The Grand Slam of Curling (formerly branded as the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling for sponsorship reasons) is a series of curling bonspiels that were formerly part of the annual World Curling Tour. Grand Slam events offer a purse of at least CAD$100,000, and feature the best teams from across Canada and around the World. The Grand Slam was instituted during the 2001–02 season for men and 2006–07 for women (with the 2006 Players' Championship also considered a Slam), but some of the Grand Slam events have longer histories as bonspiels.
The Grand Slam season consists of five men's and women's events. The original four events (Masters, Open, National, and Players' Championship) are considered to be "majors". The other slam (Tour Challenge) has a unique format that sets it apart from other events in the series.
History In 2001, many male curlers were upset with the Canadian Curling Association (CCA). Their complaints included the long length of the curling season, not getting any prize money at the Brier, the national men's curling championship, which generated millions for the CCA, and the inability to have sponsors at the Brier. Eighteen of the top twenty men's teams in the country, known as the "Original 18", agreed to boycott the Brier from 2001 to 2003 and created the Grand Slam of Curling. The original 18 skips were Dave Boehmer, Kerry Burtnyk, Pierre Charette, Glen Despins, Dale Duguid, Bert Gretzinger, Glenn Howard, Bruce Korte, Allan Lyburn, William Lyburn, Kevin Martin, Greg McAulay, Wayne Middaugh, Kevin Park, Brent Pierce, Vic Peters, Peter Steski and Jeff Stoughton.
The Grand Slam of Curling began in the 2001–02 curling season with four events: the Canadian Open, Masters, National, and Players' Championship, the four "majors".
After the merger of the Women's Tour and the WCT, the 2006 Players' Championship featured a women's event for the first time, and was considered a Slam for the women too. In the 2006–07 curling season, several existing women's events were designated as Grand Slams, but were not operated by the Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam games also got reduced to eight ends that season.
In 2012, the Grand Slam of Curling was acquired by Rogers Media via its Sportsnet subsidiary. As such, Sportsnet became the main media rightsholder of the series, although CBC Sports would still carry championship rounds of selected events.
In 2017, Yare TV began broadcasting online streams of the Grand Slams, opening up access to fans outside of Canada.
Under this new ownership, the separate women's Grand Slams were phased out, with women's divisions added to existing men's Grand Slams. New Grand Slam events were also added: the Elite 10 in the 2014–15 curling season and the Tour Challenge and Champions Cup in the 2015–16 curling season. A women's division was added to the Elite 10 in the 2018–19 curling season, achieving for the first time equal number of events, prize money, and television time for men and women. The Elite 10 was dropped the next season, bringing the number of events to six.
The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the remaining two slams of the 2019-20 curling season and all but the remaining two slams of the 2020–21 curling season. The 2020–21 season was supposed to include the first international Grand Slam, the Canadian Open (renamed to the Open) to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, but that too was cancelled along with the Tour Challenge that season. The Slam tour was back to normal for the 2022–23 season with six events, however it would be the last season for the Champions Cup which was discontinued.
In April 2024, it was announced that a consortium known as The Curling Group had acquired the Grand Slam of Curling. The group includes Jennifer Jones, John Morris and former American football player-turned curler Jared Allen, and Marc Bulger. Sportsnet will remain the Canadian broadcaster of the tour under a multi-year agreement of unspecified length.
In 2026, the Grand Slam of Curling's parent company The Curling Group introduced the Rock League, which consists of six franchised teams consisting of both males and females who compete against each other in a league format.
Also in 2026, the series removed the tier two events, and re-branded several of the slams. Select tour events were designated as qualifier in order to give teams a berth into the slams. These include the Shorty Jenkins Classic, Karuizawa International, Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic, ATB Okotoks Classic (men), Autumn Gold Curling Classic (women), the Saville U25 Challenge, Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic, St. Paul Cashspiel, Swiss Chalet Women's Curling Stadium Spiel (women), Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, and Henderson Metal Fall Classic (men). This was accompanied by a shift in the GSOC schedule to occur mostly in the fall, in order to accommodate the Rock League. Ahead of the season, The Curling Group announced that the series would return to CBC Sports under a five-year deal alongside Sportsnet, with CBC airing Saturday coverage, as well as finals coverage of selected events.
