Curling competition at Spokane, Washington
The 2020 United States Men's Curling Championship was held from February 8 to 15, 2020 at the Eastern Washington University Recreation Center in Spokane, Washington. The event was held in conjunction with the 2020 United States Women's Curling Championship. John Shuster claimed his seventh United States Championship, defeating Rich Ruohonen in the final.
Since Team Shuster met certain prerequisites in terms of world ranking points (60 points year-to-date or ranked 70th or higher) they would have represented the United States at the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship, which was scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland from March 28 to April 5, 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Champions also earn a spot at the final Grand Slam of the season, the Champions Cup, which was also cancelled due to the pandemic. Team Shuster's qualification will instead carry over to the 2021 Champions Cup.
Qualification
There were three ways for teams to qualify for the championship:
Challenge round
Sixteen teams competed at the 2020 United States Men's Challenge Round, held at the Grand Forks Curling Club in Grand Forks, North Dakota, from January 2 to 5. Through a triple knockout competition the top four teams secured a spot at the National Championship. Jed Brundidge was the first to secure a spot, defeating Dominik Märki in the 'A' bracket final. Märki then dropped down to the 'B' bracket final and had another opportunity to play for a spot in the Nationals, but this time lost to Kyle Kakela who took the second Nationals berth. In the 'C' bracket Märki finally earned their spot when they defeated Steven Birklid's team. On the other side of the 'C' bracket Luc Violette defeated Nicholas Connolly for the fourth and final Nationals berth. Steven Birklid's team finished the Challenge Round as the alternate team.
Teams
Ten teams participated in the 2020 national championship.
| Skip |
Third |
Second |
Lead |
Alternate |
Locale
|
| Korey Dropkin |
Tom Howell |
Mark Fenner |
Alex Fenson |
Joe Polo |
 Chaska, Minnesota
|
| Todd Birr |
Andrew Stopera |
Hunter Clawson |
Tom O'Connor |
|
Ham Lake, Minnesota
|
| Jed Brundidge |
Evan Workin |
Jarl Timothy Wagner |
Cameron Rittenour |
|
West St. Paul, Minnesota
|
| Scott Dunnam |
Alex Leichter |
Cody Clouser |
Andrew Dunnam |
Daniel Dudt |
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
| Kevin Kakela |
Kyle Kakela |
Timothy Hodek |
JP Munich |
Owen Sampson |
 Rolla, North Dakota
|
| Rich Ruohonen |
Greg Persinger |
Colin Hufman |
Phil Tilker |
Kroy Nernberger |
Minneapolis, Minnesota
|
| John Shuster |
Chris Plys |
Matt Hamilton |
John Landsteiner |
|
Duluth, Minnesota
|
| Dominik Märki |
Stephen Dropkin |
Shawn Banyai |
Erik Quistgaard |
Jason Smith |
Chaska, Minnesota
|
| Steven Birklid |
Sam Galey |
Matt Birklid |
Chris Bond |
Daniel Plys |
 Mountlake Terrace, Washington
|
| Chase Sinnett |
Sam Strouse |
Eli Clawson |
Ethan Sampson |
Trevor Marquardt |
 Medfield, Massachusetts
|
Round-robin standings
Final round-robin standings
Round-robin results
All draw times are listed in Pacific Standard Time (UTC−08:00).
