In a thrilling showdown at the second annual Jamaica National Team Qualification event, Curling Jamaica crowned new mixed doubles champions after an intense competition at the Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, recently.
Six teams vied for the title in the single knockout elimination tournament, with the top two seeds earning a bye to the semi-final round.
The action-packed event began with the third-seeded team of Margot Shepherd-Spurgeon and Andrew Walker securing a victory in their first game against Alexandra Marriott and Husani Blaze. Marriott and Blaze exhausted their “thinking time” allowance, leading to Shepherd-Spurgeon and Walker’s automatic win.
Both semi-final matches featured familial rivalries
In another closely contested match, the fourth-seeded team of Theresa Chen and Ben Kong emerged victorious over Melanie Hoo-Fatt and Luke Samuels with a final score of 7-6.
Both semi-final matches featured familial rivalries, with Shepherd-Spurgeon and Walker facing off against Madeleine Spurgeon and Don Johnston, while the sibling duo of Stephanie Chen and Justin Chen competed against their own mother, Theresa Chen, and partner Ben Kong.
Shepherd-Spurgeon and Walker secured an emotional 7-6 victory, while the Chen siblings triumphed with a commanding 12-1 win, leading to their opponents conceding defeat after just four ends.
Triumphant comeback
The championship final saw an intense battle between team Shepherd-Spurgeon/Walker and the top-seeded team of Chen/Chen. After eight ends of play, the game was tied 7-7, leading to an extra end. In a nail-biting finish, Shepherd-Spurgeon/Walker secured the victory with a lone point in the extra end, clinching the national title.
As the newly crowned national champions, Shepherd-Spurgeon and Walker have earned the honor of representing Jamaica at the upcoming World Championship Qualifying Tournament for mixed doubles in Dumfries, Scotland, later this year.
The victory marks a triumphant comeback for Shepherd-Spurgeon and Walker, who were defeated in the 2023 National Championship by Madeleine Spurgeon and Ian Robertson just one year ago. Now, they stand proudly as champions, ready to take on the international stage and uphold Jamaica’s curling legacy.
