The 2002 M&M Meat Shops National, the first annual edition of The National Grand Slam curling event was held January 31 to February 3, 2002 at the Sault Memorial Gardens and the Soo Curlers Association in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The total purse of the event was $100,000. It was the third of four (men's) inaugural Grand Slam events of the 2001-02 curling season.[1]
The semifinals and finals were televised on CTV Sportsnet.[1]
In the final, Coldwater, Ontario's Glenn Howard rink won their first Slam title, defeating 2000 World Champion Greg McAulay and his rink of Brent Pierce, Bryan Miki and Jody Sveistrup from Richmond, British Columbia. With the win, the Howard foursome, which also included Richard Hart, Collin Mitchell and Jason Mitchell took home $30,000, while Team McCaulay won $18,000. McCaulay blamed his loss on not having draw weight. In the second end, he was heavy with his final draw, which resulted in a steal of one for Howard, going down 3–0 early. Another miss by McAulay in the sixth (an attempted hit which resulted in a tick), led to an open draw for two for Howard, to go up 6–3. A three-ender in the eighth all but ensured a victory for the Howard rink, which would go on to a 9–7 victory.[2] The attendance for the final was 2,435.[3]
The event was a 24-team triple-knockout competition.
Scores:
The playoff bracket was as follows: