The 2023/24 Curling season is finally back as the best men’s and women’s teams are set to compete in the first major event of the season, PointsBet Invitational 2023, at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, Oakville.
The single-knockout tournament competition debuted last year in Fredericton, N.B., featuring 16 of the best men’s teams and 16 of the best women’s rinks from the country.
2023 PointsBet Invitational Dates, times, venue
Venue: Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, Oakville, Ontario
Dates: Wednesday, September 27 – Sunday, October 1, 2023
How to watch PBI 2023 Curling Outside of Canada
TV Channel: TSN
Live stream Anywhere: Watch Live Here
In Canada, TSN will cover entire tournament, if you are outside of Canada and looking for a way to watch PointsBet Invitational Curling live stream from your country, checkout Curling World to get all access to the Curling Canada 2023 games.
Which teams are participating in PointsBet Invitational 2023?
All teams are seeded based on 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points earned, except for the U-25 NextGen teams, which were auto-seeded 13th overall.
The reigning men’s and women’s champions from numerous 2022-23 national events also participated in the tournament.
PointsBet Invitational 2023 Format
The format of this tournament is different from most of the others. Instead of playing in a round-robin format with a knockout stage, this tournament is single elimination. It starts with 16 teams in the Sweep 16 round before the winning teams advance to the Elite 8, then the Final 4, and lastly, the ultimate final.
2023 PointsBet Invitational Curling Preview
PointsBet Invitational 2023 event marks the first major event of another important curling campaign for many of Canada’s top teams.
The defending champions of the 2022 event are both Manitoba rinks, with Reid Carruthers winning on the men’s side and Jennifer Jones for the women. Both sides will be looking to defend their titles with tweaked lineups in Oakville this time.
In the men’s competition, reigning two-time Montana’s Brier champion Team Brad Gushue is the no. 1 seed in the tournament and aims to continue the brilliant performances this season.
Last season, fifth-ranked Team Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg won the inaugural event and will be eyeing to make history once again this time.
After hitting a peak during last season’s event and not meeting the expectations at the 2023 Brier, the Team Carruthers are looking forward to bouncing back this season with new vice-skip Brad Jacobs coming to the lineup.
Also, this event marks an opportunity for Carruthers to get into the history books of the event by becoming the first skip to win the event twice and back-to-back.
On the women’s side, Team Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg and Altona, Man., is the reigning champion and is at third seed overall, only behind Team Rachel Homan of Ottawa (seed #2) and Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man. (seed #1).
Team Jones is coming off a successful first season with the new lineup, winning a silver-medal finish at the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. This event also allows Jones to become the first-ever two-time winning skip of the event in women’s competition.
Team Rachel Homan of Ottawa is coming to the tournament off a highly successful year. At the same time, Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man. (seed #1) maintained the top seed after winning its fourth-straight Scotties title and a bronze medal at the world women’s championship last season.
The Celebrity Invitational
The Celebrity Invitational event returns Friday night, approx 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men’s Elite 8 draw.
The celebrities will have a draw-to-the-button contest. Like before, PointsBet is again giving up to $1 million for any fan who can predict the perfect PointsBet Invitational bracket, along with multiple other prizes in its Sweep 16 Bracket Challenge.
Rosters (Listed in order of skip, third, second, lead)
Women’s Rosters
(1) TEAM EINARSON
Gimli Curling Club, Manitoba
Kerri Einarson
Val Sweeting
Shannon Birchard
Briane Harris
Reid Carruthers (coach)
(2) TEAM HOMAN
Ottawa Curling Club
Rachel Homan
Tracy Fleury
Emma Miskew
Sarah Wilkes
Don Bartlett (coach)
(3) TEAM JONES
St. Vital (Winnipeg) & Altona Curling Clubs
Jennifer Jones
Karlee Burgess
Emily Zacharias
Lauren Lenentine
Glenn Howard (coach)
(4) TEAM LAWES
Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg
Kaitlyn Lawes
Selena Njegovan
Jocelyn Peterman
Kristin MacCuish
Connor Njegovan (coach)
(5) TEAM GRANDY
Vancouver Curling Club
Clancy Grandy
Kayla MacMillan
Lindsay Dubue
Sarah Loken
Rachel Brown (alternate)
Katie Witt (coach)
(6) TEAM BLACK
Dartmouth Curling Club
Nova Scotia
Christina Black
Jennifer Baxter
Karlee Everist (vice-skip)
Shelley Barker
(7) TEAM LADOUCEUR
Whitby Curling Club, Ontario
Isabelle Ladouceur
Grace Lloyd
Jamie Smith
Rachel Steele
Maurice Wilson (coach)
(8) TEAM SKRLIK
Garrison Curling Club, Calgary
Kayla Skrlik
Brittany Tran
Geri-Lynn Ramsay (vice-skip)
Ashton Skrlik
(9) TEAM INGLIS
The Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club
Danielle Inglis
Kira Brunton
Calissa Daly
Cassandra de Groot
Steve Acorn (coach)
(10) TEAM GRAY-WITHERS
University of Alberta, Edmonton
Serena Gray-Withers
Catherine Clifford
Brianna Cullen
Zoe Cinnamon
Gracelyn Richards (alternate)
Amanda-Dawn St. Laurent (coach)
(11) TEAM MARTIN
Martensville Curling Club, Saskatchewan Nancy Martin
Lindsay Bertsch
Madison Kleiter
Krysten Karwacki
Gerry Adam (coach)
(12) TEAM DUNCAN
Woodstock Curling Centre, Ontario
Hollie Duncan
Megan Balsdon
Rachelle Strybosch
Tess Guyatt
Julie Tippin (alternate)
Sherry Middaugh (coach)
(13) TEAM MARKS
Crestwood Curling Club, Edmonton
Abby Marks
Elysa Crough
Kim Bonneau
Julianna MacKenzie
(14) TEAM PLETT
Airdrie & Sherwood Park Curling Clubs
Myla Plett
Alyssa Nedohin Chloe Fediuk
Allie Iskiw
Blair Lenton (coach)
(15) TEAM PARK
Curl Moncton
Shaelyn Park
Krista Flanagan
Lynn L. LeBlanc
Shannon Tatlock
(16) TEAM ZIMMERMAN
University of Alberta, Augustana Campus
Josie Zimmerman
Bryn Woloshyn
Claire Bevan-Stewart
Darby-Anne Swanson
Hope Zimmerman (alternate)
MEN’S ROSTERS
(1) TEAM GUSHUE
RE/MAX Centre/St. John’s Curling Club, N.L.
