News Elite 10

The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling returns to Port Hawkesbury, N.S., for the 2017 Princess Auto Elite 10.

The top 10 men’s teams of the season collide in the third annual match play tournament running March 16-19 at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.

Full-event passes are now on sale for the Princess Auto Elite 10 for a special early bird price, but only until Dec. 31. Visit phcivic.com or call 902-625-2591 to sweep into the savings and purchase your pass today!

Under the unique match play format, teams compete to win the most ends per game by either scoring two or more points with the hammer or stealing without the hammer. While this may seem similar to a skins game, there is one catch: points do not carry over in the event neither team wins the end.

Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., is the defending champion after running the table last season in Victoria posting a perfect 6-0 win-loss record. Gushue edged Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers for the title in a thrilling draw-to-the-button shootout during the final.

Rachel Homan made history at the event as her Ottawa team became the first women’s squad to compete in a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s invitational since Sportsnet acquired the series in 2012. Homan re-wrote the record books again as she scored a victory over Charley Thomas to become the first women’s crew to defeat a high-ranked men’s team in the series.

The Princess Auto Elite 10 was introduced in 2015 as the first new Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event since the series was founded in 2001-02. Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen beat Niklas Edin of Sweden in the final for the inaugural title.

Port Hawkesbury has been a frequent stop for the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling in the past and most recently hosted the National in 2013.

The Princess Auto Elite 10 is the fifth of seven events on the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule. Teams at the event also compete for bonus points towards the Rogers Grand Slam Cup, awarded to the overall season champions following the conclusion of the WestJet Players’ Championship.

The winning team of the Princess Auto Elite 10 will qualify for the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 25-30 in Calgary.