The Provincial Masters Championship took place from February 8 to 16 at the Des Collines Curling Club. A total of 26 teams competed over nine exciting days in both the women’s and men’s divisions.
This season, the women’s competition kicked off the championship. Ten teams were divided into two sections of five. After the preliminary round, Team Derick (4-0) from the Lacolle/Buckingham/Sherbrooke curling clubs and Team Murray (3-1) from the Hudson Whitlock Curling Club qualified for the Page playoffs in Section A. In Section B, Team Prévost (4-0) from the Laval-sur-le-Lac Curling Club and Team Guévin (3-1) from the Rosemère/Trois-Rivières/Sherbrooke curling clubs also secured playoff spots.
In the Page A1 vs. B1 match, Team Prévost scored a single point in an extra end to win 7-6 against Team Derick, earning a direct spot in the final while Team Derick moved to the semifinal.
The A2 vs. B2 match was more decisive, as Team Guévin claimed an 8-2 victory after six ends, securing a place in the semifinal.
The semifinal turned into an offensive battle, with a total of nineteen points scored in seven ends. In the end, Team Derick emerged victorious with a 12-7 win, earning a rematch against Team Prévost.
The championship final was a more defensive match, with the score tied 2-2 after five ends. In the sixth end, Team Derick managed to steal three points to take the lead. After adding another stolen point in the seventh end, Team Derick secured the championship title with a 6-2 victory.
Following the women’s competition, it was the men’s turn to take the ice. Sixteen teams participated in the championship, divided into two sections of eight teams.
In Section A, Team Butler (7-0) from the Buckingham Curling Club and Team Reid (6-1) from the Kénogami/Riverbend/Baie Comeau curling clubs qualified for the Page playoffs. In Section B, the competition was tighter, with three teams—Sylvain Bellavance (Ville Mont-Royal/Chicoutimi/Noranda/Boucherville), André Bellavance (Belvédère), and Alain Leblanc (Boucherville)—finishing with identical 5-2 records. Based on cumulative draw-to-the-button results, Team Sylvain Bellavance advanced directly to the playoffs, while the other two teams faced off in a tiebreaker. Team André Bellavance won the tiebreaker 7-5 to claim the final playoff spot.
The A1 vs. B1 match was one-sided. With the hammer in the first end, Team Butler scored two points, followed by another two points, two single points, and a two-point fifth end to secure an 8-0 win over Team Sylvain Bellavance. This victory sent Team Butler straight to the final, while Team Bellavance had to go through the semifinal.
In the A2 vs. B2 match, Teams Reid and André Bellavance traded the hammer over the first four ends. After blanking the fifth and sixth ends, Team Reid scored a single point with the hammer to take a 4-2 lead. Team Bellavance was unable to generate offense in the eighth end and ran out of stones.
The semifinal between Teams Sylvain Bellavance and Serge Reid saw several stolen ends, with five of the eight ends won by the team without the hammer. After scoring two points in the seventh end to trail 6-5, Team Reid stole two more points in the eighth end to secure a 7-6 victory.
The championship final was dominated by Team Butler, who claimed the title with an 8-2 win.
Both championship-winning teams will now represent the province at the Canadian Masters Championship, which will take place from March 30 to April 6 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
We would like to highlight the outstanding organizational work of the Des Collines Curling Club, the invaluable contributions of all volunteers—including those responsible for officiating, ice maintenance, and kitchen services—as well as the dedicated involvement of our officials, Mr. Jacques Desharnais and Mr. Richard Gervais.
