That will get things whittled down to the Elite 8, which is set for Friday (women at 1 p.m., men at 8 p.m.), with the Final 4 semifinals Saturday (women at 1 p.m., men at 8 p.m.) and championship finals Sunday (women at 10 a.m., men at 3 p.m.).
Watch PointsBet Invitational Curling 2024 Live Stream Online From Anywhere. Onetime Payamnet, No Hidden Charge, No Auto-renewal. No Cable or VPN required.
Click To: PointsBet Invitational 2024 Live TV Low Price
Click To: PointsBet Invitational 2024 Live TV Low Price
On the women’s side, reigning PointsBet Invitational, Scotties Tournament of Hearts and World Women’s champions Team Rachel Homan will be in action Wednesday afternoon. The top seeds, returning to the same building where they won the 2024 Scotties in February, take on No. 16-seeded Team Gabby Wood (reigning Canadian Colleges Athletic Association champions) of Edmonton.
On the men’s side, two-time defending PointsBet Invitational champ Team Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg, seeded No. 6, opens its quest for a three-peat Thursday night against No. 11 Team Félix Asselin of Montreal, while top-seeded Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., is on the ice Wednesday night against No. 16 Team Dan Sherrard (reigning Everest Canadian Club Champions) of Beaumont, Alta.
Winnipeg's Carruthers was the men's champ in both the inaugural PointsBet in Fredericton in 2022, and in Oakville, Ont., last year.
What makes Curling Canada's cashspiel quirky is the single-elimination format, the tiebreaking draw to the button instead of an extra end, and junior, university, college and club teams mixing with curling's elite.
"I categorize this as still a new event," Carruthers said. "It is a slightly different format with it being single-elimination, draw to the button for the win, no extra end.
"It's a little bit different, but a big prize purse. First time for all the teams to be on TV (this season). To have an early-season challenge like the PointsBet, it's an awesome opportunity to set the tone for the season for your team."
World and Canadian women's champion Rachel Homan is the defending PointsBet women's champion.
The skip sees the event as a combination of high stakes -- one loss and you're out -- and a lighter schedule than Grand Slams or the national championship Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
"Playoffs right away is just a different way of thinking about it," Homan said. "You start with playoffs and you don't get any practice games.
"It's something different, something fun, not too physically demanding or exhausting (since) it's just one game a day and one of the days you don't play."
The PointsBet also provides the first glimpse of revamped lineups.
Carruthers has a new vice for the third time in as many years. Catlin Schneider, who skipped B.C. in the 2024 national men's championship, joined Carruthers after Brad Jacobs' departure.
Watch PointsBet Invitational Curling 2024 Live Stream Online From Anywhere. Onetime Payamnet, No Hidden Charge, No Auto-renewal. No Cable or VPN required.
Click To: PointsBet Invitational 2024 Live TV Low Price
Click To: PointsBet Invitational 2024 Live TV Low Price
On the women’s side, reigning PointsBet Invitational, Scotties Tournament of Hearts and World Women’s champions Team Rachel Homan will be in action Wednesday afternoon. The top seeds, returning to the same building where they won the 2024 Scotties in February, take on No. 16-seeded Team Gabby Wood (reigning Canadian Colleges Athletic Association champions) of Edmonton.
On the men’s side, two-time defending PointsBet Invitational champ Team Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg, seeded No. 6, opens its quest for a three-peat Thursday night against No. 11 Team Félix Asselin of Montreal, while top-seeded Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., is on the ice Wednesday night against No. 16 Team Dan Sherrard (reigning Everest Canadian Club Champions) of Beaumont, Alta.
Winnipeg's Carruthers was the men's champ in both the inaugural PointsBet in Fredericton in 2022, and in Oakville, Ont., last year.
What makes Curling Canada's cashspiel quirky is the single-elimination format, the tiebreaking draw to the button instead of an extra end, and junior, university, college and club teams mixing with curling's elite.
"I categorize this as still a new event," Carruthers said. "It is a slightly different format with it being single-elimination, draw to the button for the win, no extra end.
"It's a little bit different, but a big prize purse. First time for all the teams to be on TV (this season). To have an early-season challenge like the PointsBet, it's an awesome opportunity to set the tone for the season for your team."
World and Canadian women's champion Rachel Homan is the defending PointsBet women's champion.
The skip sees the event as a combination of high stakes -- one loss and you're out -- and a lighter schedule than Grand Slams or the national championship Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
"Playoffs right away is just a different way of thinking about it," Homan said. "You start with playoffs and you don't get any practice games.
"It's something different, something fun, not too physically demanding or exhausting (since) it's just one game a day and one of the days you don't play."
The PointsBet also provides the first glimpse of revamped lineups.
Carruthers has a new vice for the third time in as many years. Catlin Schneider, who skipped B.C. in the 2024 national men's championship, joined Carruthers after Brad Jacobs' departure.