Colton Lott and Team Dunstone broke through on curling’s biggest stage last weekend, capturing their first Grand Slam of Curling title at the AMJ Masters in London, Ont., from Sept. 23 to 28.
Lott, who throws third for the Matt Dunstone rink, helped guide his team to a 3-1 record in round-robin play before storming through the playoffs. Dunstone defeated Team Ramsfjell 6-3 in the quarterfinals, edged Team Jacobs 6-5 in the semis, and sealed the championship with a dramatic 6-4 extra-end victory over Team Whyte in Sunday’s final.
The victory marked a milestone moment for Lott, who had come close to a Grand Slam crown several times before.
“Oh, it means everything,” Lott told RockChannel.com. “To be able to come out here and grind with the boys all week. It’s just a phenomenal experience, especially playing in all these in the past and being so close. Now to finally break through, it’s just a start for us.”
The path to a Grand Slam title is never an easy one, with the world’s top teams competing for one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies.
“It’s extremely hard,” said Lott. “Everybody out here is so good. And you just got to be that team that can just kind of stick around throughout a game and keep that pressure on to always give yourself a chance in the end.”
With the breakthrough win now behind them, Team Dunstone will look to carry their momentum into their next major challenge — the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary from Oct. 1 to 5.