Current Grand Slams
Masters
The Masters was introduced as a men's event 2002, and was added to the women's side in 2012.
Champions The winning skip for Tier 1 is listed above the Tier 2 winning skip. Year Men's winning skip Women's winning skip Location 2002 Bruce Korte Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador 2003 (Jan.) Kevin Martin Sudbury, Ontario 2003 (Dec.) Wayne Middaugh Sudbury, Ontario 2004 Jeff Stoughton Humboldt, Saskatchewan 2006 (Feb.) Randy Ferbey St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 2006 (Dec.) Glenn Howard Waterloo, Ontario 2008 (Jan.) Glenn Howard Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2008 (Nov.) Glenn Howard Waterloo, Ontario 2009 Glenn Howard Mississauga, Ontario 2010 Mike McEwen Windsor, Ontario 2011 Glenn Howard Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 2012 Kevin Koe Rachel Homan Brantford, Ontario 2013 Glenn Howard Rachel Homan Abbotsford, British Columbia 2014 Brad Gushue Val Sweeting Selkirk, Manitoba 2015 Mike McEwen Rachel Homan Truro, Nova Scotia 2016 Niklas Edin Allison Flaxey Okotoks, Alberta 2017 Brad Gushue Jennifer Jones Lloydminster, Saskatchewan 2018 John Epping Anna Hasselborg Truro, Nova Scotia 2019 Matt Dunstone Tracy Fleury North Bay, Ontario 2020 Cancelled Sarnia, Ontario 2021 Bruce Mouat Tracy Fleury Oakville, Ontario 2022 Joël Retornaz Kerri Einarson Oakville, Ontario 2023 Joël Retornaz Rachel Homan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2025 (Jan.) Ross Whyte Anna Hasselborg Guelph, Ontario 2025 (Sept.) Matt Dunstone Rachel HomanLondon, Ontario Daniel Casper Ikue Kitazawa 2026 Medicine Hat, Alberta
GSOC Invitational (formerly Tour Challenge)
The GSOC Tour Challenge was introduced as a men's and women's event in the 2015–16 curling season. The Tour Challenge has two tiers, with the bottom tier including regional invitations. The Tier 2 winning team qualifies for a subsequent grand slam.
In 2026, it was re-branded as the "GSOC Invitational", with the Tier 2 championship being removed from the GSOC event schedule.
Champions The winning skip for Tier 1 is listed above the Tier 2 winning skip. Year Men's winning skip Women's winning skip Location2015 Kevin Koe Silvana TirinzoniParadise, Newfoundland and Labrador Jim Cotter Kerri Einarson2016 Niklas Edin Val SweetingCranbrook, British Columbia Greg Balsdon Jacqueline Harrison2017 Brad Gushue Val SweetingRegina, Saskatchewan Jason Gunnlaugson Kerri Einarson2018 Brad Jacobs Rachel HomanThunder Bay, Ontario Kirk Muyres Elena Stern2019 Brad Jacobs Anna HasselborgWestville Road, Nova Scotia Korey Dropkin Kim Min-ji 2020 Cancelled Grande Prairie, Alberta 2021 Cancelled Grande Prairie, Alberta2022 Niklas Edin Tracy FleuryGrande Prairie, Alberta Korey Dropkin Clancy Grandy2023 Joël Retornaz Jennifer JonesNiagara Falls, Ontario Daniel Casper Kim Eun-jung2024 Bruce Mouat Kerri EinarsonCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island Rylan Kleiter Christina Black20251 Bruce Mouat Rachel HomanNisku, Alberta Takumi Maeda Serena Gray-Withers 2026 Victoria, British Columbia 1 In 2025, Grand Slam of Curling decided to host both a U25 Jr. GSOC Tour Challenge men's and women's event, instead of a Tier 2 event as in previous seasons, to showcase the future of the sport and support the transition of teams from juniors to men's/women's play.
National
The National was introduced as a men's event in 2002, and was added to the women's side in 2015.
