Team Smith to play PointsBet Invitational after winning fan vote

The always entertaining Greg Smith and his team from Newfoundland and Labrador are heading to next month's PointsBet Invitational after beating out three other teams to win the Fan Vote. 

Team Smith received 43 per cent of the vote, edging New Brunswick's Team James Grattan at 37 per cent, Nova Scotia's Team Paul Flemming at 10 per cent and Saskatchewan's Team Dallan Muyres at 10 per cent. The voting took place via a pole on Curling Canada's official Twitter account.

Smith is joined by a new foursome, including Adam Boland at third, Chris Ford at second and Zach Young at lead. 

The 26-year-old native of St. John's has earned a strong fanbase over recent years with two appearances at the Tim Hortons Brier in 2018 and 2021, highlighted by a legendary "around the horn" pistol inside the Calgary bubble. 

Team Smith will have the 14th seed at the PointsBet Invitational and will take on Manitoba's Team Matt Dunstone in the opening round, dubbed the Sweep 16, of the March Madness-style single elimination tournament set to take place at Willie O'Ree Place in Fredericton, N.B., from Sept. 21-25. They'll be the second team from The Rock competing at the event as Team Brad Gushue own the No. 1 seed on the men's side.

Here's a look at the full men's bracket: 

No. 1 Team Brad Gushue vs. No. 16 Team Nick Deagle (Canadian Club champion)
No. 8 Team John Epping vs. No. 9 Team Mike McEwen

No. 5 Team Reid Carruthers vs. No. 12 Team Braden Calvert
No. 4 Team Kevin Koe vs. No. 13 Team Jack Smeltzer (Host-committee selected team)

No. 6 Team Glenn Howard vs. No. 11 Team Félix Asselin
No. 3 Team Matt Dunstone vs. No. 14 Team Greg Smith (Fan vote winner)

No. 7 Team Colton Flasch vs. No. 10 Team Karsten Sturmay
No. 2 Team Brendan Bottcher vs. No. 15 Team Landan Rooney (Canadian Junior champion)

Teams heading to Fredericton will each receive $5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs and will earn more cash after each win.

First-round - $3,000
Quarter-final - $6,000
Semifinal - $12,000
Champion - $24,000

The winning men’s and women’s rinks will each take home a total of $50,000.

The final women's team will be determined by a fan vote between Prince Edward Island's Team Suzanne Birt, Saskatchewan's Team Nancy Martin, Quebec's Team Laurie St-Georges and New Brunswick's Team Jaclyn Crandall.