The 2005 Canadian Open curling Grand Slam tournament was held January 27–30, 2005 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1]
The final was an all-Edmonton match between Kevin Martin's rink and his rivals, the Randy Ferbey rink. Martin won the game 8–7, taking home $30,000 for his team. Team Ferbey fourth David Nedohin had a shot to win the game, but came centimetres short on his last throw, a wick-draw attempt.[2]
Following the game, Nedohin stated "It sucks. It's brutal... It's a bad loss. (Team Martin) never deserved to win, but whatever, it happens... (Martin) thinks he's god, he always will." Nedohin was referring to their rivalry, where he believed Martin undermined their team's successes at the Brier in the early 2000s because top teams in the country like Martin had boycotted the event. In response, Martin stated "I sure don't think I am (god)... Our rivalry's great... But this game was so important for us to try and get to the (2005 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials) so really, the had to take a backseat". With the win, Martin became the first team to earn over $1,000,000 in their career.[2]
At the box office, the event was an "unprecedented" success, with a total paid attendance of 46,808.[3]