Champions Year Men's winning skip Women's winning skip Location 2002 Glenn Howard Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 2003 Pierre Charette Humboldt, Saskatchewan 2004 (Jan.) Glenn Howard Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 2004 (Nov.)1 Kevin Martin Hamilton, Ontario 2005 Wayne Middaugh Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia 2007 (Mar.) Kevin Martin Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia 2007 (Dec.) Kevin Martin Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia 2008 Wayne Middaugh Quebec City, Quebec 2010 (Jan.) Brad Gushue Guelph, Ontario 2010 (Dec.) Kevin Martin Vernon, British Columbia 2012 Glenn Howard Dawson Creek, British Columbia 2013 Jeff Stoughton Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia 2014 (Mar.) Glenn Howard Fort McMurray, Alberta 2014 (Nov.) Mike McEwen Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 2015 Brad Gushue Rachel Homan Oshawa, Ontario 2016 Brad Jacobs Kerri Einarson Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 2017 Bruce Mouat Jennifer Jones Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 2018 Ross Paterson Rachel Homan Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador 2019 Brad Jacobs Anna Hasselborg Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador 2020 Cancelled Chestermere, Alberta 2021 Brad Gushue Anna Hasselborg Chestermere, Alberta 2022 Brad Gushue Silvana Tirinzoni North Bay, Ontario 2023 Joël Retornaz Gim Eun-ji Westville Road, Nova Scotia 2024 Bruce Mouat Rachel Homan St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 20252 Bruce Mouat Rachel Homan Stateline, Nevada 2026 Sydney, Nova Scotia 1 There was no National in the 2004–2005 season, but the BDO Curling Classic was held. It returned to its original name in the 2005–2006 season. The words "BDO Classic" were added to the name of the Canadian Open. 2 There will be no National in the 2025–26 season, instead the event will be named the "GSOC Tahoe".
GSOC Open (formerly Canadian Open)
The Canadian Open was introduced as a men's event in 2001, and was added to the women's side in 2014. The Canadian Open is the only Grand Slam that uses a triple knockout format.
In 2026, it was re-branded as the GSOC Open.
Champions The winning skip for Tier 1 is listed above the Tier 2 winning skip. Year Men's winning skip Women's winning skip Location 2001 Wayne Middaugh Wainwright, Alberta 2002 Kevin Martin Thunder Bay, Ontario 2003 Glen Despins Brandon, Manitoba 2005 Kevin Martin Winnipeg, Manitoba 2006 Jeff Stoughton Winnipeg, Manitoba 2007 (Jan.) Kevin Martin Winnipeg, Manitoba 2007 (Dec.) Kevin Martin Quebec City, Quebec 2009 Glenn Howard Winnipeg, Manitoba 2010 Kevin Martin Winnipeg, Manitoba 2011 (Jan.) Mike McEwen Oshawa, Ontario 2011 (Dec.) Mike McEwen Kingston, Ontario 2012 Glenn Howard Kelowna, British Columbia 2013 Kevin Koe Medicine Hat, Alberta 2014 Brad Gushue Eve Muirhead Yorkton, Saskatchewan 2015 John Epping Rachel Homan Yorkton, Saskatchewan 2017 Brad Gushue Casey Scheidegger North Battleford, Saskatchewan 2018 Peter de Cruz Chelsea Carey Camrose, Alberta 2019 Brendan Bottcher Rachel Homan North Battleford, Saskatchewan 2020 Brad Jacobs Anna Hasselborg Yorkton, Saskatchewan 2021 Cancelled Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 2022 Cancelled Camrose, Alberta 2023 Brendan Bottcher Satsuki Fujisawa Camrose, Alberta 2024 (Jan.) Bruce Mouat Rachel Homan Red Deer, Alberta 2024 (Nov.) Bruce Mouat Rachel Homan Nisku, Alberta 2025 Yannick Schwaller Silvana Tirinzoni Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Magnus Ramsfjell Taylor Reese-Hansen Martensville, Saskatchewan 2026 Thunder Bay, Ontario
Players' Cup (formerly Players' Championship)
The Players' Championship, the oldest tournament on the men's Grand Slam of Curling, was introduced as a men's event in 1993, and added to the women's side in 2006.