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

NISKU, Alta. — Get ready for round two as the Grand Slam of Curling season resumes with the Co-op Canadian Open, running Tuesday to Sunday at the Silent Ice Center.

Bruce Mouat and Kerri Einarson set the tone to start with their teams scoring title wins at the HearingLife Tour Challenge last month in Charlottetown.

Coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday.

Here’s what’s in store with a rundown of things to know ahead of the event.

FIRST END: The Co-op Canadian Open features 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the globe. Teams were invited based on the World Curling Federation rankings as of Oct. 8. A $400,000 prize purse, divided equally between the men’s and women’s divisions, is up for grabs.

Both divisions are split into four pools of four teams for round-robin play. Each team plays three games against the teams in their division plus one crossover game based on seeding.

The top eight teams overall advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played to determine the final playoff berths. The semifinals are also on tap Saturday with both finals set for Sunday.

SECOND END: The Co-op Canadian Open is not only the second Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, but it’s also the first major of the original four in the series. This is the one that started it all during the inaugural 2001-02 season. Wayne Middaugh captured the first title by stealing the winning point over Jeff Stoughton.

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.

Originally a men’s invitational, a women’s division was added in 2014. Eve Muirhead became the first women’s champion after defeating Rachel Homan in the final.

Last season’s event was held in Red Deer, Alta., with Mouat making history by becoming the sixth men’s skip to complete a career Grand Slam and Homan claiming a record-extending 15th women’s title in the series. Since finishing runner-up the first time, Homan holds the most women’s titles in the event at three.

THIRD END: As mentioned, Mouat is not only the defending men’s champion, but his Scottish squad is also on a roll after going 6-0 through the HearingLife Tour Challenge. That includes a decisive 10-3 victory over Team Brad Gushue during the final.

While most were still on summer break, Team Mouat got out to a great start on tour in August winning back-to-back titles at the Baden Masters in Switzerland and Euro Super Series on home ice in Scotland — finishing undefeated in both events no less. Mouat also made the final at the Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall, Ont., falling to Team Yannick Schwaller. No surprise, Mouat is No. 1 in the world rankings and playing like it.

FOURTH END: The Co-op Canadian Open will be the first Grand Slam of Curling event for Gushue since adding former skip Brendan Bottcher at second following E.J. Harnden's departure.

Bottcher, who has won five Grand Slam titles, made his Team Gushue debut with the maple leaf on his back representing Canada at last week's Pan Continental Curling Championships in Lacombe, Alta. Gushue went 7-0 through round-robin play but fell short during the playoffs losing to Japan in the semifinals and the United States in the bronze-medal game to miss the podium.

Gushue recruited Bottcher for his shooting abilities, and he led all seconds during round-robin play with a 92.7 per cent percentage. It'll be interesting to see how Bottcher stacks up against tougher competition this week.

FIFTH END: Redemption is what Italy's Team Joël Retornaz and Sweden's Team Niklas Edin will be looking for this week. Retornaz, who won three consecutive Grand Slam of Curling men's titles last season, and the reigning world champion Edin missed the playoffs during the HearingLife Tour Challenge.

Canada's Team Matt Dunstone and Team Brad Jacobs have scored tour titles since the HearingLife Tour Challenge. Dunstone claimed the Henderson Metal Fall Classic in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., while Jacobs grabbed the Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic in Penticton, B.C. Both teams had to grind it out for their title victories. Coincidentally, Dunstone and Jacobs face off here during the opening day of action.

Canada's Kevin Koe played short-handed at the HearingLife Tour Challenge but has since added Aaron Sluchinski to his squad. Koe will need a strong week as he has slid to No. 20 in the world rankings and is on the outside looking in for future invitations.

Keep an eye on Team Marco Hösli as the Swiss squad makes its top-tier return. Hösli has won two titles on tour this season and finished runner-up to Dunstone in Sault Ste Marie. The team also reached the semifinals of the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2.

Speaking of which, watch out for Canada's Team Rylan Kleiter, winners of the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2. Consider it a two-for-one deal as that win not only guaranteed a berth to the WFG Masters, but the points Kleiter earned also pushed his team into the top 16 and an invitation to the Co-op Canadian Open.

SIXTH END: Could Einarson make it two Grand Slam of Curling titles to start the season? Her team won the HearingLife Tour Challenge with Dawn McEwen filling in for second Shannon Birchard, who is recovering from a knee injury. Birchard remains on the injured reserve and it's now Joanne Courtney's turn to step into her shoes.

Courtney, who won eight Grand Slams with Team Homan, has come out of retirement for two weeks and helped Team Einarson earn the Saville Grand Prix title Sunday in Edmonton. Einarson connected with a double to score two points in the eighth end to edge South Korea's Team Seung-youn Ha 6-5 in the final.

A win at the Co-op Canadian Open would also complete a career Grand Slam for Einarson.

SEVENTH END: Homan may have come up short against Einarson in the HearingLife Tour Challenge final, but her Ottawa-based club is off to another scorching start to the season.

Team Homan hasn't lost a game outside of the Grand Slams this season as her only other defeat came against Italy's Team Stefania Constantini during pool play in the HearingLife Tour Challenge.

After finishing last season with a jaw-dropping 67-7 record, the reigning world champions are off to a 26-2 start with three event wins.

That includes the Pan Continental Curling Championships where Homan posted a perfect 9-0 record to earn the gold medal. It wasn't always smooth sailing as Homan needed to steal the championship-winning point, after a measure, over South Korea's Team Eun-ji Gim in the 6-5 decision Saturday.

EIGHTH END: Gim is also second to Homan in the year-to-date women's rankings as her team's season started in June winning the Korean national curling championship. Team Gim has also earned tour title wins at the Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary and Hack2House Alberta Curling Series women's major in Beaumont. Could a third title win in Alberta be in the cards?

Four Japanese teams will compete in the women's division with Team Momoha Tabata and Team Ikue Kitazawa making their top-tier debuts. Tabata is one to watch in particular as her team is fifth in the year-to-date women's rankings with three title wins including the Saville Shootout in Edmonton. Team Sayaka Yoshimura finished runner-up in the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2. Yoshimura is a former finalist in the top-tier as well at the 2019 Masters. Tabata, Kitazawa and Yoshimura join Satsuki Fujisawa, whose team made history at the 2022-23 Co-op Canadian Open by becoming the first Japanese club to capture a Grand Slam title.

Although Sweden's Team Anna Hasselborg declined its invitation to train for the European Championships, that opened the door for Edmonton's own Team Selena Sturmay. It'll be special for the team to play so close to home and their friends, families and fans will surely fill the stands.