The Masters Preview

 #BetweenTheSheets: WFG Masters Preview

The #GSOC changes continue...

"The more things change, the more they are the same."

The 1849 quote from French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr could be applied to the Grand Slam of Curling.

Changes continue to come from the new ownership group.

But do the changes produce new results?

For Team Homan and Team Mouat, Karr's quote rings true. Bring on technical or format changes and we will just continue to win and win and win.

The question being asked now is, "Are these the RIGHT changes?"

Only time will tell...

The WFG Masters is the fourth #GSOC event of the season and the third major.

And while we are in the middle of the 2024/25 season, the calendar flip to 2025 is bringing a few mid-season changes to the GSOC ice.

Here are the two major changes for this slam:

1. Back-to-back blank ends = loss of hammer
2. The Draft

Lets quickly break it down.

No More Blank Pages, Baby!

The scoring rule is simple. If the team with hammer blanks back-to-back ends, they will lose the hammer after the second consecutive blank end.

This rule change was manifested during the 2024 National when Team Gushue and Team McEwen had 3 straight blank ends. The hope here is to increase scoring and make for a more entertaining game for spectators, especially during a TV feature game.

But will it work?

Is the strategy going to shift where if Team A blanks one end, will Team B play a conservative open end to force the blank and get back the hammer without having to concede a point on the scoreboard?

Could this "scoring rule change" actually backfire and cause less blank ends but lower scoring games?

Is lower scoring games more entertaining? Perhaps no. Perhaps yes. It really depends on the strategy calls and athlete execution.

The real end game is to try and push for teams to play with a more aggressive tactic. But will this rule make it happen?

The 5-rock rule certainly has helped for higher scoring games and opportunities to put a crooked number on the scoreboard while also keeping teams "in" games that may appear to be going one-sided.

Could the back-to-back blank ends rule actually diminish the level of competitive play though?

Look, I am no fan of blank ends either. If it is an 8-end game and 3 or 4 ends are blanks, yell "boring" and move on.

On the flip side, I can respect the high level of play when teams are able to make triple take outs and double runbacks and other "circus" shots to bail out of an end. We, as fans, love to see these shots too. Often they make "highlight of the night" reels on TSN and Sportsnet.

But with this new rule, are teams going to need to change the strategy approach and possibly eliminate the sensationalism of calling these fun shots and making them?

We really do not know. But this is going to be a fun experiment to find out.

The Draft

Did you miss the draft? You can watch how it all played out for the men and the women HERE.

What do we think?

For the most part, the comments on social media have been positive and encouraging of the idea.

The Draft was a simple snake draft where the Top 4 seeded teams selected their pool play opposition with Round 1 going Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, Team 4 and Round 2 going in reverse order. Round 3 mirrored Round 1 and the final round mirrored Round 2.

The final piece to the draft puzzle was figuring out the additional RR game for the teams. Here the top teams who had the luxury of picking their opponents would now end up being forced to play one another.

With Team Homan and Team Mouat being the top ranked teams, they held all the cards in selecting who they wanted to face off against. Homan selected Team Einarson while Mouat called out Team McEwen. The other two seeded teams, Team Tirinzoni/Team Kim (women) and Team Schwaller/Team Gushue (men), would face one another as well.

The last selection does add some intrigue, forcing top ranked teams to play one another in the RR.

But do we also like the idea of top ranked teams getting to choose their opposition? It feels a bit weird, no?

Imagine the Super Bowl champion getting to decide which divisions they wanted to play against the following season. Same with the Stanley Cup champion.

Are we giving too much control and advantage to the players here?

The idea of a draft can still be a good one. I am just not too sure we let the inmates run the asylum.

What if the draft concept for curling was similar to the draft lottery used in soccer? Look at the World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.

For those major events, the qualified nations are seeded based on their ranking and placed in selective bowls.

Teams 1 - 4 in bowl #1. Teams 5 - 8 in bowl #2. Teams 9 - 12 in bowl #3. Teams 13 - 16 in bowl #4.

The teams are then drawn from each bowl and placed in each pool. It could be the fairest way to determine an equal playing field for the RR.

