SC Karuizawa's Team Yamaguchi Returns to Home Ice Seeking Redemption at Karuizawa International

SC Karuizawa Club's Team Yamaguchi has been confirmed as a participant in the 2026 Karuizawa International, set for September 17-20 -- and few teams will feel more at home on that ice. Skip Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi is a native of Karuizawa itself, and the club has long been the standard-bearer of Japanese men's curling. The team arrives with unfinished business after finishing third at the most recent edition of the event, and with the motivation that comes from a breakthrough season: Yamaguchi led SC Karuizawa Club to victory at the 2025 Japanese Olympic Trials, earning Japan's men's berth at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The veteran skip has now made nine World Championship appearances and one Olympic appearance, and he brings one of Japan's deepest and most experienced lineups -- fourth Riku Yanagisawa, second Takeru Yamamoto, and lead Satoshi Koizumi -- back to the event they consider their own. With the Karuizawa International now a Grand Slam of Curling Satellite Event, the winner earns an invitation to a Grand Slam, raising the stakes considerably for a team hungry to go one better than their third-place showing last time out.