REGINA - The schedule and matchups are all set for the 2024 Montana’s Brier in Regina, and they include some big name teams going head to head.
The Brier begins with four games on March 1 and one will feature the four time champions Kevin Koe and his Calgary team, taking on the new Alberta champions Team Aaron Sluchinski of Airdrie.
It will be a rematch of the Alberta men’s final decided over the weekend when Team Sluchinski beat Koe 6-3 to clinch a spot in the Brier. Koe’s rink still qualified as the top ranking at-large team.
The Sluchinski rink was one of two to clinch the final spots in the Brier on the weekend — the other was Team Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg who took the Manitoba title.
Other Brier matchups scheduled for opening day in Regina include the defending champion Team Canada skipped by Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., who will play Nova Scotia’s Team Matthew Manuel of Halifax; Team Saskatchewan skipped by Mike McEwen of Saskatoon, will take on Tyler Smith and his team from Prince Edward Island; and Team Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories takes on Team Julien Tremblay from Quebec.
In all,18 teams are coming to Regina for the Brier including 14 provincial/territorial champions, three Canadian Team Ranking System qualifiers (Koe, Brendan Bottcher and Matt Dunstone), and Team Canada (Gushue). The teams are being split into two pools and will play eight games in each during round robin, with the top three teams advancing to playoffs. The teams assigned to each pool are as follows:
Pool A
• 1. Alberta- Brendan Bottcher
• 4. Manitoba- Matt Dunstone
• 5. Manitoba- Reid Carruthers, Brad Jacobs
• 8. Ontario - Scott Howard
• 9. British Columbia - Catlin Schneider
• 12. New Brunswick - James Grattan
• 13. Northern Ontario - Trevor Bonot
• 16. Newfoundland/Labrador - Andrew Symonds
• 17. Yukon - Thomas Scoffin
Pool B
• 2. Team Canada - Brad Gushue
• 3. Alberta - Kevin Koe
• 6. Saskatchewan - Mike McEwen
• 7. Alberta - Aaron Sluchinski
• 10. Quebec - Julien Tremblay
• 11. Nova Scotia - Matthew Manuel
• 14. Prince Edward Island - Tyler Smith
• 15. Northwest Territories - Jamie Koe
• 18. Nunavut - Shane Latimer
Playoffs begin March 8, with semifinals happening on March 10 at noon and the final at 6 pm that same day. The winner goes to the 2024 LGT World Men’s Curling Championship March 30-April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. For the full schedule, go to https://www.curling.ca/2024brier/draw/.
Tickets are going fast and are available online at curling.ca/tickets or in person at Brandt Centre box office. Ticket inquiries can be sent to briertickets@curling.ca or by phoning (639) 709-5575.
