Rich Ruohonen (Chaska, USA) qualified for the 2018 GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 1 playoffs, dropping their quarterfinals match
5-1 against
Brendan Bottcher (Edmonton, AB). of the 2018 GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 1 in Thunder Bay, Ontario;
Ruohonen finished 3-1 in the 15-team qualifying round. . In their opening game, Ruohonen lost
7-4 to
Brad Gushue (St. John's, NL), then responded with a
7-4 win over
Jason Gunnlaugson (Winnipeg, MB). Ruohonen won
5-4 against
John Epping (Toronto, ON), then won
10-5 against
Ross Paterson (Glasgow, SCO) in their final qualifying round match.
Ruohonen earned
31.678 world rankings points for their Top 5 finish in the GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 1, remaining in 20th place overall on the
World Ranking Standings with
227.648 total points. Ruohonen ranks 26th overall on the
Year-to-Date rankings with
81.325 points earned so far this season.
