Canada’s best curling teams — including many expected to represent the country on the Olympic stage — will hit the ice this week as the 2025 PointsBet Invitational gets underway Wednesday at the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary.
The high-stakes event, which runs Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, features 10 women’s and 10 men’s teams vying for cash, bragging rights and valuable pre-trials momentum ahead of the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials. Those Trials, set for later this fall, will determine which foursomes are nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the tournament is the farewell tour of Brad Gushue. The St. John’s, N.L., skip announced earlier this month that this will be his final competitive season. His rink will headline Wednesday’s opening draw at 1:30 p.m. MT, facing Team Calan MacIsaac of Truro, N.S., the reigning New Holland Canadian Under-20 men’s champions. Games will continue daily with draws at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. through Saturday, culminating in Sunday’s finals — the women’s final at 11 a.m. and the men’s at 4 p.m.
The invitational includes the seven men’s and seven women’s rinks already qualified for the Montana’s Trials, along with three additional entries per gender: the top Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) team not yet qualified, the highest-ranked NextGen Under-27 team, and the 2025 Canadian Under-20 champions. Each team is guaranteed $5,000 in travel funding, plus $2,500 for each round-robin win. The men’s and women’s champions will each pocket $35,000, while the runners-up will receive $15,000. Teams are split into two five-team pools, with only the pool winners advancing directly to Sunday’s finals — meaning every round-robin game carries extra weight.
The full women’s field includes, in Pool A: Team Rachel Homan (Ottawa), Team Christina Black (Halifax), Team Kaitlyn Lawes (Winnipeg), Team Beth Peterson (Winnipeg, CTRS qualifier), and Team Myla Plett (Edmonton, New Holland Canadian Under-20 champion). In Pool B: Team Kerri Einarson (Gimli), Team Kayla Skrlik (Calgary), Team Corryn Brown (Kamloops, B.C.), Team Kate Cameron (Winnipeg), and Team Selena Sturmay (Edmonton, NextGen Under-27 qualifier).
The men’s field features, in Pool A: Team Brad Jacobs (Calgary), Team Brad Gushue (St. John’s, N.L.), Team John Epping (Sudbury, Ont.), Team Kevin Koe (Calgary), and Team Calan MacIsaac (Truro, N.S., New Holland Canadian Under-20 champion). In Pool B: Team Matt Dunstone (Winnipeg), Team Mike McEwen (Saskatoon), Team Rylan Kleiter (Saskatoon), Team Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg, CTRS qualifier), and Team Sam Mooibroek (Whitby, Ont., NextGen Under-27 qualifier).
TSN and RDS2, Curling Canada’s Season of Champions broadcast partners, will carry coverage nationwide throughout the week. Tickets are available exclusively through Ticketmaster at curling.ca/tickets. There will be no on-site box office before the event. The complete schedule and draw information is available on Curling Canada’s website.
