On October 21, the best finalists of the Russian Mixed Doubles Curling Cup were determined at the Novaya Liga curling club in Moscow.

In the tournament of "ice chess," which lasted a long six competition days, 20 teams from eight regions of the country competed, with some regions entering several team-pairs. The regions with the most participants were Moscow and St. Petersburg with four teams each, Chelyabinsk and Tomsk Oblasts with three teams each, the Udmurt Republic and Samara Oblast with two teams each, and one team each from Sakhalin Oblast and the Republic of Bashkortostan. Incidentally, Sakhalin Oblast participated in this tournament for the first time, showing serious potential, which is very encouraging.

The first three competition days saw the teams competing in a round-robin system within four groups (A, B, C, D). After that, the intense struggle of all mixed pairs continued in a playoff format, with the best duos advancing to the stage of the final matches.

Russian Curling Cup Group Table

Match Results

In the match for 3rd place, the team from Chelyabinsk Oblast – Nargis and Roman Kuzmin – met the team from Moscow – Arina Karpova and Vladislav Rabinovich. In a dramatic battle, the young Muscovites confirmed their skill, winning with a minimal advantage of 7-6.

As expected, the most experienced pair, Anna Serebrennikova and Oleg Khoroshkov from Tomsk Oblast, reached the final. They, the multiple national champions, were opposed by a team from the Udmurt Republic – Irina Pavlova and Danil Volkov. Experience really does matter: the Tomsk team confidently outplayed the Udmurt team, finishing the match with a score of 8-3 in their favor. Nevertheless, the promising duo from the "gunsmiths' region" showed a sufficiently high level of play.

The President of the Federation, Dmitry Rebrov, took part in the awards ceremony. He warmly congratulated everyone, presenting the winners and prize-winners with medals, diplomas, and victory cups.

Evgeny Tavrikov, senior coach of the Russian national curling team:

“Twenty teams competed in the Russian Mixed Doubles Curling Cup, and we were thrilled to welcome a new participant: the team from Sakhalin Oblast. They have a talented coach and a strong work ethic, so I'm confident they'll excel. The matches were fiercely contested, as this event served as a qualifier for the 2026 Russian Championship in Vladivostok. Numerous teams impressed with their skill, and it will be exciting to see them again next April.”

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Maria Mazhenina

Photo: Anton Zelenin

Translation: Daria Kudelina