Feb 12, 2021
Format, pools finalized for 2021 Brier
Curling Canada confirmed the pools and format for the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier set to take place at Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park inside the Calgary curling bubble from March 5-14.
TSN.ca Staff
Curling Canada confirmed the pools and format for the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier set to take place at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park inside the Calgary curling bubble from March 5-14.
Like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the 18 teams will be split into two pools of nine where an eight-game round robin will occur. From there, the top four teams in each pool will carry their records to the championship pool where they will play more four games against teams in the opposing pool.
The most notable change to this year's format is that there will be no page playoff. Instead, the top three teams following championship pool play will advance to the playoffs with the top ranked team getting an automatic entry to the championship game. The other two squads will battle in the semifinals.
Here's a look at the pools.
POOL A
1. Northern Ontario, Brad Jacobs
4. Alberta, Brendan Bottcher
5. Wild Card #1, Mike McEwen
8. Manitoba, Jason Gunnlaugson
9. Wild Card #3, Glenn Howard
12. British Columbia, Steve Laycock
13. New Brunswick, James Grattan
16. Northwest Territories, Greg Skauge
17. Yukon, Dustin Mikkelsen
POOL B
2. Ontario, John Epping
3. Team Canada, Brad Gushue
6. Wild Card #2, Kevin Koe
7. Saskatchewan, Matt Dunstone
10. Nova Scotia, Jamie Murphy
11. Quebec, Mike Fournier
14. Newfoundland/Labrador, Greg Smith
15. Prince Edward Island, Eddie MacKenzie
18. Nunavut, Peter Mackey