CHARLOTTETOWN — The Grand Slam of Curling is set to kick off a new era at the HearingLife Tour Challenge, running Tuesday to Sunday at the Bell Aliant Centre in Charlottetown.
The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season also happens to be the first since The Curling Group acquired the series.
Here's what you need to know in Eight Ends before it's lights out and away we go. (Wait, wrong sport.)
FIRST END: WHAT IS THE HEARINGLIFE TOUR CHALLENGE?
What a way to start things off as the HearingLife Tour Challenge is the largest event in the series with a total of 64 men's and women's teams in action split across two tiers.
Tier 1 teams were invited from the top of the world rankings based on the final standings from last season. All of the top teams have already played a couple of events on tour this season, but the HearingLife Tour Challenge will be the first time they're all under the same roof and will serve as the first major test of the year.
After Tier 1 was set, the next group of teams from the rankings were invited to compete in Tier 2. Teams in the Tier 2 division are looking for a promotion as the winners earn berths to the WFG Masters in January. The winners of the Tier 2 also receive $5,000 to cover flights and accommodations, plus their entry fee is waived.
SECOND END: TRIPLE KNOCKOUT
The HearingLife Tour Challenge has mixed up the format this year. While previous editions had pool play, the year's event will feature a 16-team triple knockout for all divisions.
How triple knockout works: teams must win three games before they lose three to qualify for the playoffs. Teams start in the A Event brackets with each loss dropping them to the B Event and finally the C Event where a third loss means elimination. Two A-qualifiers (3-0 records), three B-qualifiers (3-1) and three C-qualifiers (3-2) advance to the quarterfinals.
We outlined the recent history of triple knockout in Grand Slam of Curling events with facts and stats, but what makes the format interesting is teams are always facing teams with identical records. As soon as a team has qualified, they're off to the quarterfinals (with a day of rest) and don't have to play extra games while teams on the verge of elimination know they're still in it to win it as long as they're playing. Teams don't have to worry about tiebreaker scenarios as the only path to the playoffs is winning.
THIRD END: A SHORT VIEW BACK TO THE PAST
The HearingLife Tour Challenge is the "younger sibling" to the original four majors in the Grand Slam of Curling, with the inaugural event held in Paradise, N.L., in 2015. Team Silvana Tirinzoni won its first title in the series, stealing to beat Team Rachel Homan's squad in the women's final, while Team Kevin Koe needed an extra end to solve Team Brad Gushue in the men's final. Kerri Einarson and Jim Cotter skipped their teams to the first Tier 2 titles.
Einarson has become the most successful graduate from Tier 2 as she has captured five top-tier Grand Slam of Curling championships.
Team Niklas Edin won the Tier 1 men's title in 2022 ... minus Niklas Edin, who injured his knee during warmups for the semifinals. The rest of his Swedish squad carried on as a trio to defeat Gushue in the semis and Team Matt Dunstone in the final.
Team Joël Retornaz returns as the defending Tier 1 men's champion after winning the title last year in Niagara Falls, Ont. It was the first of three consecutive title wins in the series for Retornaz, who also claimed the KIOTI National and WFG Masters.
There will be a new champion in the women's division as Jennifer Jones stepped back from women's curling at the end of last season. Her Winnipeg-based teammates have now linked up with skip Chelsea Carey. It'll be a homecoming for Team Carey lead Lauren Lenentine, who is originally from P.E.I.
Team Danny Casper of the United States and South Korea's Team Eun-jung Kim were the Tier 2 champions. While Team Casper will look to make it out of Tier 2 again, Team Kim is firmly among the Tier 1 ranks once again as No. 6 in the world.
FOURTH END: TIER 1 MEN'S TOP CONTENDERS
Team Bruce Mouat enters as No. 1 in the men's division with a slim lead of just 0.2 points over Retornaz. Mouat got off to an early start winning back-to-back titles at the Baden Masters and Euro Super Series in August. Mouat reached a third final two weeks ago at the Shorty Jenkins Classic but lost to Team Yannick Schwaller. The Scottish club captured the Co-op Canadian Open last season to complete a career Grand Slam (win all four majors) and now seeks to complete the full set here at the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
Retornaz should be a favourite in his title defence. His team has qualified for the playoffs in both events it has played this season.
