The votes are in. Here’s what you picked.

Look, that was a lot of curling we watched. And there’s still more to consume. But for now, let’s try to remember all that we watched, or at least the good parts.

Last week I put out a survey to ask for your favorite games and favorite teams. Twenty-eight different games were mentioned. Here are the 10 (well, technically 11) top vote-getters … full disclosure, I voted too.

T-10th—Scotties Round Robin: Quebec vs. PEI

Yeah, there were just so many games. The bubble, at times, was a blur of an event accented by the occasional big game and cool shot, wrapped up in hours of waiting. There were some terrific games which were no doubt memory-holed by the crowd who responded. But they remembered this one, during the first of seven events, an all-around wild game between two dark horse teams. PEI was in control, up four with two ends to play. But Quebec stayed patient and scored a four-bagger in the ninth, then stole the 10th after Suzanne Birt drew light on her last throw.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LflJl743jNI[/embed]

T-10th—World Men’s Qualifier: Canada vs. Scotland

This was the last game before the false positives dropped. It was also an impeccable game by Scotland—absolutely no quarter given to Canada. They shot 94% as a team. A disappointing exit for Bottcher, but this would’ve been an exit for any other team that shared ice with Bruce Mouat.

T-7th—Canadian MD Final: Gushue/Einarson vs. Sahaidak/Lott

I think people are coming around on mixed doubles. It may have taken a weird but necessary biosphere of sports to make it happen, but it seemed like people latched onto the two-on-two game. Einarson had never played it competitively, but Gushue had, and his experience along with her shotmaking led to a decisive victory over a pair of young and promising mixed doubles specialists.

T-7th—World Women’s Round Robin: Switzerland vs. Denmark

At the risk of editorializing and undercutting the opinions of people who took their time to fill out my survey: the eight-ender is the most overrated accomplishment in curling. Having said that, it had never happened before in world championship history, and some people happen to enjoy them, and who am I to deprive them of the rare feat of one team making all their shots and the other team outrageously missing all their shots.

T-7th—World Women’s Bronze Medal Game: USA vs. Sweden

Americans love nothing more than scoring a five-ender on a Swedish team in a medal game. They can’t get enough of it. USA had won some gold and silvers in the 2000s but never a bronze in program history, now they have all the colors. It’s not the way Anna Hasselborg wanted to end Sweden’s bubble run, but they’re going to be back and they’re going to be scary.

T-5th—Canadian MD Playoffs: Sahaidak/Lott vs. Peterman/Gallant

This was my personal pick. Mixed doubles is a wonderfully fun game and a deceptively athletic one. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant have an immaculate skill set for this (skip brains, front-end bodies) but so do Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott, who focus on this harder than the four-person game, and Sahaidak drew to the pinhole to secure the win and knock out the defending champs.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFKbm0_fmRU[/embed]

T-5th—World Women’s Semifinal: RCF vs. Sweden

Every WWCC playoff team, you may have noticed (by a Canadian telling you), had a Canadian coach, with the exception of Team Definitely Not Russia. When Alina Kovaleva was in control of the game, you’d think they’d just start peeling guards. Instead, RCF kept junking the house because that’s what got them there. And it worked. The scoreboard is a great guide. But perhaps there is more than one strategy to this game.

4th—Scotties Final: Canada vs. Ontario

Sequels can’t always live up to the original. The 2020 version had way more drama, and some prettier shotmaking, but this one also had Einarson pulling out to an early lead and surviving a big steal. This time it was a steal of two in the ninth, retaining the hammer in the 10th end, and she didn’t need to throw it. As news came down that the women’s worlds would join the bubble, they finally got their chance to play as Team Canada against other countries.

T-2nd—Brier Final: Alberta vs. Wild Card (Koe)

The dreaded “BB.” Buffalo Bills. Brendan Bottcher. You can’t lose four of these things in a row. And they didn’t. The wheels spinning in Koe’s head on that last throw, time running out, the geometry not there. They finally did it. They kicked down the door, and the monkey on their back was asked to leave and quarantine for 14 days. One survey respondent called the game “cathartic” and that’s a perfect way to describe it: especially the team cheering in response to the win, followed by the silence of the arena.

T-2nd—World Men’s Final: Sweden vs. Scotland

With the false positives in their rear-view mirror and European dominance well in hand, Scotland came out of the gate strong. The Swedes were good, but couldn't quite control the game. Then came the ninth end, mask on, black tape on the hat, cardboard spectators, and Edin tossed the off-nose double for five and claimed their fifth world championship. The stuff of history.

1st—Brier Semifinal: Alberta vs. Saskatchewan

If you remember the final round robin draw of that Brier, it was an absolute cluster. It was messier than an RCF house. We knew one of the three playoff teams (Koe). There were five other candidates. An extra midnight draw was well within reality. But the dust settled and the semifinal was Alberta and Saskatchewan.

It was a patient game by both teams, well-called and well-thrown. Dunstone broke in the eighth allowing a steal, then responded in nine with a two-pointer, and played a very nice 10th end. He just left that confounded angle raise, and Bottcher made it to perfection.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-zXgitqtwM[/embed]

It was a well-played game and a wild finish—the best of both worlds. It was your favorite game of the bubble. And with any luck, we’ll see these two teams in the Brier final again, perhaps in front of real fans.

Percentage of votes by event:

Brier 29%

Scotties 21%

World Men’s 18%

World Women’s 17%

Mixed Doubles 9%

Players’ Championship 4%

Champions Cup 2%

Percentage of votes by importance of game:

Finals: 42%

Round Robin/Pool: 27%

Others (tiebreakers, playoffs): 31%