By Jonathan Brazeau
LONDON, Ont. – The best curling teams from around the world are gearing up to compete in the Masters, taking place from Sept. 23-28 at London’s Western Fair Sports Centre.
The Grand Slam of Curling revealed on Thursday the 64 teams that will participate in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 events, marking the start of its landmark 25th season.
This Masters event is set to be the first significant challenge of the season for teams aiming for a spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. A diverse lineup will feature competitors from 13 countries: Canada, China, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Scotland, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Notably, this will be the first Grand Slam of Curling event since the 2017 National that includes both men’s and women’s teams from China.
Ontario’s Team Homan leads the women’s competition as they hold the top ranking. Based out of Ottawa, they come off an impressive season where they defended their Canadian and world titles while securing two Grand Slam victories and finishing with an exceptional record of 75-8. Homan has collected a record-setting 17 Grand Slam titles for women’s curling, including four at this very Masters.
This event is particularly special for Team Homan’s lead Sarah Wilkes because she calls London home.
“It’ll be so exciting for me personally to have everyone close by and to be able to come and catch all the action,” Wilkes shared during a media event on Thursday at The Factory in London. “To have a Slam here in London is thrilling for many reasons-one being what I just mentioned-but also because fans will get to witness amazing talent on ice; it’s going to be incredible. I truly believe that this level of play will match any major event out there-even the upcoming Olympic Games.”
Wilkes expressed that participating in the Grand Slam of Curling-managed by The Curling Group-has been “one of the most rewarding experiences” throughout her career.
“The other athletes constantly push us to elevate our game,” she said. “The quality of play is remarkable; you have to bring your best every single match.”
“As a female athlete especially, I’m really proud to compete in events where we receive equal treatment regarding performance expectations as well as respect and opportunities compared to our male counterparts. I appreciate that immensely; it’s one reason I’m passionate about promoting our sport’s growth.”
The men’s division is led by World No. 1 Team Mouat. They are currently reigning world champions after making history during the last season by becoming the first team ever to win four Grand Slam titles within one season.
The Masters was actually the only Grand Slam title that eluded Mouat last year; however, it still found its way back to Scotland thanks to Team Whyte who claimed their inaugural title during last year’s tournament held in Guelph with a tight win over Canada’s Team Jacobs at 5-4.
The defending champion among women is Sweden’s Team Hasselborg who triumphed over Homan with a score of 7-5 in last year’s finals.
The selection process for competing teams was based on rankings from World Curling.
This season introduces a new Tier 2 division allowing next-ranked teams more chances on stage at Grand Slams while also earning crucial points toward improving their rankings. The Tier 2 competition will occur from Sept. 23-27 at St. Thomas Curling Club located in St. Thomas Ontario before concluding with finals on Sept. 28 alongside those from Tier 1 at Western Fair Sports Centre.
Additonally, the series will present its inaugural GSOC Wheelchair Curling Invitational featuring four competing squads: Canada Red , Canada White , Great Britain , and Italy. Round-robin matches are scheduled between Sept.24 -27 , taking place at KW Granite Club situated within Waterloo Ontario. The bronze medal showdown along with gold medal games occur on September.28 alongside masters championship finals.
“These tournaments showcase how curling encompasses such diverse athletes across various ages and phases throughout their careers,” remarked Wilkes.”It’s empowering because it highlights how many people-from different backgrounds and sports-can discover what makes curling special & why participating matters.”
“In recent years , the Curling Group injected fresh energy into Slams – you can feel it everywhere! Each event seems grander & more exhilarating than before-the excitement amongst fans & competitors alike feels contagious driving us all towards pushing ourselves further. I’m immensely proud being part this movement & can’t wait seeing how September unfolds!”
A complete draw schedule will be released soon!
You can now purchase full-event or weekend ticket packages available online! Visit grand slamofcurling. com/tickets if interested – early-bird pricing runs until Monday!
Mastres Tier One TeamsMen’s Division Women’s Division Dropkin (USA) Black (CAN) Dunstone (CAN) Constantini (ITA) Edin (SWE) Einarson (CAN) Epping (CAN) Fujisawa(JPN ) Gushue(CAN ) Gim(KOR ) Hösli(SUI ) Ha(KOR ) Jacobs(CAN ) Hasselborg(SWE ) Kleiter(CAN ) Homan(CAN ) Mc Ewen(CAN ) Kim(KOR ) Mouat(SCO) X. Schwaller(SUI) Muskatewitz(GER) Skrlik(CAN) Ramsfjell(NOR) Tabata(JPN) Retornaz(ITA) Tirinzoni(SUI ) Y. Schwaller(SUI){ Wang(CHN } Whyte(SCO)} Wranå{SWE} Xu(CHN } Yoshimura{JPN}Masters Tier Two TeamsMen’s Division Women’s Division Abe(JPN} Artichuk(CAN } Brunner(SUI } Brown{CAN} Bryce{SCO} Cameron{CAN } Carruthers { CAN } Dupont(DEN} Casper( USA)} Henderson( SCO } Howard { CAN}} Hürlimann { SUI}} King( CAN}} Inglis( CAN }} Klima( CZE }} Kang( KOR }} Koe{ CAN}} Kitazawa(JPN }} Maeda(JPN }} Lawes { CAN}} Mc Donald{CAN}} Mac Millan { CAN}} Mooibroek{CAN}} Morrison { SCO }} Mulima {{ CAN }} B. Peterson({ CAN}) Shuster({ USA }) T. Peterson({ USA }) Waddell({ SCO }) Principi({ CA N }) Yamaguchi ({ J PN }) Strouse ({ USA })
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Lead Photo: Sarah Wilkes(left)sweepsa stonefor Rachel Homan(center)duringthe Masterssemifinalson Jan18,{2025}, in Guelph, O nt.(Credit: Anil Mungal/GSOC)
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