Five-time champion Gushue leads field for Montana’s Brier in Regina

The field is set for the 2024 Montana’s Brier in Regina.

The Canadian men’s curling championship will feature 18 teams, led by defending-champion Brad Gushue. There also are 14 provincial/territorial champions and three qualifiers from the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS).

The final three entrants were determined Sunday.

The first of those was Aaron Sluchinski, who beat four-time Brier champion Kevin Koe in the Alberta final.

But Koe still earned a spot in the Brier as the highest-ranked team on the CTRS that hadn’t previously qualified for the tournament.

The last team to claim a spot was the rink skipped by Reid Carruthers, who won the Manitoba title Sunday.

Pool A comprises teams skipped by Bottcher (CTRS), Carruthers (Manitoba), Matt Dunstone (CTRS), Scott Howard (Ontario), Catlin Schneider (B.C.), James Grattan (New Brunswick), Trevor Bonot (Northern Ontario), Andrew Symonds (Newfoundland and Labrador) and Thomas Scoffin (Yukon).

Schneider hails from Regina. Dunstone represented Saskatchewan at the Brier three times and was a wild-card entry once while curling out of this province.

Pool B at the Brier includes foursomes led by Gushue (Canada), Koe (CTRS), Sluchinski (Alberta), Mike McEwen (Saskatchewan), Julien Tremblay (Quebec), Matthew Manuel (Nova Scotia), Tyler Smith (Prince Edward Island), Jamie Koe (Northwest Territories) and Shane Latimer (Nunavut).

McEwen, who hails from Winnipeg, claimed the Saskatchewan title on Feb. 4 in Saskatoon. His team also includes Colton Flasch, Kevin Marsh and Daniel Marsh.

Teams will play eight round-robin games in their pools, with the top three teams in each pool advancing to the playoffs.

The tournament schedule can be found here.

The Montana’s Brier is to be held March 1-10 at the Brandt Centre. The winner will advance to the world men’s curling championship, March 30 to April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.