Teams announced for Masters in Lloydminster

The field is now set for the Masters, running Oct. 24-29 at Centennial Civic Centre in Lloydminster, Sask.

Fifteen of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the globe will square off in the second event of the 2017-18 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season.

Teams were invited to the Masters based on the World Curling Tour’s Order of Merit rankings as of Sept. 19. Winnipeg’s Team Gunnlaugson and Team Einarson earned their spots winning the Tour Challenge Tier 2 titles last month in Regina to move up the ranks with airfare and accommodations provided.

All roads lead to the 2018 Winter Olympics this season and a few teams who have already been selected to represent their countries in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will hit the ice at the Masters including Switzerland’s Team de Cruz, Sweden’s Team Edin and Team Hasselborg, and Great Britain’s Team Smith and Team Muirhead.

The Masters is also the first major of the year as one of the original four events in the series. Edin made history at the Masters last season becoming the first non-Canadian men’s squad to win a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event. Team Flaxey of Caledon, Ont., also claimed their first title in the series on the women’s side at the event a year ago in Okotoks, Alta.

The winning teams of the Masters qualify for the season-ending Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament, the Humpty’s Champions Cup, running April 24-29, 2018, at Calgary’s WinSport Arena.

Teams also earn points towards the Bonus Cup, awarded to the overall season champions following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship. The Bonus Cup winning teams receive $75,000 each in bonus prize money. Edin and Edmonton’s Team Sweeting collected the Bonus Cup last season.

Full event and weekend passes plus single draw tickets are now available for the Masters, visit Lloydgsoc.goigniter.com or call 306-825-5161 to purchase your passes today.

2017 MASTERS MEN’S DIVISION

Rank	Team (Skip)	Hometown
1	Niklas Edin	Karlstad, SWE
2	Brad Gushue	St. John’s, NL
3	Brad Jacobs	Sault Ste. Marie, ON
4	Reid Carruthers	Winnipeg, MB
5	Mike McEwen	Winnipeg, MB
6	John Epping	Toronto, ON
7	Kevin Koe	Calgary, AB
8	Kyle Smith	Stirling, SCO
9	Peter de Cruz	Geneva, SUI
10	Steve Laycock	Saskatoon, SK
11	Thomas Ulsrud	Oslo, NOR
13	John Morris	Vernon, BC
14	Jason Gunnlaugson*	Winnipeg, MB
15	John Shuster	Duluth, USA
16	Pat Simmons	Winnipeg, MB

2017 MASTERS WOMEN’S DIVISION

Rank	Team (Skip)	Hometown
1	Anna Hasselborg	Sundbyberg, SWE
2	Rachel Homan	Ottawa, ON
3	Jennifer Jones	Winnipeg, MB
4	Silvana Tirinzoni	Aarau, SUI
5	Val Sweeting	Edmonton, AB
6	Eve Muirhead	Stirling, SCO
7	Allison Flaxey	Caledon, ON
8	Michelle Englot	Winnipeg, MB
9	Alina Paetz	Zurich, SUI
10	Jacqueline Harrison	Mississauga, ON
11	Casey Scheidegger	Lethbridge, AB
12	Jamie Sinclair	Blaine, USA
13	Anna Sidorova	Moscow, RUS
14	Kerri Einarson*	Winnipeg, MB
15	Sherry Middaugh	Coldwater, ON

* already qualified as Tour Challenge Tier 2 winner

Note: Men’s No. 12 Team Walstad declined their invite. The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling continued down the OOM to complete the 15-team field and invited No. 16 Team Simmons, who accepted.