Now, will there be a #PoolOfDeath still? Of course, there always is at the Euro's and World Cup. And there may be a perceived "weaker" pool as well, creating a #PoolOfOpportunity for those teams.

But at least it is by the luck of the draw and not at the selection of the teams at the top.

Imagine Spain or France or England getting to pick their Euro and/or World Cup pool opponents? 

As a sports fan, be honest with yourself. None of you want to see that. It is no different here.

And this is not a slight against those top men's and women's teams who participated in the draft. They were just playing the game put in front of them.

Whatever strategy and process they used in their decision-making is up to them. But they did have all the control.

And while the remaining teams were still "ranked" it really didn't matter. There was no requirement about picking certain teams or certain ranking spots. You just picked the team you wanted to play against.

The "ranking" really doesn't matter now. Hit Top 16 to qualify. Hit Top 4 to control your fate. Done and done.

A novel idea? Yes.

Could it be done better with a bit more "fairness" to all the teams competing? Yes.

What about the playoff rumour? It has been said the playoffs will also use a draft, with the Top 4 seeds entered the playoffs selecting their QF opponents from the remaining 4 qualifiers.

Not really a fan of this idea at all, if it ends up being true. There is nothing noted about this on the GSOC website so maybe it was an idea being thrown around and abandoned? 

Lets hope. Because if not, gross, gross, gross.

The Summary

The bigger question to come out of this year's Masters event is what's next? Is this one event the only litmus test to determine if these "new" rules are a success or not? How does one even define "success" for either, or both, of these changes?

And when does it become too gimmicky to have all these new rule changes at the slam events?

Does it start to lessen the prestige of the slams when there are gimmick tests and rules?

Or is this what the GSOC is really about? The opportunity to try something new and see how it works.

Maybe this all leads to something this very blog has been speaking on for years, each slam having a different and unique look, feel and format.

Maybe The Masters is the slam with The Draft, with the slight alternation as noted above.

The Tour Challenge already has a Tier I and Tier II.

The Canadian Open can be the triple knockout.

The National can be a different format, maybe finally testing out the #TwineTime format where teams are placed in pools based on their ranking, playing the 3 other pool teams and all 16 teams advance to the playoff round where the designated final RR draw is actually the #Sweep16 playoff draw.

And the Players' Championship can perhaps become a merger of the current format with 12 teams but adding in a bit of the old Champions Cup format where only the Top 8 in the Year to Date (YTD) rankings qualify and the remaining 4 spots are handed out to teams who won a tour event, non-GSOC, during the season.

Change can be good. We have seen it elevate the sport in the past. But change has to be done for the sake of #growthesport and not just for change in of itself. We want change with intention.

The GSOC group has brought in positive ideas like streaming all sheets for every draw, especially for the days before TV coverage begins.

But I also do not want to see change and ideas being thrown at a dartboard to see which stick just for the sake of saying something was tried. When we bring too much change, it can ruin sport and come across as a gimmick.

Remember the TSN Skins Game? The Continental Cup? The Elite X? Where are those now??

Curling has a proven track record that gimmick ideas do not work and do not survive. We can still learn from the past as we try to redefine the future.

Lets slide out of the house for the Masters preview.

#TwineTimePreview

The WFG National

Guelph, ON

2023 Champions: Team Homan (W) and Team Retornaz (M)

WOMEN

#Favs

Team Homan

Here are the GSOC stats on Team Homan this season:

• 3 finals (Tour Challenge, Canadian Open, National)
• 2 titles (Canadian Open, National)
• 19-2 record overall
• 14-match winning streak

If we expand the lens to the entire season, not just GSOC events:

• 6 finals
• 5 titles, including Pan-Continental and PointsBet Invitational
• 40-2 record overall
• 23-match winning streak

Calling them the #Fav might be an understatement. We may need to bring in a new category called the #SuperFav.

The best betting prop is Team Homan vs. The Field...and people are still placing bets on Team Homan.

This is true sport domination. Chalk it up there with the best of the best, like UCONN women's basketball, Serena Williams and Penn State women's volleyball.

