Kevin Koe earns first-day win at Alberta men's curling provincials

Kevin Koe’s bid to regain the king of men’s curling crown in the province opened on the right foot Wednesday in Central Alberta.

The eight-time provincial champ and his rink from Calgary’s Glencoe Club scored a 10-7 win over Sexsmith CC’s Daylan Vavrek at the 2025 Alberta Boston Pizza Cup, presented by Best Western, on now through Sunday at the Stettler Recreation Centre.

Koe and his crew of third Aaron Sluchinski, second Tyler Tardi, lead Karrick Martin and alternate Mike Libbus turned a tight game into a victory with three in the ninth end of the evening draw.

Koe was one of four teams that earned a bye through the morning draw as top seeds in the championship.

All four then won their openers in the evening.

Besides the Koe victory: Calgary’s Cole Adams of the Garrison CC used a count of four in the sixth end and three more in the seventh to defeat Edmonton’s Jacob Libbus of the Ellerslie CC 10-4; Edmonton’s Evan Van Amsterdam of the Saville CC made the hammer count for one in the final end of an 8-7 edge of Lacombe CC’s Daniel Humbke; and Sherwood Park CC’s Johnson Tao jumped out to a 4-1 lead for an 8-5 win over Irricana CC’s Rob Johnson.

In the event’s first draw Wednesday afternoon: Libbus beat Calgary CC’s Jamie King 10-7; Humbke blasted Saville CC’s Zachary Davies 8-1; Johnson edged Ellerslie CC’s Ryan Jacques 7-6; and Vavrek topped Sherwood Park CC’s Benjamin Klist 9-6.

The B event begins early Thursday (9 a.m.), followed by an afternoon draw (2 p.m.) and a busy evening set of games (7 p.m.), including the A final to determine the first qualifier for the Boston Pizza Cup’s playoff round.

The winner of the event — a triple-knockout format — earns the right to represent the province at the 2025 Brier, slated for Feb. 28-March 9 in Kelowna, B.C.