Merlin Orvik (St. Paul, MN) run at the 2017 The Big Spiel came to an end in the semifinals with a 8-6 loss to Tyler Drews (Winnipeg, CAN). of the 2017 The Big Spiel in Minneapolis, Minnesota;
 
Orvik finished 5-0 in the 0-team qualifying round. . In their opening game, Orvik defeated Sheila Longie (St. Paul, MN) 7-5, then won 8-0 against Gene Hinze (Blaine, MN) and 7-6 against Steve Jytyla (St. Paul, MN). Orvik won 7-4 against Tim Walior (St. Paul, MN), then won 7-6 against Mark Willmert (St. Paul, MN) in their final qualifying round match.
 
. For week of the event schedule, Orvik did not improve upon their best events, remaining at th place on the World Ranking Standings with total points. Orvik ranks th overall on the Year-to-Date rankings with points earned so far this season.