By Jonathan Brazeau

The Grand Slam of Curling is all geared up for its first international event, the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe, running Tuesday to Sunday at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Here's a complete rundown of everything you need to know for the tournament.

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FIRST END: The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is the third stop on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit, featuring 16 men's teams and 16 women's teams from around the world.

Teams were invited based on the World Curling team rankings as of Oct. 7, with two sponsors' exemptions on the men's side: Team Jordon McDonald, and Team Jared Allen, featuring NFL legend Jared Allen, U.S. men's champion Jason Smith, two-time Olympic gold medallist John Morris and three-time world champion Wayne Middaugh.

Both men’s and women’s divisions were split up into four pools of four teams using a snake order of the rankings. Teams will play four games during the preliminary round: three against their pool opponents, plus one crossover game.

Crossover games were pre-determined based on the world rankings as of Oct. 27, with Pool A teams facing Pool D teams and Pool B teams facing Pool C teams. Teams ranked No. 1-4 will play their crossover game against teams ranked No. 9-12 in their opposing pool. Teams ranked No. 5-8 will play their crossover game against teams ranked No. 13-16 in their opposing pool.

The preliminary round runs through to Friday evening, with the top eight teams qualifying for the playoffs. If necessary, one tiebreaker round will be played Saturday morning to determine the final berths.

The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with both finals on tap Sunday.

SECOND END: A few new rules were introduced during the AMJ Masters and CO-OP Tour Challenge that will carry over to the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe.

The main one to know is that teams are allowed to blank only one end per game. If a team blanks again at any other point in the game, they will lose the hammer. As we saw during the CO-OP Tour Challenge, the immediate impact was a more than 50 per cent drop in the number of blank ends from the AMJ Masters, with blanks in the first end in particular plummeting.

Thinking time will remain at 30 minutes per team per game, down from 31 minutes at the AMJ Masters and 33 minutes in previous seasons.

There are no extra ends. If a game is tied after eight ends, even in the playoffs, a draw-to-the-button shootout will determine the winner. How dramatic was it during the CO-OP Tour Challenge semifinals as Rachel Homan covered the pin and Anna Hasselborg landed on the button as well, but came up an inch short?

During the preliminary round, teams receive three points for a regulation win (in eight ends or fewer), two points for a shootout win, and one point for a shootout loss.

THIRD END: The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe carries the lineage of the National, one of the four charter events of the Grand Slam of Curling series.

Originally a men's invitational, the inaugural tournament was held during the 2001-02 season in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Glenn Howard captured his first Grand Slam title as a skip, defeating Greg McAulay 9-7 in the final.

Howard, Kevin Martin and Brad Gushue have all skipped their squads to four titles in the event.

The women's division was added in 2015. Before they were teammates, Rachel Homan defeated Tracy Fleury 5-4 in the final to win the first title. Homan has won the most National women's titles as a skip with three and is the reigning champion.

Homan topped Anna Hasselborg during last year's final in front of a packed house in St. John's, N.L. On the men's side, Bruce Mouat beat Brad Jacobs to capture his third consecutive Grand Slam title of the season.

FOURTH END: All eyes remain on Homan in the women's division, with her Canadian club capturing back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the AMJ Masters and CO-OP Tour Challenge. Homan became the first skip to win 19 titles in the series and now aims to reach the No. 20 milestone.

The world No. 1 team went straight from claiming the CO-OP Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alta., to the Pan Continental Curling Championships in Virgina, Minn. Despite the lack of rest, Team Homan came close to defending the gold medal, but fell 7-6 to Team China, skipped by Wang Rui, in the final.

Homan holds a 28-6 record through five events on the season (.824 winning percentage), including a 13-1 record in the Grand Slams. Homan will look to remain dialed in with the Canadian Olympic curling trials looming.

FIFTH END: The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe will serve as the final major test for the Canadian teams ahead of the trials.

