By Jonathan Brazeau
A men’s final rematch is just one of the marquee matchups on tap during pool play at the AMJ Masters.
The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season will take place Sept. 23-28 at the Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ont.
Ross Whyte defeated Brad Jacobs to capture his first career Grand Slam title when the event was held last season in Guelph, Ont., and their teams are set to face off again next month. That’s not the only must-see match, as the AMJ Masters Tier 1 division features the top 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams from around the world.
For the first time, the pools were determined via “pot draft” with teams split into four pots based on their world rankings — Nos. 1-4, Nos. 5-8, Nos. 9-12, and Nos. 13-16 — with the pools featuring one team from each pot.
Is there a Group of Death? We’ll let you decide, as here’s a breakdown of each pool and how the teams stack up.
FIRST END: MEN'S POOL A — Y. SCHWALLER, GUSHUE, RETORNAZ, XU
How’s this right off the bat? Yannick Schwaller's team leads the way in Pool A as No. 2 in the world rankings and is hungry to win a major after finishing runner-up in the Players’ Championship to end last season. The Swiss squad, which also earned silver at the World Men’s Curling Championship, posted a combined 7-2 record against its pool opponents last season. That includes a decisive 10-4 victory over Team Gushue during the Masters as the St. John’s, N.L., crew went winless through the tournament.
No men’s skip in the field has captured more Grand Slam titles than Brad Gushue, who has 15 to his name, including two at the Masters. If his team has sorted out its struggles from last season — missing the playoffs at not only the Masters, but the Players' Championship as well — Gushue will be in the picture for sure.
Speaking of bouncing back, Joël Retornaz started last season No. 1 in the world rankings, but finished the 2024-25 campaign at No. 11. The pressure valve will be turned up to high for the Italian club this season with Milan-Cortina hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics. Retornaz has won four Grand Slam titles, including back-to-back at the Masters in 2022 and 2023, but missed the playoffs in the event last season after losing 8-1 to Schwaller in a tiebreaker.
Xiao Ming Xu will make his first Grand Slam appearance at skip, and he squeezed in as the 16th and final seed, but don’t underestimate his team. The Chinese club captured the Pan Continental Curling Championships gold medal last season and finished fourth at the World Men’s Curling Championship. Xu will be in a tough position, but it'll be interesting to see how his team performs on the bubble.
SECOND END: MEN'S POOL B — MOUAT, MUSKATEWITZ, HÖSLI, EDIN
What does Bruce Mouat have in store for the encore? Mouat’s Scottish squad had a year for the record books, becoming the first team to win four Grand Slam of Curling titles in a single season. The AMJ Masters was the only one Mouat didn’t win, although Whyte helped complete a Scottish sweep of the men’s titles in the series. Team Mouat also captured its second World Men’s Curling Championship gold medal in three years. The 10-time Grand Slam champ Mouat drew into a favourable all-European pool with familiar faces, as his team registered a combined 12-4 record against Muskatewitz, Hösli and Edin last season.
Although Mouat went 3-1 against Marc Muskatewitz in their four meetings, that lone loss stung. Muskatewitz upset Mouat 9-7 in the final of the European Championships to take the gold medal. The German team made steady progress in the Grand Slam of Curling last season, starting in the Tour Challenge Tier 2 and working up to the top flight at the National, where Muskatewitz qualified for the playoffs.
Marco Hösli has been knocking on the door, ready for a breakout event. His Swiss squad has been collecting hardware on tour and already picked up one title this season, capturing the Baden Masters title earlier this month. Hösli went undefeated through that event, including an 8-0 shutout over Mouat in the semifinals and a 5-3 victory over Schwaller in the championship game. Team Hösli has yet to qualify for the playoffs in a Grand Slam event, but it’s only a matter of time.
Niklas Edin is coming off a down year, sliding to unlucky No. 13 and missing the 12-team, season-ending Players’ Championship. You can’t count out the seven-time world champion and reigning Olympic gold medallist, though. Edin has won four Grand Slam titles, including his first at the Masters in 2016.
