Kerri Einarson and her Shield Curling Club teammates are part of history after capturing the inaugural Rock League professional curling championship.
Members of Shield Curling Club — Brad Jacobs, Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel, Jacob Horgan, Dan Marsh, Mattia Giovanella, Amos Mosaner, Kerri Einarson, Tracy Fleury, Agnes Knochenhauer, Marlee Powers and Carole Howald — celebrate with the championship trophy after winning the inaugural Rock League title in Toronto
Shield defeated Typhoon Curling Club 2-1 in the championship final on Sunday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, closing out the first-ever season of curling’s new professional league.
The league features a unique mixed-gender, team-based format, with each matchup consisting of men’s and women’s four-player games along with a mixed doubles contest. Teams must win two of the three disciplines to claim the overall match victory.
Shield opened the final with a strong performance from its men’s team, skipped by Brad Jacobs, who secured an 8-7 win to give the club an early edge.
Einarson’s women’s squad — which included Tracy Fleury, Agnes Knochenhauer and Marlee Powers — was unable to clinch the title outright, dropping a 7-5 decision to Typhoon and forcing a winner-take-all mixed doubles game.
That set the stage for a dramatic finish, where Shield’s duo of Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel and Powers delivered under pressure. In a deciding shootout, Schwarz-van Berkel drew to the button to secure an 8-7 victory and seal the championship.
The win capped a strong week for Shield, which finished fourth in the round-robin standings before making a playoff run to the title. Einarson’s team played a key role in that push, including a clutch 5-4 victory during a sweep of Maple United that helped secure a postseason berth.
“We all played amazing. Our team is really gelling together and it’s definitely showing on the ice,” Einarson said earlier in the week as Shield climbed the standings.
Rock League’s inaugural season featured six franchises — Alpine, Frontier, Maple United, Northern United, Shield and Typhoon — competing in a week-long event that blended traditional curling formats with a team-based, professional structure.
All games were played at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre and streamed nationally on CBC platforms, marking a significant step toward a fully professional model for the sport.
Shield’s championship victory earned the team a US$100,000 prize and established the club as the first titleholder in Rock League history.
