From October 8 to 15, the "Novaya Liga" curling club in Moscow hosted the Russian Cup in curling for men's and women's teams.
At the opening ceremony of the competition, Yevgeny Tavrikov, senior coach of the Russian national curling team, welcomed all participants and wished them luck. Amidst cheers and applause from the audience, he also presented Russian Master of Sport certificates and badges to Arina Karpova, Daria Kulbashevskaya, Zalma Yushaeva, Elizaveta Fanyisheva, Anastasia Naumova, and Olga Yakovleva.
The Russian Cup featured 8 women's and 10 men's teams from the Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad, and Novosibirsk regions, Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Udmurt Republic, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. The men's participants competed in two groups of 5 teams each, playing in a round-robin format, while the women had two groups of 4 teams each.
The top four teams from each group continued the competition in the next stage using the Olympic system: quarterfinals, semifinals, final, and the match for 3rd place.
The capital's curlers were represented by three teams each in both the women's and men's tournaments. After the group stage, the leaders were - among women, the teams Moscow-1 and Kaliningrad Region. Among men, Tomsk Region and Moscow-1.
Semifinal Results
Men:
Tomsk Region 2-4 Moscow-2
Moscow-1 12-5 St. Petersburg
Women:
Moscow-1 5-4 St. Petersburg
Kaliningrad Region 2-8 Moscow-2
Matches for 3rd Place
Men:
Tomsk Region 9-3 St. Petersburg
Women:
Kaliningrad Region 6-7 St. Petersburg
The finals were completely dominated by Moscow teams. In the men's final, the younger team, remembering last year's painful defeat, managed to secure a convincing revenge.
In the women's final, the quartet led by their skip Liliya Kulikova once again confirmed their invincibility.
FINAL RESULTS
Men:
Moscow-2 6-4 Moscow-1
Women:
Moscow-1 6-3 Moscow-2
Winning and Prize-Winning Teams
Yevgeny Tavrikov, Senior Coach of the Russian National Curling Team:
"The Russian Cup was held at a high level, the ice was of very good quality and allowed the athletes to demonstrate all their skills and mastery. It was pleasant to see new young teams that were able to challenge the favorites. Based on the results of the Russian Cup, the top 8 men's and 8 women's teams qualified for the Russian Championship, which will be held in April 2026 in the urban-type settlement of Sirius (Krasnodar Krai). I expect to see even more interesting games there."
But the events didn't end there. The baton was immediately picked up by the next Russian Cup for mixed pairs, which is also taking place in Moscow. We will follow this tournament and await new victories and achievements!
Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Olga Troynikova, Maria Mazhenina
Photo: Anton Zelenin
Translation: Daria Kudelina