Brad Gushue
Mark Nichols
E.J. Harnden
Geoff Walker
Caleb Flaxey (coach)
(2) TEAM BOTTCHER
The Glencoe Club, Calgary
Brendan Bottcher
Marc Kennedy
Brett Gallant
Ben Hebert
Paul Webster (coach)
(3) TEAM DUNSTONE
Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg
Matt Dunstone
B.J. Neufeld
Colton Lott
Ryan Harnden
Adam Kingsbury (coach)
(4) TEAM KOE
The Glencoe Club, Calgary
Kevin Koe
Tyler Tardi
Jacques Gauthier
Karrick Martin
John Dunn (coach)
(5) TEAM CARRUTHERS
Granite Curling Club, Winnipeg
Reid Carruthers
Brad Jacobs
Derek Samagalski
Connor Njegovan
Rob Meakin (coach)
(6) TEAM STURMAY
St. Albert Curling Club, Alberta
Karsten Sturmay
Kyle Doering
Glenn Venance
Kurtis Goller
J.D. Lind (coach/alternate)
(7) TEAM SLUCHINSKI
Airdrie Curling Club, Alberta
Aaron Sluchinski
Jeremy Harty
Kerr Drummond
Dylan Webster
Mickey Pendergast (coach)
(8) TEAM EPPING
Leaside Curling Club, Toronto
John Epping
Mat Camm
Patrick Janssen
Jason Camm
( 9 ) TEAM WIEBE
Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg
Ryan Wiebe
Ty Dilello
Sean Flatt
Adam Flatt
Tom Clasper (coach)
(10) TEAM McEWEN
Nutana Curling Club, Saskatoon
Mike McEwen
Colton Flasch
Kevin Marsh
Dan Marsh
(11) TEAM HOWARD
Penetanguishene Curling Club, Ontario
Glenn Howard
Scott Howard
David Mathers
Tim March
(12) TEAM TAO
Saville Community Sports Centre, Edmonton Johnson Tao
Jaedon Neuert
Zach Davies
Adam Naugler
Skip Wilson (coach)
(13) TEAM KLEITER
Sutherland Curling Club, Saskatoon
Rylan Kleiter
Joshua Mattern
Matt Hall (vice-skip)
Trevor Johnson
Dean Kleiter (coach)
(14) TEAM MOOIBROEK
Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ont.
Sam Mooibroek
Kibo Mulima
Wyatt Small
Ben Pearce
Codie Harris (alternate)
Matt Wilkinson (coach)
(15) TEAM DOBSON
Humber College, Toronto
Jacob Dobson
Austin Snyder
Noah Garner
Matthew Abrams
Kevin Genjaga (alternate)
Zack Shurtleff (coach)
(16) TEAM BALSDON
Richmond Hill Curling Club, Ontario
Greg Balsdon
Jordan Keon
Curtis Samoy
Trevor Talbott
2023 PointsBet Invitational Bracket & Schedule
Below is the bracket, schedule, and latest results of the 2023 PointsBet Invitational:
Thursday, September 28
Women’s Sweep 16 (2:00 pm ET)
* No. 2 Team Rachel Homan vs. No. 15 Team Shaelyn Park
* No. 3 Team Jennifer Jones vs. No. 14 Team Myla Plett
* No. 6 Team Christina Black vs. No. 11 Team Nancy Martin
* No. 7 Team Isabelle Ladouceur vs. No. 10 Team Serena Gray-Withers
Men’s Sweep 16 (7:00 pm ET)
* No. 2 Team Brendan Bottcher vs. No. 15 Team Jacob Dobson
* No. 3 Team Matt Dunstone vs. No. 14 Team Sam Mooibroek
* No. 6 Team Karsten Sturmay vs. No. 11 Team Glenn Howard
* No. 7 Team Mike McEwen vs. No. 10 Team Aaron Sluchinski
Friday, September 29
Women’s Elite 8 (11:30 am ET)
* Kerri Einarson vs. Kayla Skrlik
* Clancy Grandy vs. Kaitlyn Lawes
* TBD vs. TBD
* TBD vs. TBD
Men’s Elite 8 (4:30 pm ET)
* Brad Gushue vs. Ryan Wiebe
* Reid Carruthers vs. Rylan Kleiter
* TBD vs. TBD
* TBD vs. TBD
Saturday, September 30
Women’s Final 4 (12:00 pm ET)
* TBD vs. TBD
* TBD vs. TBD
Men’s Final 4 (5:00 pm ET)
* TBD vs. TBD
* TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, October 1
Women’s Final (12:00 pm ET)
*TBD vs. TBD
Men’s Final (5:00 pm ET)
*TBD vs. TBD
2023 PointsBet Invitational Prize Money
In total, there is a $350,000 purse up for grabs at the PointsBet Invitational. Below are the prize money breaks for the tournament:
* Sweep 16 win: $3,000
* Elite 8 win: $6,000
* Final 4 win: $12,000
* Champion: $50,000