Yannick Schwaller is looking for his first Grand Slam title and his team is on a heater, winning the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and the Shorty Jenkins Classic. While Team Schwaller had to grind it out in Oakville, the Swiss squad went undefeated in Cornwall, Ont., capped with a 5-3 win over Mouat in the final.
Mike McEwen is out of the gate and off to the races. His Saskatoon-based team won its third title of the season already this past Sunday at the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary. The seven-time Grand Slam champion McEwen is riding a 13-game winning streak heading into the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
Gushue, who lost to McEwen in the PointsBet final, has always played a factor at the Tour Challenge. His St. John's, N.L., crew has qualified for the playoffs every year since the event's inception. That includes three finals appearances with a title win in 2017 and runner-up results in 2015 and 2019.
Brad Jacobs is now skipping out of Alberta with Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert. The trio captured two Grand Slam of Curling titles with skip Brendan Bottcher but opted to move in another direction this season. How will the new Team Jacobs fare in its first Grand Slam?
FIFTH END: TIER 1 WOMEN'S TOP CONTENDERS
All eyes will be on Homan as the world No. 1 is off to another undefeated start. Her Ottawa-based team rolled through the Shorty Jenkins Classic and PointsBet Invitational. Homan missed the playoffs in the HearingLife Tour Challenge last year, however, that was just a blip on the radar as her team finished the season with an impressive 67-7 record and won Canadian and world championships plus two Grand Slam titles.
After settling for silver at the worlds, Tirinzoni took home the Players' Championship to wrap up last season. Her Swiss team, ranked second in the world, finished runner-up to Homan in the Shorty Jenkins Classic then headed home to run through the Women's Masters Basel event. Homan and Tirinzoni also met in two Grand Slam finals last year, could we see them face off again?
World No. 4 Team Anna Hasselborg finished runner-up to Tirinzoni in Basel and won the Oslo Cup for a third consecutive season. Hasselborg will represent Sweden at the upcoming European Championships after completing a four-game sweep in a best-of-seven series against Team Isabella Wranå.
There are three women's teams in the top 10 aiming for their first Grand Slam title. Xenia Schwaller (No. 9) just made her series debut at the Players' Championship, but her Swiss team won four tour titles last season and has already claimed one this year in Oakville. Team Stefania Constantini (No. 8) could follow in the footsteps of fellow Italian club Team Retornaz. Team Kim, last year's Tier 2 winner, could be the first to pull off a double and win both of the event's titles.
SIXTH END: TIER 2 MEN'S TOP CONTENDERS
Team Aaron Sluchinski holds the top seed in the Tier 2 men's division. Sluchinski finished runner-up to Team Korey Dropkin in the 2022 Tier 2 final. The Airdrie, Alta., team played in three top-tier Grand Slam events last season and won the Boston Pizza Cup to represent Alberta at the Brier.
Germany's Team Marc Muskatewitz went on a surprise run at the world men's curling championship last season by qualifying for the playoffs. Muskatewitz will make his Grand Slam of Curling series debut here as the No. 8 seed. His team finished runner-up to Schwaller in the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and advanced to the playoffs in the Baden Masters and Oslo Cup.
Second-seeded Team Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway and seventh-seeded Team Marco Hösli of Switzerland are also favourites to get back into the top flight.
SEVENTH END: TIER 2 WOMEN'S TOP CONTENDERS
Team Momoha Tabata holds the 13th seed in the Tier 2 women's division, but don't underestimate the Japanese club as it tops the year-to-date women's rankings. Tabata has three wins on tour this season including the Saville Shootout in Edmonton.
Team Kayla Skrlik, seeded eighth, cannot be overlooked, with the Calgary club reaching three finals in September. Skrlik, who finished runner-up to Homan in Sunday's PointsBet Invitational final, is also a big fan of triple knockout events.
Team Kate Cameron holds the top seed. The crew from St. Adolphe, Man., will play its third consecutive week on tour following a runner-up result at the Hack2House Alberta Curling Series in Beaumont, Alta., and a run to the semifinals (losing to Skrlik) at the PointsBet Invitational.
EIGHTH END: HOW TO WATCH
Can't make it to Charlottetown? Coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at Noon AT / 11 a.m. ET. Click here to see the broadcast schedule.
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