How much better can you get with two weeks of just practising?
That’s what we're going to find out this week at the P&H Masters happening in Medicine Hat, Alta., the second stop on the Grand Slam of Curling tour.
It’s safe to say the GSOC Invitational was a wake-up call for the former No. 1 teams in the world, Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat and Canada’s Team Rachel Homan, as they both finished with 1-3 records. For Mouat, it was his team's second competitive tournament of the year and first since August. While for Homan, it was her team's first competitive women’s fours games of the season.
It wasn’t like they were playing great and were just losing on a bad break. No, they straight up were missing shots, leading to play we aren’t typically accustomed to seeing from either team.
The poor showing also marked the first time since the opening Slam of the 2023-24 season that neither Homan nor Mouat made the playoffs, which also ended Homan's playoff streak at 14.
Now at the P&H Masters, there is pressure on Homan and Mouat. Not for them to straight up dominate and win this event. But to prove, even with no competitive games played between the first and second Slams, the first tournament was just about getting the rust off.
However, if there is no improvement in their play, the narrative that the rest of the pack has caught up to these two teams becomes a reality.
What you need to know
We will see an immediate change at the P&H Masters regarding the playoff controversy that happened at the Co-op Invitational with Brendan Bottcher and Matt Dunstone.
The Canadian teams faced each other in the final game of the round robin, each just needing one point to secure playoff spots. For the first seven ends, the game was played as expected, but in the eighth, with Dunstone up 5-4 without the hammer, rocks were briefly thrown through the house.
While the whole end wasn’t played like that, it was clear Dunstone was willing to concede the single point to Bottcher to reach a shootout, which in fact did happen.
This led to The Curling Group’s CEO Nic Sulsky calling a meeting for the Grand Slam of Curling competition committee to discuss a possible change.
As a result, moving forward, the points structure has changed to the following: If the team that wouldn’t have had the hammer in the extra end loses the shootout, they won’t get any points. If the team that would’ve had the hammer loses the shootout, they will get one point.
Full points system
Regulation win = 3 points
Shootout win = 2 points
Shootout loss with hammer = 1 point
Shootout loss without hammer = 0 points
Extra ends will be used for tiebreakers and all playoff games.
Teams to watch during the week
As mentioned, Team Mouat and Homan are going to be the two teams everyone will be carefully watching throughout the week to see if their games improve.
However, there are many more teams that deserve attention. Here is one from both the women’s and men’s side to watch at the P&H Masters.
Serena Gray-Withers, Canada
It will be the GSOC debut for three members of Canada’s Team Serena Gray-Withers this week. Gray-Withers herself, along with her third, Catherine Clifford, and lead Zoe Cinnamon.
Though for their second Laura Walker, who was brought on in the off-season, playing on Slam ice will be nothing new. She will be returning to the GSOC circuit for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
Gray-Withers’ team, one of the brightest and most exciting up-and-coming squads in Canadian women’s curling, have already won one title this year at the Saville Shootout in September.
This will be their opportunity to show they belong on the tour and should be at these events regularly moving forward.
Marco Hoesli, Switzerland
Switzerland’s Team Marco Hoesli shocked everyone at the first Slam in Victoria, B.C., after being the last team to qualify for the event before making it to the semifinals. It was the team's first GSOC playoffs appearance as well.
So far this season, they’ve played in eight events, posting a record of 40-17 and gaining 147.5 points in the world rankings to soar up to No. 5 on the list.
While that’s amazing, this week will be about proving they can do this consistently. A lot of the events they’ve played in, the competition has been weaker, and while you can definitely make the argument they proved their worth at the last Slam, it was a warm-up for a lot of the top teams.
Now that the curling season is well underway and more of the top teams are playing in rhythm, it will be interesting to see if they fade back or continue to impress.
Games circled on the schedule
From GSOC debuts to potential rivalries forming, there are a lot of must-see games this week at the P&H Masters. Here are five matches we’ve highlighted with a reason as to why you should tune in.
Draw 2 - Nov. 3 at noon. ET/ 10 a.m. PCT
Xenia Schwaller vs. Serena Gray-Withers
• This will be the Slam debut game for the Alberta-based Team Gray-Withers.
Draw 6 - Nov. 4 at noon ET/ 10 a.m. PCT
Grant Hardie vs. Stefano Spiller
• In its first Slam of the season, Italy’s Team Stefano Spiller will look to bounce back after losing in the European Championships on Sunday to Scotland’s Team Grant Hardie.
Draw 12 - Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. PCT
Kerri Einarson vs. Alina Paetz
• Two of the top four ranked women’s teams in the world battle for the second time this season. Both changed their lineups in the off-season.
Draw 15 - Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. ET/ 2 p.m. PCT
Brad Jacobs vs. Bruce Mouat
• Even though the team looks a bit different for Scotland’s Mouat, this will be the Olympic final rematch against Canada’s Brad Jacobs, who won the gold medal.
Draw 16 - Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PCT
Matt Dunstone vs. Danny Casper
• If you’re hoping for fireworks at the P&H Masters, this is the match most likely to deliver. After an intense battle at the Co-op Invitational that resulted in some words after the match, Canada’s Team Matt Dunstone and USA’s Team Danny Casper close out the round robin.
The P&H Masters will be available on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting Nov. 3 with Draw 2 at noon ET/ 10 a.m. PCT. Sportsnet will air three draws per day Tuesday through Friday. Sportsnet+ and CBC will carry the Saturday quarterfinals, while CBC will air the semifinals on Saturday evening. Championship Sunday will be on Sportsnet.
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