Their last loss was October 6, 2024 vs. Team Einarson in the Tour Challenge Tier I final. Their only other loss for the season was earlier in the same event vs. Team Constantini.

What makes things interesting here is Rachel Homan did not hide her loss during the draft. When it came time to pick 1 of the other 3 top ranked teams to face off against in the RR, she straight up went to Kerri Einarson and asked her for a game.

Of course adding a note on disclosing the lineup for the event beforehand as a fun tongue-in-cheek (or was it?) comment.

A smart strategic selection. This is the a perfect 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts tune-up for both teams, as noted by Robbie Doherty. Why not face off against your top challenger here in the RR with, what is now known to be, the official Team Einarson lineup for the rest of the season.

She wasn't going to draw Team Kim, who had her number last season. And Team Tirinzoni, who they beat in the world final last season and are close friends with.

Homan also raised some eyebrows with her first pick, selecting Team Ha. Ha entered the draft as the #8 seed and was selected first? Not how many would expect a draft to go.

But, again, strategy came into play. Ha has only played Homan once, back in 2022. Homan was victorious. Smart to select a team who has little history against you, especially when you are firing on all cylinders right now.

With Homan's other 2 picks, Team Lawes and Team Wrana, she happens to have a career record of 8-2 against both. Lawes hasn't beaten Homan since the 2022 National while Wrana's last win was at the 2023 Players' Championship.

Homan has won 5 straight games against both of these picks since those noted losses.

Homan isn't fooling around here, folks. Smart, Smart, Smart.

The question this week is, can anyone stop The Homan Empire? 

#TeamUpset

Team Skrlik

Homan may be the hottest team on the planet but Team Skrlik is heating up the house as well this season.

They have qualified in 9 of 10 events, only missing qualification at the Tour Challenge Tier II.

They have reached 4 finals, including the PointsBet Invitational. They have won 2 tour titles.

And maybe they will want to send a thank you gift to Team Einarson for picking them.

It was a smart move for Einarson, seeing as she has a perfect 4-0 career record against Skrlik.

However, it was the other picks by Einarson which probably made Skrlik smile.

Skrlik is 2-0 vs. Team Tabata, including a win at the 2024 Autumn Gold Curling Classic.

Skrlik is 2-2 vs. Team Fujisawa, also including a win at the 2024 Autumn Gold Curling Classic.

Of course Skrlik could not control this draw and had even less control over her fourth RR opponent but, with thanks to Homan's cross-pool selection, drew Team Ha. They have only met once and that was back in 2022, which Ha won.

Skrlik is a very dangerous #TeamUpset flag bearer, making her GSOC Tier I debut.

We have already seen the Cinderella slipper fit other slam debut teams this season (i.e. Team Muskatewitz), could the shoe fit for Team Skrlik next?

The draw certainly is not working against her.

#W2W4

The Homan Empire vs. The World.

This will be the story of the entire event. Can anyone beat Homan?

Who can stop the winning streak? Who can derail the quest for another slam title?

Can anyone?

But we will also be keeping our eyes on a few other notables this upcoming week.

Team Einarson will have their "new" team in tact, welcoming Karlee Burgess to the ice.

Talking about smart strategic moves. We see you Kerri Einarson!!

Not only do you pouch a player from another high ranked team, you also snag their Olympic trials spot by making the remaining team ineligible due to now having only 2 original qualifying members of the team remaining.

Strategic. Cutthroat. Genius.

Don't hate the player, hate the game, right?

Keep your eyes on Team Inglis as well. Similar to Skrlik, they will also be making their GSOC Tier I debut this week.

Unlike Skrlik, the draw gods (i.e. Alina Paetz from Team Tirinzoni) did them no favours.

Inglis will be drawn against Tirinzoni, Team Hasselborg and Team Constantini in her pool, plus Team Schwaller as her cross-over game. She is going to have to take down Europe to reach the playoffs.

And skipper Danielle Inglis' career record against the other 4 skips? 1-7 with her lone win being against Xenia Schwaller at the 2024 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard. 

