A Battle of Alberta between Edmonton’s Val Sweeting and Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge will kick off the Masters, the second event and first major of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season.
The series announced Tuesday the draw schedule for the tournament running Oct. 24-29 at Centennial Civic Centre in Lloydminster, Sask.
Sweeting started the season winning her third career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title at the Tour Challenge Tier 1 last month in Regina.
The opening draw also features a rematch of the 2013 Olympic Trials final between Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont., and gold medallist Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg.
American Jamie Sinclair meets Russia’s Anna Sidorova and Jacqueline Harrison of Mississauga, Ont., goes up against Alina Paetz of Switzerland to round out the opener.
Reigning world champions Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., and Ottawa’s Rachel Homan will both be in action for the evening draw on Day 1.
Homan faces Winnipeg’s Michelle Englot in a rematch of this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts final while Gushue, who won the Tour Challenge Tier 1 men’s title, goes up against Scotland’s Kyle Smith.
Meanwhile, Calgary’s Kevin Koe takes on Jason Gunnlaugson of Winnipeg, Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock plays Pat Simmons and his squad from Winnipeg and American John Shuster meets Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen.
The Masters features 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world. Gunnlaugson and Kerri Einarson, also of Winnipeg, qualified after winning the Tour Challenge Tier 2 titles.
Teams play four round-robin games each with the top eight overall advancing to the weekend playoffs. The winning teams of the Masters qualify for the season-ending Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament, the Humpty’s Champions Cup, running April 24-29, 2018, at Calgary’s WinSport Arena.
Teams also earn points towards the Bonus Cup, awarded to the overall season champions following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April, with the winning teams receiving $75,000 each.
Live TV coverage begins Oct. 26 on Sportsnet (click here for the TV schedule) and watch online at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and gsoc.yaretv.com (international).
MASTERS DRAW SCHEDULE
| Draws | Time (MT) | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, October 24 | ||||||
| 1 | 4:30 p.m. | Sinclair vs. Sidorova |
Paetz vs. Harrison |
Sweeting vs. Scheidegger |
Jones vs. Middaugh |
|
| 2 | 8:00 p.m. | Homan vs. Englot |
Koe vs. Gunnlaugson |
Laycock vs. Simmons |
McEwen vs. Shuster |
Gushue vs. Smith |
| Wednesday, October 25 | ||||||
| 3 | 8:30 a.m. | De Cruz vs. Carruthers |
Edin vs. Morris |
Paetz vs. Jones |
Hasselborg vs. Sinclair |
Muirhead vs. Sidorova |
| 4 | 12:30 p.m. | Tirinzoni vs. Middaugh |
Jacobs vs. Simmons |
Ulsrud vs. Smith |
Englot vs. Einarson |
Epping vs. Gunnlaugson |
| 5 | 4:00 p.m. | Flaxey vs. Muirhead |
Gushue vs. Shuster |
Koe vs. Morris |
Homan vs. Scheidegger |
Laycock vs. De Cruz |
| 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Edin vs. Epping |
Ulsrud vs. McEwen |
Carruthers vs. Jacobs |
Harrison vs. Tirinzoni |
Sweeting vs. Einarson |
| Thursday, October 26 | ||||||
| 7 | 8:30 a.m. | Scheidegger vs. Englot |
Muirhead vs. Sinclair |
Paetz vs. Middaugh |
Hasselborg vs. Flaxey |
|
| 8 | 12:30 p.m. | Jones vs. Harrison |
Simmons vs. Carruthers |
Morris vs. Gunnlaugson |
Jacobs vs. De Cruz |
Ulsrud vs. Shuster |
| 9 | 4:00 p.m. | Einarson vs. Scheidegger |
Hasselborg vs. Muirhead |
Homan vs. Sweeting |
Flaxey vs. Sidorova |
Koe vs. Epping |
| 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Smith vs. Shuster |
Gunnlaugson vs. Edin |
Gushue vs. McEwen |
Laycock vs. Carruthers |
Tirinzoni vs. Paetz |
| Friday, October 27 | ||||||
| 11 | 8:30 a.m. | Harrison vs. Middaugh |
Simmons vs. De Cruz |
Englot vs. Sweeting |
||
| 12 | 12:30 p.m. | Flaxey vs. Sinclair |
Hasselborg vs. Sidorova |
Jones vs. Tirinzoni |
Einarson vs. Homan |
|
| 13 | 4:00 p.m. | Gushue vs. Ulsrud |
Morris vs. Epping |
Jacobs vs. Laycock |
Koe vs. Edin |
Smith vs. McEwen |
| 14 | 8:00 p.m. | Tiebreakers | ||||
| Saturday, October 28 | ||||||
| 15 | 11:00 a.m. | Women’s Quarterfinals | ||||
| 16 | 3:00 p.m. | Men’s Quarterfinals | ||||
| 17 | 7:00 p.m. | Men’s & Women’s Semifinals | ||||
| Sunday, October 29 | ||||||
| 18 | 11:00 a.m. | Men’s Final | ||||
| 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Women’s Final | ||||