Draw 1
Saturday, February 8, 7:30 pm
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
Korey Dropkin 
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
7
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
3
|
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
Final
|
| Todd Birr
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
7
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Rich Ruohonen
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
12
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
1
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
8
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
5
|
Draw 2
Sunday, February 9, 12:00 pm
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| John Shuster
|
5
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
10
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
1
|
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
1
|
| Dominik Märki
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
10
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
7
|
| Todd Birr
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
| Korey Dropkin
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
5
|
| Rich Ruohonen
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
X
|
9
|
Draw 3
Sunday, February 9, 8:00 pm
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
X
|
X
|
9
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
4
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
| Dominik Märki
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
9
|
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Todd Birr
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
5
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
12
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
5
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Korey Dropkin
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
Draw 4
Monday, February 10, 10:00 am
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
8
|
| Korey Dropkin
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
2
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
7
|
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
X
|
7
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
3
|
Draw 5
Monday, February 10, 7:00 pm
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
8
|
| Todd Birr
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
0
|
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
4
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
X
|
10
|
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
1
|
| Rich Ruohonen
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
7
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
3
|
| Dominik Märki
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
8
|
Draw 6
Tuesday, February 11, 2:00 pm
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Steven Birklid
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
| Korey Dropkin
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
6
|
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
| Rich Ruohonen
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
5
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
X
|
7
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| John Shuster
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
9
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
3
|
Draw 7
Wednesday, February 12, 9:00 am
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
3
|
| John Shuster
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
X
|
8
|
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Dominik Märki
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
X
|
6
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
X
|
10
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Todd Birr
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
10
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
5
|
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
4
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
X
|
8
|
Draw 8
Wednesday, February 12, 7:00 pm
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
4
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
X
|
10
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Steven Birklid
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
6
|
Draw 9
Thursday, February 13, 2:00 pm
| Sheet A
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Kevin Kakela
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
X
|
X
|
10
|
| Jed Brundidge
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
X
|
5
|
| Sheet C
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| John Shuster
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
7
|
| Scott Dunnam
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
X
|
4
|
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Rich Ruohonen
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
11
|
| Steven Birklid
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
10
|
| Sheet E
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
Final
|
| Dominik Märki
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
8
|
Playoffs
1 vs. 2
Friday, February 14, 12:00 pm
3 vs. 4
Friday, February 14, 12:00 pm
| Sheet B
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Dominik Märki
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
X
|
2
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
X
|
6
|
| Player percentages
|
| Team Märki
|
Team Sinnett
|
| Erik Quistgaard |
76%
|
Trevor Marquardt |
83%
|
| Stephen Dropkin |
78%
|
Ethan Sampson |
88%
|
| Dominik Märki |
77%
|
Sam Strouse |
89%
|
| Jason Smith |
78%
|
Chase Sinnett |
89%
|
| Total |
77%
|
Total |
87%
|
Semifinal
Friday, February 14, 7:00 pm
| Sheet D
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Final
|
| Rich Ruohonen
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
9
|
| Chase Sinnett
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
Final
Saturday, February 15, 5:00 pm
| 2020 United States Men's Curling Championship
|
John Shuster
7th United States Championship title
|
References
- Gewirtz, Jason (Nov 1, 2018). "Spokane to Host 2020 USA Curling National Championship". Sports Travel Magazine. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
- Schneider, Angela (2020-02-15). "John Shuster caps unbeaten run through USA Curling Nationals with win over Rich Ruohonen in final". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
- ^ "First nine teams qualify to 2020 Nationals". USA Curling. Dec 4, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
- "Canadian curling continues to get hammered by novel coronavirus cancellations". The Star. Mar 14, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-03-15. Retrieved Apr 27, 2020.
- "Ruohonen Joins Shuster in Top Page Game". USA Curling. 2020-02-12. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
- "2020 Humpty's Champions Cup teams to keep spots for next season". Grand Slam of Curling. Mar 18, 2020. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved Apr 27, 2020.
- "2020 Nationals field nearly complete". USA Curling. Jan 5, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-01-14. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
- "Challenge Round on tap after New Year". USA Curling. Dec 19, 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-01-14. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
- Miller, Tom (Jan 2, 2020). "Former Minnesota Viking Jared Allen's curling experiment playing out in Grand Forks". Duluth News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
- "2020 USA Men's Challenge Round – C Event". CurlingZone. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
- "Qualified teams, 2020 USA Curling National Championships". USA Curling. Archived from the original on 2020-01-14. Retrieved Jan 13, 2020.
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