The 2003 M&M Meat Shops Masters of Curling was held from December 11 to 14, 2003 at the Garson Arena in Sudbury, Ontario. The event was one of the four men's Grand Slams of the 2003–04 curling season.
The total purse for the event was $100,000, with $30,000 going to the winning team. The format was a triple knockout. The semifinals and finals were aired on Sportsnet.
The event was the first Slam to feature the World champion Randy Ferbey rink, who had been banned from competition by the World Curling Players Association for refusing to boycott playing in the Brier due to a dispute between the Players Association and the Canadian Curling Association. There was much excitement for the potential of a match between Ferbey and their cross-town rivals, Team Kevin Martin who were on opposite sides of the dispute, meaning the two teams had not played since the final of the 2001 Alberta men's championship. The two teams did end up playing off in a C qualifying match, with Martin easily winning 7–1.
The final featured Wayne Middaugh of Ontario defeating Team Jeff Stoughton 5–2. Middaugh's rink won the $30,000 top prize, while Stoughton took home $18,000. There was also a third place match, which saw Team Martin defeat Nova Scotia's Mark Dacey 9–7. Team Martin earned $14,000 for third place, while Dacey won $10,000.
Teams The teams were as follows: SkipThirdSecondLeadLocaleWCPA rankingKerry Burtnyk Ken Tresoor Rob Fowler Keith Fenton Winnipeg, Manitoba 8th Mark Dacey Bruce Lohnes Rob Harris Andrew Gibson Halifax, Nova Scotia 24th Glen Despins Rod Montgomery Phillip Germain Dwayne Mihalicz Regina, Saskatchewan 6thPete Fenson Eric Fenson Shawn Rojeski John Shuster Bemidji, Minnesota NR David Nedohin Randy Ferbey (skip) Scott Pfeifer Jeff Erickson Edmonton, Alberta 4th Guy Hemmings Martin Ferland Pierre Charette Dale Ness Saint-Aimé, Quebec 15th Andy Kapp Uli Kapp Oliver Axnick Holger Höhne Füssen, Germany NR Blake MacDonald Jamie King (skip) Aaron Skillen Ryan Keane Edmonton, Alberta 13th Kevin Martin Don Walchuk Carter Rycroft Don Bartlett Edmonton, Alberta 1st Greg McAulay Brent Pierce Dean Koyanagi Ross Graham Richmond, British Columbia 19th Wayne Middaugh Graeme McCarrel Joe Frans Scott Bailey Midland, Ontario 2nd John Morris Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Paul Moffatt Calgary, Alberta 9th Kevin Park Shane Park Scott Park Kerry Park Edmonton, Alberta 14th Vic Peters Ryan Fry Chris Neufeld Denni Neufeld Winnipeg, Manitoba 10th Keith Ryan Mike Ryan Mike Adam Dennis Langdon Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador NR Jeff Stoughton Jon Mead Garry Vandenberghe Steve Gould Winnipeg, Manitoba 3rd
Playoffs The playoff scores were as follows:
Notes
References