BURSTSwitzerland’s Yannick Schwaller didn’t think twice when posed with the opportunity to take his red-hot momentum from 2025-26 to southern B.C. this weekend.
The world’s No. 1-ranked curler is among the 24 skips at the Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic until Oct. 11.
Schwaller, coming off an Olympic bronze medal and his first-career Grand Slam title, is leading his team into playoff action on Saturday after going 4-0 in round-robin play.
“This was a no-brainer for us coming here,” Schwaller said moments before his Friday night, 9-5 win over two-time world champion Kevin Koe of Canada. “We saw it as one of the more important tournaments to prepare for the Grand Slam phase.”
A lucrative $100,000 purse on the line represents the largest prize pool for a non-Grand Slam event.
Canadian curling legend Glenn Howard has coached Schwaller’s team for a year and a half.
“Everyone’s throwing it great out there, and I’m really hoping we can take that into the playoffs,” Schwaller said of his team’s perfect start at the Penticton Curling Club bonspiel.
It’s a star-studded field on the ice, with teams preparing for the first Grand Slam of the season in Victoria, starting Tuesday, Oct. 13.
“I think it’s the best spiel there is going,” Koe said of the early-season Penticton event. “There’s a reason I haven’t missed one, and it’s just because of how great of an event it is.”
Koe, now 51, said the strength of competition continues to drive his love for the sport.
“That’s mainly the reason I still keep playing — is for games like this, just to compete and have the challenge,” Koe said before his team’s showdown with Schwaller.
Other top-ranked skips who made the trip to Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic include 2026 Olympians Oskar Eriksson of Sweden (No. 7 worldwide) and Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi of Japan (No. 13 worldwide).
Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher, a former Brier and world champion, is also at the event.
There’s no shortage of local, Okanagan-based talent, too, namely Vernon’s Jim Cotter, 51, and 41-year-old Matt Tolley of Penticton.
Asked who he was looking forward to sharing the ice with, Schwaller didn’t hesitate to mention Cotter’s name.
“He’s a B.C. legend,” Schwaller, 35, said of Cotter. “I remember as a junior watching him.”
It’s a short turnaround for teams heading to Victoria next week.
Schwaller, for instance, will catch a flight out of Kelowna and head straight to Vancouver Island after action at the Penticton Curling Club wraps up on Sunday.
“If Grand Slams are tier one, this is for sure the tier next to it,” Schwaller said. “It has been for years now, and I hope that the tournament gets its respect for what it is.”
The quarterfinals for the Penticton event are at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, before the semifinals and finals run at 8:30 a.m. and noon, respectively, on Sunday.
Tickets can be bought at the door (505 Vees Dr.).