Eight Ends: What you need to know for the 2025 Players’ Championship

TORONTO — The world’s best curling teams are set for one last showdown before the summer at the AMJ Players’ Championship.

The fifth and final Grand Slam of Curling event of the season gets underway Tuesday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

The festivities kick off Monday night as Team Mouat and Team Homan face off for charity in the Rio Mare Battle of the Sexes presented by The Curling Group.

Here’s a rundown of storylines to follow and where to watch in Eight Ends.

First End: A brief history of the AMJ Players’ Championship

The AMJ Players’ Championship is the crown jewel of the Grand Slam of Curling and actually predates the series as the event was first held in 1993 — eight years before the GSOC’s inception. The tournament started as a men’s invitational with a women’s division added in 2006.

It’s one of the toughest to win on tour as only the top 12 men’s teams and top 12 women’s teams from the world rankings receive invitations. The event also features the largest prize purse in the series at $480,000, split equally between the men’s and women’s divisions.

The Mattamy Athletic Centre has been a familiar home for the AMJ Players’ Championship. Events usually move around locations, however, this will be the 10th time since 2013 that the historic venue formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens will play host to the tournament.

All-time legends Kevin Martin and Jennifer Jones hold the most AMJ Players’ Championship titles in their respective divisions. Martin won eight men’s titles at the event while Jones earned six on the women’s side.

Second End: The format

Both divisions are divided into two pools of six for round-robin play. The best six teams overall advance to the playoffs, with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff teams.

The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday. Both finals are on tap Sunday.

The Grand Slam of Curling is no stranger to testing out new rules. During the WFG Masters in January, teams would lose the hammer if they blanked two consecutive ends. Although this rule will not be in effect during the AMJ Players’ Championship, you never know, it may get another trial run one day.

Third End: When we last left our heroes …

The Grand Slam of Curling has been on a bit of a hiatus and although it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, it has been three months since the last event at the WFG Masters in Guelph, Ont.

Scotland’s Team Whyte captured a first career Grand Slam title after making a tap to score two points in the eighth end to edge Canada’s Team Jacobs 5-4 in the men’s final. Skip Ross Whyte became the fourth youngest men’s skip to win a Grand Slam championship at age 26.

Meanwhile, it was an eighth Grand Slam women’s title victory for Sweden’s Team Hasselborg, and a first since the 2022 Players’ Championship, following a 7-5 victory over Canada’s Team Homan. Hasselborg, who lost to Homan in the KIOTI National women’s final just a month prior, posted a perfect 7-0 record in the tournament.

Fourth End: No rest for the world’s best

Six men’s teams (i.e., half the field) will be arriving at the AMJ Players’ Championship straight from the World Men’s Curling Championship in Moose Jaw, Sask.

That includes all three medal winners — Scotland’s Team Mouat, Switzerland’s Team Schwaller and Canada’s Team Jacobs — along with Germany’s Team Muskatewitz, Italy’s Team Retornaz and Team Dropkin of the United States.

It’ll be a delicate balance for some between maintaining momentum and fighting fatigue, but it didn’t seem to faze last year’s finalists. Canada’s Team Gushue defeated Retornaz for the title after both made the trip from the men’s worlds.

Fifth End: Men’s division key storylines

Team Mouat won three consecutive Grand Slam of Curling titles to start this season. Although the streak was snapped with a loss to Jacobs in the WFG Masters semifinals, the recently crowned world champs can still chase series history. Mouat looks to become the first to win four Grand Slam titles in a single season. Skip Bruce Mouat and his squad have captured nine Grand Slams together, including back-to-back at the Players’ Championship in 2021 and 2022.

As Mouat aims for double digits, skip Yannick Schwaller looks to win his first. Schwaller, who earned silver at the men’s worlds, was a finalist at the Players’ Championship in 2023 but ran into a red-hot Kevin Koe, who pulled off an unreal shot with the last rock of the game — and barely any time left — to score three points and win 5-4.

Please excuse Whyte if he has a chip on his shoulder. Whyte won a second straight Scottish title in February, defeating Mouat in the final, but was passed over for selection to the world championship. His team will be out to prove they’re the best.

Third time’s the charm? After back-to-back runner-up results in the series, could the AMJ Players’ Championship be where skip Brad Jacobs takes his team to the winner’s circle? Jacobs has won seven Grand Slams as a skip, including his first at the Players’ Championship in 2015, and is looking to win his first since linking up with Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert ahead of this season.

Skip Brad Gushue and his crew return as the defending champions. Gushue won his 15th Grand Slam of Curling title in the event last season on a shot that even earned a tip of the Trucks cap from fellow skip Joël Retornaz. The team went winless through the WFG Masters, something that hadn’t happened to Gushue at a Grand Slam in 19 years, and will look to prove that was just a blip on the radar.

Sixth End: Will the ‘Homan Empire’ reign supreme?

No women’s skip has won more Grand Slam of Curling titles than Rachel Homan, who has 17 to her name, including back-to-back championships this season at the Co-op Canadian Open and KIOTI National.

The AMJ Players’ Championship is the last one for Homan to check off the list in the series. Homan is a three-time finalist at the event. Her Ottawa-based squad reached the semifinals last year, falling to eventual champion Team Tirinzoni.

Homan has had a season for the books, holding a 69-6 record, and reaching the final in all nine events played. Her team went undefeated through the Scotties Tournament of Hearts once again and successfully defended the gold medal at the World Women’s Curling Championship, becoming the first Canadian club to win the event in back-to-back years since Sandra Schmirler’s team in 1993-94.

An 18th title would also equal Kevin Martin for the most Grand Slam titles among all skips, men’s and women’s.

Seventh End: Women’s division key storylines

Team Tirinzoni is back as the defending champion. After losing to Team Wranå during the 2023 women’s final, the script was flipped last season as skip Silvana Tirinzoni took her fourth career Grand Slam title.

With Homan and Hasselborg facing off in the past two Grand Slam finals, maybe a rubber match between them is in the cards? The two skips have gone head to head since juniors with Homan holding a 19-13 record in their matches, including eight of their past nine meetings.

Keep an eye on Team Kim. The South Korean club has reached the semifinals in the past three Grand Slam events. Eun-jung Kim skipped the squad to the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2 title last season to get back into the top flight and appears close to capturing her first major in the series.

Wranå ramped things up after reaching the semifinals of the WFG Masters. Just when it looked like the Swedish squad was in danger of missing the AMJ Players’ Championship altogether, Wranå won the Sun City Cup event to earn enough points and crack the top 12. Wranå followed that up with a quarterfinal run at a tour stop in Gangneung, South Korea, for insurance.

Canada’s Team Einarson opened the Grand Slam of Curling season with a title win in the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 1 and could bookend things with another championship. Skip Kerri Einarson has captured six Grand Slam titles, including two at the Players’ Championship in 2019 and 2021. She reached the final again in 2022 but her bid for a historic three-peat was stopped by Hasselborg.

Eighth End: Ways to watch

Can’t make it to Toronto? Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT.

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