Eight Ends: What you need to know for the 2025 WFG Masters
GUELPH, Ont. — The Grand Slam of Curling rings in the new year with the WFG Masters, beginning Tuesday at the Sleeman Centre.
Here’s what you need to know before the opening draw.
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FIRST END: The WFG Masters is the fourth Grand Slam of Curling event of the season and is one of the four charter tournaments in the series dating back to the inaugural 2001-02 season.
This is also the second time the Sleeman Centre is hosting a Grand Slam with the venue holding the National in January 2010. Brad Gushue captured his first title in the series after defeating Randy Ferbey in the final.
A lot has changed in the series since then as now all events feature men’s and women’s divisions with equal prize money. A $400,000 total purse is on the line.
Glenn Howard has won the most Masters men’s titles as a skip at six while Rachel Homan leads the way in the women’s division with four.
SECOND END: The Grand Slam of Curling is giving a new rule a trial run during the WFG Masters. A team will lose the hammer if it blanks two consecutive ends.
How often do teams blank two or more consecutive ends? Here’s a breakdown of how many times it occurred during the first three Grand Slam events this season, covering a total of 241 games.
| Event | Men’s Division | Women’s Division |
|---|---|---|
| HearingLife Tour Challenge | 3 | 0 |
| Co-op Canadian Open | 6 | 1 |
| KIOTI National | 8 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 17 | 3 |
This rule might have another effect as teams could be hesitant to blank in the first place, knowing they will lose the hammer if it happens in the next end. We’ll just play it out and see how it goes.
It’s not the first time the Grand Slam of Curling has experimented with rule modifications. Look no further than the five-rock rule and the no-tick zone, both of which are now the norm across the sport.
THIRD END: Another first for the series took place just before the holiday break as the Grand Slam of Curling staged a virtual draft to determine the pools for round-robin play.
The top four men’s and women’s teams selected their pool opponents from the list of invited teams. Since teams also play one game against a crossover pool, world No. 1 Team Mouat and Team Homan made those picks as well.
It’ll be interesting to see how those top teams perform against their selections — and if it comes back to haunt them.
Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening with the top eight teams advancing the playoffs. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with both finals set for Sunday.
FOURTH END: Team Homan is coming in red-hot riding a 23-game winning streak. Homan is also seeking a third consecutive Grand Slam women’s championship after sweeping through the Co-op Canadian Open and KIOTI National.
The Ottawa-based club is sporting a 40-2 record on the season with a total of five title wins through six events on tour.
Homan and second Emma Miskew have captured 17 Grand Slam women’s championships and one more would tie legendary men’s skip Kevin Martin for the most among all players in series history.
FIFTH END: Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., will play its first event with Karlee Burgess, who has joined for the remainder of the season as second Shannon Birchard recovers from a knee injury.
Birchard made her season debut last month at a tour stop in Swift Current, Sask., but could not finish the event and is back on the long-term injured reserve. (Wait, does curling have an IR?)
Laura Walker, Dawn McEwen, Joanne Courtney and Brittany Tran had filled in during various events in the fall, but having Burgess will bring some stability to the lineup.
Burgess previously played with skip Chelsea Carey before departing at the start of the month.
SIXTH END: Team Anna Hasselborg returned to top form during the KIOTI National and should contend again. The Swedish squad was on a roll in St. John’s winning six straight games to reach its first Grand Slam final since the Players’ Championship in April 2022. That is, until running into Homan, who prevailed scoring two points in the eighth end to win 6-5 and take the title.
Will Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni bounce back once more? After missing the playoffs at the HearingLife Tour Challenge, Tirinzoni rebounded with a run to the Co-op Canadian Open final. Having missed the cut at the KIOTI National, expect them to regroup and return strong.
SEVENTH END: Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat completed another hat trick at the KIOTI National by winning a third straight Grand Slam men’s title on the season. Mouat defeated Calgary’s Team Brad Jacobs 5-3 in the final.
Several teams have won three in a row in the series, including Mouat in 2021, but have fallen short of connecting four. Martin remains the only one as his team won five consecutive Grand Slam titles in 2007.
Mouat, who holds a 19-1 record in Grand Slam games this season, stands the best chance of being the one to finally extend that title streak.
EIGHTH END: Winnipeg’s Team Matt Dunstone appears all tuned up for the WFG Masters after capturing a third title on tour this season.
Dunstone rolled through the Astec Safety Challenge in Lloydminster, Sask., posting a perfect 6-0 record including a 7-2 win over Saskatoon’s Team Mike McEwen in Saturday’s final.
The WFG Masters will be Dunstone’s first Grand Slam event since parting ways with B.J. Neufeld and adding E.J. Harnden last month. Harnden joined at second with Colton Lott moving to third. That also reunited the “Brush Brothers” as the team includes Ryan Harnden at lead.
Team McEwen was flying high through the event as well and knocked off the top two teams in the world rankings en route to the final. McEwen ousted world No. 2 Team Yannick Schwaller 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Team Mouat 6-4 in the semis.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion McEwen is on the doorstep having reached the semifinals in two of the past three events in the series. Can the team push through?
Gushue and Jacobs are always favourites, especially since they’ve both reached Grand Slam finals this season, but a couple of other Canadian men’s teams are worth keeping tabs on.
Meet the new Team John Epping, which will play in its first Grand Slam event of the season. Epping joined forces with third Jake Horgan, second Tanner Horgan and lead Ian McMillan and has found a rhythm by winning five titles on tour. The Sudbury, Ont., team started the season at No. 33 in the world rankings — outside of the Tier 2 even — and has soared to No. 11.
Also, say hello to Team Jordon McDonald. The Winnipeg club makes its Grand Slam debut with a pair of title wins on tour and an upset run to the semifinals of the PointsBet Invitational, eliminating the likes of Dunstone and Team Kevin Koe in the single-elimination event.
EXTRA END: Weekend passes and single draw tickets are available at the box office and online at Ticketmaster.
Event parking info can be found by clicking here. Guelph Transit has a fare special during the event week, click here for more information.
Can’t make it Guelph? Live streaming of every game is available in free preview on HomeTeam. Sportsnet’s broadcast coverage begins Thursday.
