Teams Bottcher and Dunstone confirmed as 2024 Brier pre-qualified teams

Three teams that will compete at the 2024 Brier, presented by AGI, are now confirmed for the event’s run from March 1-10, 2024, at Brandt Centre in Regina.

Following his record-breaking fifth Canadian men’s curling championship as skip earlier this year in London, Ont., Brad Gushue and his team from St. John’s, N.L., return to the 2024 Brier as Team Canada.

Today, Curling Canada confirmed Team Brendan Bottcher of Calgary and Team Matt Dunstone of Winnipeg will also be part of the 2024 Brier as pre-qualified teams based on their 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System performances.

The Brier’s long and storied history has seen plenty of firsts throughout its 97-year history and the event in Regina marks another first. It will be the first time three teams have pre-qualified for the Brier this far in advance of the event. The changes to the qualifying for the Brier, Scotties and Canadian Curling Trials were announced in April. 

Team Bottcher — which includes vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert — finished second overall in the CTRS this past season. Team Bottcher earned three first-place finishes on the curling tour last season, including two Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling victories at the Co-op Canadian Open in Camrose, Alta., and the Kioti Tractor Champions Cup in Regina. The team concluded the season with a 50-18 win/loss record.

Team Dunstone — with vice-skip B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Lott and lead Ryan Harnden — earned 69 wins and 22 losses during the 2022-23 season. Highlights included winning the Prism Flow Red Deer Curling Classic in Red Deer, Alta., and DEKALB Superspiel in Morris, Man. Team Dunstone also represented Manitoba at the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier and earned second overall after claiming a spot in the final against Team Gushue.

There will be a fourth pre-qualified team for the 2024 Brier, with the top non-qualified team on the 2023-24 CTRS standings after the provincial and territorial playdowns earning a trip to Regina. 

Those four teams will compete with the 14 Member Association champions for the right to represent Canada at the 2024 World Men’s Curling Championship from March 30-April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, pending qualification through the 2023 Pan Continental Curling Championships from Oct. 29-Nov. 4 at Kelowna, B.C.

Ticket sales for the 2024 Brier have been strong, particularly for the championship weekend, and fans will need to act quickly to nail down their preferred seats. New premium seats have recently been added and are now on sale.

Here’s a look at what will be available:

• Full Event Package ($486-$522) — A single ticket to every draw of the 2024 Brier.
• Championship Weekend Package ($234-$252) — A single ticket to every draw from Friday, March 8, to Sunday, March 10.
• Opening Weekend Package ($120-$138) — A single ticket to all draws from Friday, March 1, to Sunday, March 3.
• Weekday Package ($69-$75) — A single ticket to all three draws on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. 

All ticket purchases are subject to PST as well as standard facility and ticket-service fees. 

Ticket packages will be available online at curling.ca/tickets, or in person at the Brandt Centre box office. All other ticket inquiries should be sent to [email protected] or by phone at (639) 709-5575.

Single-draw tickets will go on sale in October or November after television and draw schedules have been finalized.

The pre-qualified teams for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary were announced last week.