THIRD END: MEN'S POOL C — DUNSTONE, MCEWEN, DROPKIN, RAMSFJELL
It was an emotional moment when Matt Dunstone claimed his first Grand Slam title at the 2019 Masters, and he's been on the hunt for his second ever since. His Winnipeg-based club found another gear once E.J. Harnden joined mid-season at second, reuniting with his brother, lead Ryan Harnden. The “Brush Brothers” won seven Grand Slam titles with their cousin, skip Brad Jacobs, not to mention Brier and Olympic gold medals. Dunstone earned silver at the Brier last season, falling to Jacobs in the final.
Dunstone, No. 4 in the world, went 11-1 against his pool opponents last season and had Mike McEwen’s number with a 7-1 head-to-head record.
McEwen has had a career renaissance since linking up with the Saskatoon-based trio of third Colton Flasch, second Kevin Marsh and lead Dan Marsh. The team earned silver at the 2024 Brier and won three events early last season, including the PointsBet Invitational. McEwen is a seven-time Grand Slam champion, claiming his first at the Masters in 2010 when it was known as the World Cup of Curling. He won the event again in 2015.
Pool C is also a bit of a “2016 world juniors class reunion” as Dunstone, Dropkin and Ramsfjell all skipped in that event — Dunstone took home bronze, while Dropkin walked away with silver. Back to the present, Dropkin got out to an early start this season, competing in the USA Curling Pan Continental playdowns at the beginning of the month. His Duluth, Minn., club fell short, with Team Shuster earning the berth, but that should light a fire under Dropkin leading up to the U.S. Olympic trials in November.
What’s in a name? Ramsfjell has qualified for the playoffs twice in the Grand Slam of Curling, both times at the Masters. His team made its Grand Slam debut at the 2022 Masters and went all the way to the semifinals. Can the Norwegian club find that spark again?
FOURTH END: MEN'S POOL D — JACOBS, WHYTE, EPPING, KLEITER
Make way for the rematch. Whyte got the better of Jacobs in last season’s AMJ Masters men’s final, but they split their season series 2-2. The world No. 3 Jacobs also went even at 3-3 vs. Epping. Jacobs, who has won seven Grand Slam men’s championships, is not only looking for his first since joining forces with third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert, but he’s also an AMJ Masters title away from completing a career Grand Slam.
Team Whyte’s breakthrough title victory at the AMJ Masters last season cemented the squad as a top contender after consistent performances in the series. Whyte, No. 5 in the world, had a 10-event playoff streak rolling until missing the cut at the Players’ Championship.
Epping rocketed up the rankings last season with his newly established Sudbury, Ont., squad featuring third Jake Horgan, second Tanner Horgan and lead Ian McMillan. The team wasn’t even in the Tier 2 range to start, but after five title wins on tour, Epping cracked the top flight at the Masters. Epping then made the playoffs at the Players’ Championship, proving his squad belonged.
Rylan Kleiter doesn’t need to wear colourful pants to stand out from the crowd anymore. Kleiter captured the Tour Challenge Tier 2 title last season to earn a promotion into last season’s Masters. His team will have to take risks to earn rewards in this pool.
FIFTH END: WOMEN'S POOL A — HASSELBORG, EINARSON, X. SCHWALLER, CONSTANTINI
Anna Hasselborg and her Swedish squad are the defending women’s champions, winning their eighth title in the series together after defeating Team Homan 7-5 in last season’s final. The team was dialed in that week, going undefeated at 7-0.
Hasselborg, No. 3 in the world, went 7-1 combined against her pool opponents last season. That lone loss came against Kerri Einarson in the Tour Challenge when Hasselborg’s second Agnes Knochenhauer was absent.
Einarson captured her sixth career Grand Slam title at the Tour Challenge with Dawn McEwen subbing for second Shannon Birchard, who missed most of the season recovering from a knee injury. Birchard is expected to return to the lineup while Karlee Burgess, who filled in at second for the back half of the year, moves to lead. Chemistry will be key for the world No. 5 team.
Xenia Schwaller, like fellow Swiss star Hösli, has performed well elsewhere on tour, but is still looking for success on the Grand Slam circuit. Her team competed in all five Grand Slam events last season but has yet to qualify for the playoffs. Again, their time will come soon.
Team Constantini will also be under pressure to perform, like Retornaz, as the host of the Winter Olympics. Constantini missed the playoffs at back-to-back Grand Slams (National and Masters) and did not receive an invitation to the Players’ Championship, having slipped to No. 16.
