KINGSTON, Ont. – It should be a very interesting two days of curling at Leon’s Centre.

For the first time in the short history of the championship round, the top eight-ranked rinks in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) will battle it out to make the playoffs at the Tim Hortons Brier.

The week has been compelling to say the very least. Multiple highlight-reel game winners, astronomical shooting percentages and a few surprising results created an exciting five days of curling – and the fun is just getting started.

In the championship round, records carry over and each team will play the four teams that qualified from the opposing pool. The top four overall make the page playoff.

Let’s look at how it all breaks down.
 

Sitting pretty

Alberta (Brendan Bottcher)

Record: 7-0

Schedule: SK, CA, ON, WC

Alberta is the only undefeated rink heading into the championship round at the Brier.

They’ve downed heavyweights like Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs with their skipper shooting 100 per cent twice already. Alberta is the hottest team coming in and appears driven to avenge their back-to-back Brier finals losses.

Going 2-2 should be more than enough to lock in a spot for this weekend’s final four.
 

The six-win group

Wild Card (Mike McEwen)

Record: 6-1

Schedule: NO, MB, NL, AB

Mike McEwen and his rink from Winnipeg seem like a completely different squad from a year ago when they represented Manitoba as the hometown team in Brandon, Man.

They’ve fully embraced their identity as Team Wild Card after beating Glenn Howard last Friday and are far more comfortable in their second campaign as a foursome.

Still, Team McEwen will need to beat some good teams over the next couple days to advance.
 

Newfoundland and Labrador (Brad Gushue)

Record: 6-1

Schedule: CA, ON, WC, SK

It’s no surprise Gushue is back in the Brier playoffs.

Last year, the 39-year-old lost to Bottcher in the page 3 vs. 4 after allowing a four-spot late in the game.

Gushue says he’s amazed at some of the high-pressure shots that have been made this week.

“There’s a lot of guys that are making it when they need to be made and it’s fun to watch,” Gushue said earlier this week. “I can only imagine at home watching all these shots being made. You’ve probably come off your coach a number of times this week.”
 

Saskatchewan (Matt Dunstone)

Record: 6-1

Schedule: AB, NO, MB, NL

Saskatchewan might be the most interesting team coming into the championship round.

After dropping their opener to Wild Card and a very slow start against New Brunswick, the Regina rink have turned things around on a dime. They have a real shot at getting Saskatchewan to the Brier playoffs for the first time since 2015 and just the fourth time since 2000.

The province hasn’t won the Brier Tankard since 1980.

“The reason we put this team together is to win a Brier for Saskatchewan,” third Braeden Moskowy told TSN.ca earlier this week. “We want to be those guys that end this 40-year drought. It’s way too long for all the great players that have played for Saskatchewan and out of Saskatchewan. That’s ultimately the goal, but we’re nowhere close to that right now. We just got to keep on doing what we’re doing, chipping away, and hopefully keep making some shots as we can here.”

Dunstone’s championship schedule is daunting and will probably need to find at least two wins to make the playoffs or a tiebreaker.
 

In the hunt

Manitoba (Jason Gunnlaugson)

Record: 5-2

Schedule: ON, WC, SK, CA

Jason Gunnlaugson has become a star in his first Brier.

The 35-year-old Winnipeg native is no stranger to other pro curlers, but the casual fan is experiencing the skip known as “Gunner” for the first time and they like what they’re seeing.

They beat Northern Ontario on a 10th end measure and battled close with Alberta, but also had to fight tooth and nail to down lower-ranked squads in Quebec and Prince Edward Island, thanks to a shot now known as the Manitoba Miracle.

Team Gunnlaugson will be put to the test over the next four games and we’ll see if they have what it takes to stay in contention.
 

Canada (Kevin Koe)

Record: 5-2

Schedule: NL, AB, NO, MB

Kevin Koe went undefeated last year en route to his fourth Canadian championship.

He’ll need to find that form once again to set a record as the first skip to capture five Tankards.

Third B.J. Neufeld knows the competition is about to get much harder.

“It’s going to be a battle,” said Neufeld. “As a curling fan, I think they’re going to be treated to something pretty special over the next couple days. There are teams battling for their lives. It should be amazing curling.”

Team Koe haven’t hit their stride yet in Kingston, which could be a scary fact for the rest of the field heading into the championship round.

The 45-year-old veteran has missed the playoffs just once in eight appearances at the Brier.
 

Able to run the table?

Ontario (John Epping)

Record: 4-3

Schedule: MB, NL, AB, NO

The home province team rattled off three consecutive wins to start the 2020 Brier, including an opening victory over the defending champs on Saturday. Then things went south.

Team John Epping dropped three in a row and then needed to battle back from a 5-1 deficit against Northwest Territories in the round-robin finale just to get to four wins and salvage a spot in the championship round.

“It was a slippery slope for those three games and then to rebound,” said Epping Wednesday night. “Especially down 5-1, that shows the character of this team and we could have easily folded and just kind of hung our heads down. We really want to be here for the next couple days, especially for the crowd.”

They’ll need the Kingston crowd to get behind them as the winning four in a row seems like the only route to the playoffs.
 

Northern Ontario (Brad Jacobs)

Record: 4-3

Schedule: WC, SK, CA. ON

The No. 1 ranked team in curling probably needs to run the table to make the playoffs.

Teams Jacobs was just on the wrong side of the inch to start the national championship, dropping three of their first four games.

The slow start might just be a reversal of fortune the boys from Sault Ste. Marie need. Since winning the Brier in 2013, Team Jacobs has a round-robin record of 46-9, but a 1-7 showing in the playoffs.

“There has been lots of time where it’s been the other way. We built the momentum in the beginning and started to lose some steam as the week went on,” second E.J. Harnden said. “We’re taking a positive approach. Everyone is playing very well.”

Team Jacobs have already won three straight Grand Slams this season. What’s winning four consecutive games at the Brier? Jacobs and company are far from done.