He just wins in Cornwall, and it doesn’t really matter where. Amelia Street barn, or the glitzy new curling centre near the Civic Complex…out with the old, in with the new, says Jim Stewart, who won his second straight title, on Sunday afternoon at the 18th annual Labatt Men’s Invitational Bonspiel.

It was the first one held at the new six-sheet home of Cornwall curlers, which made it another special, triumphant weekend for Stewart, of the Ottawa Curling Club. Stewart was 5-0, and he’s 10-0 in his last two years here. “It’s nice to win the last one (over at Amelia Street) and win the first one here,” said Stewart, who eked out a 7-6 win against the Carleton Heights team skipped by Ed Warren.

The facilities are great – it’s not hard to find players to come down and play in this tournament. The ice is exceptional.” Nobody seems to master it like Stewart, originally of Valleyfield. The team he brought to Cornwall this time had two different players, yet the result was the same. Stewart, with Geoff Colley (third), Mike Amos (second), and John Galligan (lead) got it done.

The secret? “Basically you come down here with four guys to have a good time,” Stewart said. Except that there were 47 other teams in the mix – the total of 48 is the largest ever for the event – and only Stewart took the big prize. It’s his third win at the Open; the first was in the late 80s. He never misses it – except in 1991 when Stewart was at the TSN Skins Game in New Brunswick.

Stewart went to the nationals when he was a Junior, so don’t go believing all that stuff about just coming to Cornwall for a good time. They came to win – but they nearly didn’t. The final against Warren went to an extra end, and Stewart, with the final rock, made the shot that counted the most.

~ The A Consolation crown went to the Ottawa Curling Club’s Gary Wong, who defeated John Morrissey (Navy – Ottawa).
~Brockville’s Dave Burgess took the B crown, over James Benson, of the Ottawa Curling Club.
~ The C winner was John Stewart (Valleyfield), who got past Cornwall’s Kevin Baker.
~ In D final play, Ormstown’s Wes Ruddock defeated Jeff Comer (Cornwall).
~ In the new Seniors ranks, Ron England of Vancouver, defeated Hawkesbury’s Pierre Laviolette.
~ Gordie Buchan (Perth) was the B winner, taking the final over Maxville’s Don Bond.
~ In the C division, Kingston’s Bob Helliar won by the slimmest of margins on an extra end measurement, over Cornwall’s Bill Dickie.