Pool D will be interesting to watch as Team Kim, through coach Peter Gallant, selected an international pool to play off against. They selected Team Gim, Team Kitazawa and Team Schwaller.

Ok, to be fair, they did not pick Team Gim but were "left" with Gim as the final team in the draft.

With Homan selecting Einarson, Kim was automatically drawn to face Tirinzoni too.

Pool D is an international pool with 3 strong Asian teams and a European team on a winning streak right now. Could this pool devour themselves and end up with all 4 teams having identical 2-2 records by the end of the week?

Canadian curling fans will also be seeing if they can reclaim the numbers game. There are only 5 Canadian teams qualified for this field: Homan, Einarson, Lawes, Skrlik, Inglis.

How many can survive the RR and qualify for the playoffs? How many can make a deep playoff run?

Canada has its back against the wall in Guelph.

#PopcornGames

Team Fujisawa vs. Team Tabata (Draw 3) - An all-Japan battle early and a good tune-up before the Japanese Curling Championships hit the ice in February.

Team Ha vs. Team Skrlik (Draw 10) - Could this become a de facto play-in game for the QF?

Team Einarson vs. Team Homan (Draw 10) - Homan called out Einarson at the draft. Bring it on!

Team Hasselborg vs. Team Tirinzoni (Draw 12) - A rematch of the 2024 Euro final and a classic battle between Euro rivals. Tirinzoni has won 9 straight against Hasselborg with Hasselborg's last win being at the 2022 Masters.

Team Gim vs. Team E. Kim (Draw 12) - This game will have major playoff implications, whether as a de facto elimination game or towards playoff seeding. Plus, who doesn't love a Korean rivalry game?

Team Inglis vs. Team Schwaller (Draw 15) - Both teams will be flying under the radar heading into this slam. In this final RR game, could the winner "steal" a playoff spot?

MEN

#Fav

Team Mouat

We looked at Team Homan's GSOC record this season and was in awe. Here is what Team Mouat has done on GSOC ice:

• 3 finals (Tour Challenge, Canadian Open, National)
• 3 titles (Tour Challenge, Canadian Open, National)
• 19-1 record overall
• Took 1st GSOC loss at the last slam (National) vs. Team Shuster

Add in reaching 3 additional tour finals this season, winning 2 tour titles and making the Euro final, Team Mouat is having themselves a season to remember.

Now all eyes are on whether they can accomplish the #GoldenSlam.

Can they win all 4 majors in the same season? Can they sweep the slams and win all 5? Remember the Tour Challenge is slam event but not really considered a "major".

Mouat has been here before too. Remember 2021 when the team won 3 straight slams but could not keep the winning streak going in trying to secure #4.

Redemption time.

Kevin Martin holds the record of winning 5 straight slams. If Mouat is to match the record this season, the team will also accomplish the Golden Slam and make #HIStory.

At the draft, the team was represented by the front end combo of Hammy and Lammie. A smart opening pick of Team McDonald, selecting the lone male rookie team in the draw but also a team they have never faced.

The other picks, Team Hoesli and Team Edin, were interesting. Hoesli has actually mounted a strong challenge to Mouat recently, defeating them at the 2024 Stu Sells Oakville. They also played one another at the last slam and this past weekend in Lloydminster, both games closely won by Mouat.

And someone had to pick #KingNiklas of course. At first glance, one would think nobody wants to pick the GOAT. And Mouat vs. Edin career record is tied at 19 wins each.

But when we look at recent history, Mouat has won the last 8 games played, including 3-0 this season (Tour Challenge, Euro's, National). Edin's last win against Mouat was at the 2023 European's, which Mouat would avenge in the final.

The Team McEwen cross-over pick was interesting. We could all assume Mouat was going to avoid picking Gushue since Gushue does have the career H2H advantage.

But McEwen over Schwaller could come back to haunt them. While Mouat is 2-0 against McEwen on slam ice this season, McEwen did score a win over Mouat in Lloydminster this past weekend.

#TeamUpset

Team McDonald

It took some time this season but Team McDonald is finally breaking through and will make their GSOC debut this week.

Those who follow the sport closely will not be surprised by their qualification here. This team has been on the rise since last season.