On top of Homan, Team Kerri Einarson and Team Kaitlyn Lawes on the women's side will also be hoping to head to Halifax on a high note from Tahoe. Homan and Lawes happen to meet Thursday in the preliminary round, and you can bet that match will carry an extra air of intrigue.

So too on the men's side, with six clubs in Tahoe — Team Brad Jacobs, Team Matt Dunstone, Team Mike McEwen, Team John Epping, Team Rylan Kleiter and Team Jordon McDonald — looking to wear the Maple Leaf in Milan-Cortina. Keep a close eye on these preliminary round matches: Epping vs. McDonald (Draw 1), Jacobs vs. McEwen (Draw 4), Epping vs. Kleiter (Draw 15), and Dunstone vs. McDonald (Draw 16).

"The more we get to play fellow Canadian teams, the better," Dunstone explained after defeating Epping during the CO-OP Tour Challenge semifinals. "Johnny and them, they're an amazing team. They threw everything at us. They're not hiding behind anything anymore. That team is for real."

Dunstone is in the driver's seat, after winning the AMJ Masters and finishing runner-up to Mouat in the CO-OP Tour Challenge, but objects appearing close in his rearview mirror are indeed right on his tail.

Team Jacobs missed the CO-OP Tour Challenge due to the Pan Continental Curling Championships, where the club ran the table en route to capturing gold. Team Epping is also gelling at the right time. Team McDonald has upset potential, having defeated Dunstone once already this season at the PointsBet Invitational.

SIXTH END: Flashback to the 2017 National, which was also the final Grand Slam leading up to the Canadian Olympic curling trials that year. Who came out on top on the men's side? Mouat, who made series history by becoming the youngest men's skip to win a Grand Slam title at age 23.

The now-31-year-old Mouat claimed his 11th last month at the CO-OP Tour Challenge and is looking very much like the world No. 1.

Expect Scotland's Team Ross Whyte to bounce back as well. After finishing runner-up to Dunstone at the AMJ Masters, Whyte was out of sorts during the CO-OP Tour Challenge and missed the playoffs.

Italy's Team Joël Retornaz was in contention at the CO-OP Tour Challenge until running into Mouat again in the semifinals. The four-time Grand Slam champ Retornaz has been on the rebound this season, winning the KW Fall Classic in Waterloo, Ont., and finishing runner-up last weekend at the Henderson Metal Fall Classic in Sault Ste. Marie.

SEVENTH END: Shifting back to the women's division, we've seen Homan face Team Silvana Tirinzoni in three consecutive Grand Slam finals, and a record nine total in the series. Could we see them meet again?

The world No. 2 Tirinzoni holds a 28-6 record over five events this season (.824 winning percentage). If those numbers sound familiar, scroll back up to the Fourth End and you'll see they're identical to Homan's numbers. Tirinzoni is 12-2 in Grand Slam games, with both losses coming against Homan in the AMJ Masters and CO-OP Tour Challenge finals.

Team Anna Hasselborg is another to watch after running hot in the CO-OP Tour Challenge until meeting Homan in the semifinals and coming up just short in the shootout.

Team Xenia Schwaller qualified for the playoffs for the first time in a Grand Slam at the AMJ Masters, then took another step forward by making the semifinals at the CO-OP Tour Challenge. How soon until the Swiss squad takes the next step into the finals?

EIGHTH END: Full tournament and weekend passes, plus single draw tickets, are available for the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe event. Visit GSOCtickets.com to purchase yours today.

Can't make it to Tahoe? Stream every game online for free at rockchannel.com.

Broadcast coverage in Canada on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday.

FanDuel Sports Network in the United States will have coverage of three draws during the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe event: Thursday's Draw 11 featuring Team Allen vs. Team McEwen, Saturday's women's quarterfinals and Sunday's men's final.

For fans in Europe, Eurovision will broadcast all games from Friday to Sunday.

See our broadcast schedule page for more information, including broadcast dates and times.