Kohsuke Hirata (Kitami, JPN) won
8-2 over
Jongduk Park (Gangwon, KOR) in the Final of the Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic, held August 3 - 6, 2023 at the Hokkaido Bank Curling Stadium in Sapporo, Japan. To advance to the championship game, Hirata won
6-3 over
Hayato Sato (Sapporo, JPN) in the semifinals
Hirata finished 3-1 in the 10-team qualifying round. . In their opening game, Hirata defeated
JaeBeom Lee (Uiseong, KOR) 8-2, then went on to lose
5-2 against
Shinya Abe (Sapporo, JPN). Hirata responded with a
12-1 win over
Yusuke Morozumi (Karuizawa, JPN). Hirata won
4-2 against
Park in their final qualifying round match.
For winning the Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic Championship title, Hirata earned
22.500 world rankings points along with the $9,292CDN first prize cheque, moving up 22 spots the
World Ranking Standings into 46th place overall with
77.625 total points. Hirata ranks 2nd overall on the
Year-to-Date rankings with
22.500 points earned so far this season.
