2001 Telus Canadian Open
The 2001 Telus Canadian Open was the first Grand Slam curling event, held December 13–16, 2001 at the Peace Memorial Multiplex in Wainwright, Alberta. The tournament had a $100,000 prize purse, with the winning team earning $30,000. Telus became the sponsor in late November.
Originally 32 teams were planned, but the field was reduced to 24 because some tour teams were reluctant to skip Brier playdowns during a dispute between the World Curling Players Association and the Canadian Curling Association. Local teams were added at the last minute with the promise they would not boycott.
The event used a 24-team triple-knockout format, and the semifinals and final were shown on Sportsnet. In the final, Wayne Middaugh of Midland, Ontario defeated Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg 8–7.
The tournament was seen as a success for the fledgling tour. World Curling Tour executive director Chad McMullan, who also competed, said crowds were near sell-out. The TV audience was about 250,000, more than double Sportsnet’s average for 10 events the previous season and not far from the Nokia Brier’s 369,000 on TSN.
The field included 13 of the top 25 teams in the World Curling Players Association rankings, plus five local teams. Notable absences were Russ Howard (due to family health problems), Bert Gretzinger, and Greg McAulay. Teams that did not boycott the Brier (Randy Ferbey, John Morris, Guy Hemmings) were deemed ineligible.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:37 (CET).