Reigning Canadian champions Chelsea Carey and Kevin Koe will kick off the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season at the WFG Masters.
The series announced the full schedule Wednesday for the first major of the year, running Oct. 25-30 in Okotoks, Alta., with the Calgary-based teams set to play in the opening draw at Pason Centennial Arena.
Carey faces Russia’s Anna Sidorova, who defeated the Canadian side to capture the bronze medal at last season’s world championship.
Koe, the men’s world champ, goes up against Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock while John Morris of Vernon, B.C., takes on Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers in the other men’s division match on opening night (Oct. 25, 7 p.m. MT).
Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque and Alina Paetz of Switzerland also square off in Draw 1.
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Ottawa’s Rachel Homan, ranked No. 1 on the World Curling Tour, begins her Masters title defence quest versus Paetz in Draw 3 (Oct. 26, 12:30 p.m. MT).
Meanwhile, 2015 Masters men’s winner Mike McEwen of Winnipeg starts against Morris during Draw 4 (Oct. 26, 4 p.m. MT) in a pseudo-rematch of last season’s final. McEwen defeated Jim Cotter for the title a year ago, however, Morris has since joined the B.C. team and now skips the squad while throwing third stones.
The WFG Masters is the first of seven events on the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule and features 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world.
Teams earn Rogers Grand Slam Cup points at the WFG Masters. The Rogers Grand Slam Cup is awarded following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship to the men’s and women’s teams with the most points over the course of the Pinty’s GSOC season.
The men’s and women’s Masters winners will make a return trip through YYC at the end of the season by receiving invites to the year-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 25-30, 2017, in Calgary. The Humpty’s Champions Cup features all of the top event winners on tour in one final showdown to close out 2016-17.