SIXTH END: WOMEN'S POOL B — HOMAN, YOSHIMURA, WRANÅ, SKRLIK
All eyes will be on Rachel Homan. The Ottawa-based club went 75-8 last season, winning seven events, including Canadian and world championships. Homan reached all five Grand Slam finals, with back-to-back title victories at the Canadian Open and National.
Is Homan the master of the AMJ Masters? Check out the numbers: There have been 12 women’s events in the history of the AMJ Masters. Homan has played in the final eight times, with four title wins.
Homan went 10-2 combined against her pool opponents last season. Those two losses were round-robin games in Grand Slam events to Yoshimura and Wranå, which means they’ve got a chance.
Sayaka Yoshimura is a one-time Grand Slam finalist (2019 Masters) and two-time Tour Challenge Tier 2 finalist (2018 and 2024) in the series. Her team made the playoffs twice in the Grand Slams last season, but ran into Homan both times in the quarterfinals. Making matters worse: both losses were on steals.
Isabella Wranå reached the semifinals of the Masters last season, falling to eventual champ Hasselborg. The 2023 Players’ Championship winners also missed the playoffs in three Grand Slams and will need to find consistency this year.
No. 8 Yoshimura and No. 12 Wranå were the lowest seeds in their pots during the draft, but at No. 13, Kayla Skrlik was the highest seed from the fourth pot. Skip Kayla Skrlik made her top-tier Grand Slam debut at the Masters last season thanks to a steady rise in the rankings. Is there potential here for an upset?
SEVENTH END: WOMEN'S POOL C — KIM, GIM, HA, BLACK
Christina Black is the low seed of Pool C at No. 15 and will feel like she’s competing in the Korean National Curling Championship, as all three South Korean clubs just so happened to draw into the same pool. Funny how things work out like that sometimes.
Bet on Black? The Halifax-based club overcame a 1-2 start in the Tour Challenge Tier 2 event last season and won five straight en route to the title, including a 5-4 victory over Ha in the semifinals. Black earned a promotion into the National, where she defeated a short-handed Team Gim 9-5 in the tiebreakers to qualify for the playoffs.
Eun-ji Gim kicked off the season early in June, winning the actual Korean National Curling Championship title, and will represent the nation at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Team Gim was out of sorts on the Grand Slam circuit last season, missing the playoffs in four consecutive events. The world No. 6 team did not look like the club that won the Grand Slam of Curling's National in 2023.
Eun-jung Kim made four straight Grand Slam semifinals, but she ran into Homan three of those times with predictable results. The world No. 4 team also lost to Homan in the quarterfinals of the Tour Challenge. If a Grand Slam final is in the cards, it'll likely happen with Homan on the other side of the playoff bracket. However, getting to the playoffs will be a challenge this time.
It might seem like Team Ha has less experience, but let’s not forget this was the team that Min-ji Kim, now playing third for Team Gim, skipped to the Tour Challenge Tier 2 title and a runner-up finish in the Canadian Open during the 2019-20 season. With Seung-youn Ha at the helm, the team qualified for the playoffs in three Grand Slams last season.
EIGHTH END: WOMEN'S POOL D — TIRINZONI, FUJISAWA, TABATA, WANG
Our final pool features the silver (Tirinzoni) and bronze (Wang) medallists from the World Women’s Curling Championship. Silvana Tirinzoni’s Swiss squad capped last season by winning a second straight Players’ Championship title and a fifth career Grand Slam trophy. Tirinzoni also drew a favourable pool, having gone 8-1 against her opponents last season.
Tirinzoni, Fujisawa and Tabata were all in the same group during the Players’ Championship — with only Tirinzoni qualifying for the playoffs. That ended Satsuki Fujisawa’s playoff streak in the series at four events and what was a return to form season for the 2023 Canadian Open champ.
The world No. 7 Fujisawa went 6-10 against her pool opponents last season, but weighing that down is a 2-7 mark against Team Tabata, skipped by Miku Nihira. They've already faced three times this season, with Fujisawa holding a 2-1 advantage.
Team Tabata made its top-tier debut last season and qualified for the playoffs at the Masters. Don't sleep on the world No. 9 club that won five tour events in 2024-25.
The AMJ Masters will be Rui Wang’s skip debut in the Grand Slam of Curling, but don’t underestimate the 14th-seeded team. Wang earned bronze medals last season at the Pan Continental Curling Championships and World Women’s Curling Championships.
