Eight Ends: What you need to know for the 2024 Co-op Canadian Open

RED DEER, Alta. — The Grand Slam of Curling returns from the holiday break with the Co-op Canadian Open running Tuesday to Sunday at Servus Arena.

Here's a rundown of event info and key storylines in Eight Ends.

FIRST END: WHAT'S AT STAKE?

The Co-op Canadian Open is the fourth Grand Slam of Curling tournament of the season, featuring 16 of the top men's teams and 16 of the top women's teams from around the world with a $400,000 total purse split equally between both divisions.

Teams were invited based on the WCF's world team rankings as of Dec. 18 with one spot reserved in each division as a promotion for the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2 winners. Danny Casper (men's) and Eun-Jung Kim (women's) were victorious at that event in October to secure their berths for their teams.

The Grand Slam of Curling announced Sunday that Selena Sturmay's Edmonton-based team will replace Stefania Constantini, whose Italian club withdrew due to medical reasons. Sturmay was invited as the highest-ranked Alberta team at the cutoff date.

Teams will play four round-robin games with the top eight overall in both divisions advancing to Saturday's quarterfinals. If necessary, a tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots. The semifinals are also on tap Saturday with both finals scheduled for Sunday.

SECOND END: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN

The Co-op Canadian Open is also the third major of the season as one of the four charter events in the series. The first Canadian Open was held during the Grand Slam of Curling's inaugural season in 2001. Originally a men's invitational, skip Wayne Middaugh captured the title after stealing the winning point to defeat Jeff Stoughton 8-7.

Kevin Martin holds the record for most Canadian Open championships won by a skip with five, including back-to-back titles during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Mike McEwen is the only other skip who has captured consecutive Canadian Open titles, pulling off the feat in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

The Canadian Open expanded in 2014 with the addition of the women's division. Eve Muirhead was the first women's champion, defeating Rachel Homan 5-3 in the final. Homan took the title the following year and became the first (and so far only) two-time Canadian Open women's champion when she captured the trophy once more in 2019.

Brendan Bottcher and Satsuki Fujisawa are the defending champions following last year's event in Camrose, Alta. Bottcher beat Niklas Edin and Fujisawa fended off Kerri Einarson by identical 5-3 scores.

THIRD END: TEAM RETORNAZ ON A ROLL

There's no team hotter right now than Joël Retornaz's rink from Italy.

Retornaz enters the Co-op Canadian Open having won three consecutive Grand Slam of Curling men's titles to start this season at the HearingLife Tour Challenge, KIOTI National and WFG Masters. That tied the record shared by Martin, Brad Jacobs and Brendan Bottcher in the division. (Martin completed his "hat trick" during the 2006-07 season and stretched it to five straight title wins into 2007-08.)

The No. 1-ranked Retornaz is looking to become the first to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles in a single season.

“We really want to keep rolling,” Retornaz said after winning the WFG Masters in December. “It doesn’t end here. The year is ending now but our curling season is not ending. … We’re going to for sure enjoy (being with) our families during Christmas and festivities, then hit the ice and be ready for the next event in January.”

FOURTH END: TEAM HOMAN'S HOT STREAK

Homan also keeps adding to her haul of hardware, having captured a record-extending 14th Grand Slam of Curling women's title at the WFG Masters.

Homan's Ottawa-based club has only played in six tournaments so far this season but has barely missed a beat reaching five finals and winning four titles. That includes November's Red Deer Curling Classic that took place right next door to Servus Arena in the curling club.

Could Homan go two-for-two in Red Deer? The odds should be in her favour.

FIFTH END: MORE TEAMS CHASING HISTORY

Completing a career Grand Slam is a pretty exclusive club as only Martin, Middaugh, Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton and Brad Gushue in the men's division plus Anna Hasselborg on the women's side have accomplished the feat.

Three skips competing this week are a Canadian Open title away from joining them: Bruce Mouat in the men's division plus Einarson and Jennifer Jones in the women's division.

It's been a tale of two seasons for Mouat, whose team holds a 40-9 record outside of the Grand Slams with three title wins on tour and a gold medal at the European Championships. But the Scottish crew is 5-8 in Grand Slams, missing the playoffs in two of the three events. Third Grant Hardie was missing from the lineup during the WFG Masters, so the short-handed squad could be excused for that one. They should get back on track now that Hardie has returned to the fold.

Einarson came close last year until running into Fujisawa in the final. Her team from Gimli, Man., has qualified for the quarterfinals in 11 consecutive Grand Slam events — the longest active playoff streak in the series — and No. 6-ranked Einarson should be in the mix.

Jones has won just about everything in curling, including the HearingLife Tour Challenge earlier this season. Her Winnipeg team is ranked fourth in the world and like Einarson is coming off of a semifinal run at the WFG Masters.

SIXTH END: MEN'S DIVISION STORYLINES

Ross Whyte and his Scottish team turned heads during the WFG Masters, winning three straight elimination games to secure a spot in the men's final. Whyte's red-hot run ended with a 3-2 loss to Retornaz, however, the young squad has been making leaps this season and is right on the cusp.

Reigning champ Bottcher has had a strong season and is ranked second in the world but there's just one problem: he keeps running into Retornaz in the playoffs. Bottcher fell to Retornaz in the HearingLife Tour Challenge final plus the semis of the KIOTI National and WFG Masters.

A change would do you good: Team Carruthers was on the bubble for future Grand Slams when third Brad Jacobs was handed the skip reins for the WFG Masters. The Winnipeg club looked rejuvenated and qualified for the playoffs to ensure an invite to the Co-op Canadian Open. Team Carruthers followed that up with a runner-up result Sunday at the Astec Safety Challenge on tour in Lloydminster, Sask.

Kevin Koe's crew defeated Team Carruthers 6-3 in that final and it'll also be interesting to see if the Calgary club can maintain the momentum to snap a three-event Grand Slam playoff drought.

SEVENTH END: WOMEN'S DIVISION STORYLINES

Silvana Tirinzoni is ranked No. 1 in the world for a reason. Her Swiss squad has won four tournaments, including the European Championships. Tirinzoni should be recharged and ready to regroup from an 8-4 loss to Homan in the WFG Masters final.

Kate Cameron's team from Winnipeg will have a different look this week with Chelsea Carey subbing at skip. Carey is a two-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion and skipped her own squad to the Canadian Open women's title in 2018.

It'll be a homecoming event for Jocelyn Peterman, who throws second stones for Winnipeg skip Kaitlyn Lawes. Peterman is originally from Red Deer and should have a strong supporters' section in the stands.

Have you noticed we've said Winnipeg a lot? Add one more to the mix with Jolene Campbell's team playing in its first major Grand Slam event this season. The Co-op Canadian Open will serve as a tune-up for teams such as Cameron, Lawes and Campbell with provincial playdowns on the horizon.

EIGHT END: HOW TO WATCH THE CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN

Broadcast coverage of the Co-op Canadian Open begins Thursday at 2 p.m. ET / noon MT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ and runs through to Sunday's finals.

Visit sportsnet.ca/schedule for the full broadcast schedule.