But their breakout performance at the PointsBet Invitational was the eyebrow raising result for many, knocking off two-time finalist Team Dunstone in the Sweep16 and Team Koe in the QF.

Do not think those were the highlight results of the season though either.

This team has qualified in 9 of 10 events played. They have reached 4 finals and have won 2 titles, including the season opening U25 #NextGen Classic.

Their momentum may be a bit derailed after this past weekend, failing to qualify for the first time all season at the Golden Wrench in Arizona. But do not discount them here either.

They will draw the gambit of Euro superpowers in their slam debut unfortunately, thanks to Mouat.

They face off against Mouat, Edin and Hoesli in their pool. And their cross-over game? They draw the final team to qualify for the field, Team Dropkin.

The path to the playoffs is not an easy one for the slam rookies. But everyone has to earn their stripes somehow, right?

#W2W4

Curling eyes will be on a few teams this week as well as those mentioned above.

Team Dunstone made the recent lineup change, saying goodbye to B.J. Neufeld and saying hello to E.J. Harnden. It has been a successful change thus far as the new-look team won the title in Lloydminster with a perfect 6-0 record.

Tour Challenge Tier II champions, Team Kleiter, will also be a team to watch out for. They qualified for The Canadian Open last November as well, going 0-4. This is their sophomore Tier I event so the excitement/nervousness to compete at this level should be subsided a bit. Lets see how they do now.

And can the European champions, Germany's Team Muskatewitz, continue their rise up the rankings? Up to 6th on the YTD rankings and 9th on the Order of Merit, Muskatewitz has become one of the top stories of the season.

They made their slam debut at The National, survived a TB and reached the QF. What will they do next?

And watch out for Team Epping. Mouat may be the hottest team on slam ice this season but Epping could be the hottest team on tour right now.

They have reached 6 finals this season, winning 5 titles. They come to Guelph fresh off back-to-back tour titles in the US, winning the Duluth Cash Spiel in December and the Golden Wrench last weekend. They are 14-1 in their past 2 events.

They are also 3-4 this season against their fellow pool competitors (McEwen, Jacobs, Dropkin) and own a tour win over Mouat earlier in the season.

All this coming from a new team this season too.

#PopcornGames

Team Mouat vs. Team McDonald (Draw 2) - Welcome to the #GSOC ice, Team McDonald. Mouat called you out with their first pick in the draft. Lets see how they do in their debut game. Imagine being picked first and then pulling the upset in your first game?

Team Epping vs. Team McEwen (Draw 5) - Both teams riding momentum heading into this slam with Epping winning a tour title last weekend and McEwen reaching a final.

Team Muskatewitz vs. Team Ramsfjell (Draw 9) - The Euro gold and bronze medal winners face off on slam ice. The winner could be in a good position for a playoff ticket.

Team Edin vs. Team Mouat (Draw 13) - They played in the final RR game at the last slam and it played a factor for the playoff picture. Here they draw one another again, at the selection of Team Mouat. Could it impact the playoff bracket again too?

Team Dropkin vs. Team McDonald (Draw 16) - The final RR game for both. Might or might not impact the playoffs. But it is the current #NextGen facing off with one of the previous, yet still recent, #NextGen.

#TwineTimePredictions

Qualifiers (W): Team Homan, Team Einarson, Team Hasselborg, Team Kim, Team Tirinzoni, Team Gim, Team Fujisawa, Team Skrlik

Qualifiers (M): Team Mouat, Team McEwen, Team Dunstone, Team Gushue, Team Whyte, Team Epping, Team Jacobs, Team Edin

WFG Masters Championship (W): Team Homan def. Team Hasselborg

WFG Masters Championship (M): Team McEwen def. Team Mouat

What say you rock heads? Agree? Disagree?

Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below and/or on social media using #gsoc.

As for the conversation around Broomgate 2.0 or #Foamgate or whatever this new "controversy" wants to be called....no thanks.

#StayTuned

The #PowerRankings will return next week. How will the #gsoc results shake up the Top 10?

For those competing in Guelph, good luck and good curling.

Remember, the 🏔 is always 👀