Johnny Mo’s PointsBet Invitational Preview and Picks: Men’s Bracket

Men’s bracket chock-full of legitimate contenders at the 2024 PointsBet Invitational, says John Morris

By MARIO ANNICCHIARICO 

John Morris doesn’t hesitate in offering up his opinion on the men’s draw of the 2024 PointsBet Invitational which begins Sept. 25 and continues for five days at the Winsport Event Centre in Calgary. 

The highly competitive event, which leads off the Curling Canada Season of Champions, features 16 women’s and 16 men’s teams competing in the single knockout event, meaning one loss and you’re immediately eliminated. 

In fact, Morris is saying what many curling fans might be thinking in the men’s event. 

“On the men’s front, I would say that everyone, including myself, would love to see an early season clash of the Brads – Gushue and Jacobs,” said Morris, the two-time Olympic gold medallist and PointsBet spokesman, who once again offers up his picks for the event. 

“That would be my bet and I think everyone would love to see that, really, especially with that change the former Brendan Bottcher team made. I’m sure there will be lots of eyes on that and you can consider them a hometown favourite because they’re from Calgary for the most part,” Morris added of Team Brad Jacobs. 

Jacobs takes over the skipping duties from Bottcher and will guide vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert and coach Paul Webster of the Glencoe Club in Calgary into the new season. 

Team Jacobs is seeded as No. 2 in this event and will meet Team Jacob Horgan – the 2024 Canadian Colleges Athletic Association champion from Humber College – in the opening draw of the bottom half of the PointsBet Invitational bracket. 

Here’s a look at the rest of the men’s draw, according to Morris. 

The favourite is Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist and six-time Brier champion. Along with his St. John’s Curling Club teammates, Mark Nichols at vice-skip, E.J. Harnden at second, lead Geoff Walker and coach Jeff Hoffart, the unit is seeded No. 1 and will meet No. 16 Team Dan Sherrard in the top half of the draw. Sherrard, of Beaumont, Alta., is the 2023 Everest Canadian Curling Club champion. 

Team Ryan Kleiter of the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon, at No. 8, faces No. 9 Team Sam Mooibroek of the Whitby Curling Club, while No. 5 Team Kevin Koe of the Glencoe Club tackles No. 12 Team Josh Bryden (the 2024 USPORTS champion from the University of Regina). 

One can’t sleep on No. 4 Team Matt Dunstone of the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, hinted Morris, which faces No. 13 Jordon McDonald, the 2024 U-25 NextGen Classic winner of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in Winnipeg, to round out the top half of the draw. 

Morris also likes the look of Team Mike McEwen of the Nutana Curling Club that features Colton Flasch at vice-skip, the Marsh twins, Kevin and Dan at second and lead, respectively, and coach Brent Laing. The team, which won the Saville Curling Classic earlier this month, is seeded No. 3. 

“I wouldn’t call him a dark horse anymore, you could have last year at this time, but I really like what I see from the Mike McEwen rink. I really think they’ve found their groove and Mike has found a team that he’s very comfortable with and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were in the final, and he’s in the nailbiter in the final that could go either way. I would definitely not count him out,” said Morris. 

“They just won the Saville and it’s interesting to see what a dynamic can do to a team. The year before both Mike and Colton weren’t in a comfortable situation with their teams. You could tell because the results just weren’t there,” he added. “The Marsh twins at the front end – you couldn’t find a couple of nicer guys and those are the types of guys who are easy to play with, so Mike’s thriving.” 

McEwen faces No. 14 Team Kenan Wipf, also of the Gencoe Club, who is the 2024 New Holland Canadian U-21 champion. 

Rounding out the bottom half of the draw is No. 6 Team Reid Carruthers of the Granite Curling Club in Winnipeg vs. Quebec’s Team Felix Asselin, the No. 11 seed, and Alberta champion Team Aaron Sluchinski at No. 7 vs. No. 10 Team Owen Purcell of the Halifax Curling Club. 

Of course, upsets always play a part of single-knockout competitions. 

“It’s sudden death, more high stakes, which is cool,” said Morris. “One of my favourite sports to watch the whole year is March Madness in NCAA basketball. It’s the same thing, sudden death and you’re on the edge of your seat every game, especially when you’re filling out a bracket.  

“That’s what’s so great about this event – the fact that it’s sudden death. You can’t just say, ‘Oh I’ll watch Brad Jacobs in the third game that they’re playing because you never know if they’re making it to a third game.’ ” 

And Morris will be watching. 

Tickets for the event start at $24 for single-draws and a full-event pass begins at $215. This year Curling Canada has added an Original 16 Skydeck general admission tickets for $24. The latter is an all-new fan experience to fit the unique interest of fans through themes, décor, activations and so much more. 

Skydeck environment provides a great view of the action, and a social setting tailored for a unique curling event experience, but space on the viewing decks is limited and is first-come first-serve. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.curling.ca/2024pointsbetinvitational/tickets/ 

“I’ve noticed that Curling Canada is doing this new sky deck ticket, which is unique and worth pumping up. It (the event) is pretty close to me (in Calgary) so I think I’m going to head down there and check out the sky deck on the weekend. So if anyone is hemming or hawing about going, I think people should come down on the weekend and join me for a cold one on the sky deck,” said Morris.