Scottish curler
Blair Haswell (born 9 December 1999 in Stranraer) is a Scottish curler from Stirling.[1] He currently plays lead on Team James Craik. Playing for Craik, Haswell won gold at the 2023 Winter World University Games and bronze at the 2020 World Junior Curling Championships.
Career
Juniors
Haswell won the Scottish Junior Curling Championships in 2020, playing second for James Craik. The team also included third Mark Watt and lead Niall Ryder.[2] This earned the rink the right to represent Scotland at the 2020 World Junior Curling Championships, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. There, they topped the round robin with a 7–2 record, earning themselves a spot in the playoffs. The team then lost to Switzerland's Marco Hösli 9–6 in the semifinal before defeating Germany's Sixten Totzek 6–5 to capture the bronze medal.[3] With Haswell aging out of juniors following the cancelled 2020–21 season, he joined Watt's newly created team with third Gregor Cannon and lead Gavin Barr. This lineup saw limited success, only reaching the playoffs in two of seven World Curling Tour events and finishing with a 4–6 record at the 2022 Scottish Curling Championships.[4]
Men's
Haswell and Watt reunited with former teammates Craik and Angus Bryce for the 2022–23 season, forming a team to represent Great Britain at the 2023 Winter World University Games.[5] On the European tour, the team found success, reaching the semifinals of the 2022 Oslo Cup and 2023 Mercure Perth Masters and the quarterfinals of four other events.[6] This set the team up for a dominant run at the University Games, going 8–1 through the round robin and beating Canada's Dalhousie University team (skipped by Owen Purcell) in the semifinal to advance to the final. There, they beat the United States' Daniel Casper to claim the gold medal, becoming the second British men's team to do so.[7][8] After the championship, the team returned home to the Scottish men's championship where they reached the playoffs with a 5–2 record in the round robin. They then beat Ross Whyte in the semifinal before coming up short to Bruce Mouat in the final, who went on to win the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship.[9][10]
Now focused solely on men's play, Team Craik began the 2023–24 season with back-to-back playoff finishes at the 2023 Baden Masters and the 2023 Euro Super Series, losing out to Joël Retornaz and Bruce Mouat respectively. In October, the team went undefeated to win the Grand Prix Bern Inter, Haswell's first tour victory.[11] With the points they accumulated throughout the 2022–23 and start of the 2023–24 season, the team rose high enough in the ranks to qualify for the 2023 National Grand Slam event.[12] They previously competed in the 2023 Tour Challenge Tier 2 event, however, lost in the quarterfinals to Mike McEwen. At the National, the team went 2–2 in the round robin, just enough to squeak into the playoff round. They were then defeated by Yannick Schwaller 6–5 in the quarterfinals.[13] Team Craik also had enough points to play in the next two Slams, the 2023 Masters and the 2024 Canadian Open. After missing the playoffs at the Masters, the team again went 2–2 at the Canadian Open and had a good enough draw total to reach the playoffs. This time, it was Mouat who took them out in the quarterfinal round by a 5–4 score.[14] In February, the team had another strong showing at the national men's championship, going 6–2 in the round robin and qualifying for the 1 vs. 2 game.[15] There, they lost 7–3 to Team Whyte but rebounded with a 9–1 win over Team Mouat to reach the final. There, they again came up short to Whyte, losing 7–6.[16] The team ended their season at the 2024 Players' Championship Slam where they went 1–4.[17]
Mixed doubles
Haswell played in his first Scottish Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in 2022 with partner Eilidh Yeats. There, the pair finished 1–4 through the round robin, not advancing to the playoffs.[18] The following year, he fared much better with Amy MacDonald, going 4–1 in the round robin and qualifying for the knockout round. In the quarterfinals, the team won 5–4 over Kirstin Bousie and Craig Waddell before losing to Sophie Jackson and Duncan McFadzean 9–3 in the semifinal, settling for third.[19] In 2024, MacDonald and Haswell again teamed up and went 5–2 through the round robin, however, missed the playoffs due to a poor draw total.[20]
Personal life
Haswell previously studied at the University of Stirling and the University of Strathclyde, which he represented at the 2023 Winter World University Games.[1][21]
Teams
References
External links
