Hasselborg Finding Form

Sweden's Anna Hasselborg cruised through Saturday's semifinals with a 7-1 win over Gimli's Kerri Einarson at the KIOTI National. Hasselborg with Sara McManus at third, Agnes Knochenhauer at second and Sofia Mabergs at lead, head into Sunday's final against Ottawa's Rachel Homan in a battle of undefeated teams on the week at the KIOTI National in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Hasselborg opened scoring against Einarson with three points in the second end, then after trading singles, Hasselborg stole two points in the fifth end for a dominant 6-1 lead. Hasselborg stole another point in the sixth end after which Einarson conceded the match. While Homan's dominant season has been well-documented, the veteran Swedes have not had success on the Slams yet this season season. Hasselborg went 1-3 at the HearingLife Tour Challenge in Charlottetown, then passing on the Co-op Canadian Open in November opting for rest and training ahead of the Le Gruyere European Curling Championships. Hasselborg has a strong week in Lohja, Finland, taking the silver medal after dropping a Hasselborg has had a strong tour season to supplement their sixth-overall ranking on the World Curling Team Rankings, with a win at the Oslo Cup in Norway and two runner-up finishes, including the Womens Masters Basel in Switzerland and the Sundbyberg Open, hosted at their home club in Sweden. Hasselborg has a career record of 30 wins and 14 losses in 8 appearances at the KIOTI National, winning in 2021, and 2019. In the other semifinal match, Homan defeated Korea's Eunjung Kim 7-6 in an extra end. In the quarterfinals, Hasselborg defeated Christina Black (Halifax) 7-6 in an extra end, while Einarson defeated Satsuki Fujisawa (Kitami, Japan) 12-3, and Kim defeated Seungyoun Ha (Chuncheon, South Korea) 6-3, while Homan defeated Sayaka Yoshimura (Sapporo, Japan) 7-6 in an extra end. Hasselborg finished 4-0 in the 16-team round robin pools qualifying round. In their opening game, Hasselborg defeated Kaitlyn Lawes (Winnipeg) 7-3, then won 6-2 against Eun ji Gim (Gyeonggido, South Korea) and 6-4 against Momoha Tabata (Sapporo, Japan). Hasselborg won 9-5 against Xenia Schwaller (Zurich, Switzerland) in their final qualifying round match.