think it’s a good start, just the fact that it’s actually happening. Ticket sales haven’t been good, but I think eventually steam is going to be picked up and we’re going to be in places that maybe aren’t as difficult to get to.”

Dunstone added curling lovers who often travel to events may be saving money for a trip to the Montana’s Trials, which are scheduled to run from Nov. 22 to Nov. 30 in Halifax.

“Overall, the fact that we are in the States doing it now is a positive,” Dunstone said.