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 go
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