Pools, draw schedule set for AMJ Masters

The groups are now good to go for the AMJ Masters, the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, following the first-ever pot draft to determine the pools.

John Morris, who is part of the Grand Slam of Curling’s competition committee, locked in the groups during Friday's special episode of the Broom Brothers podcast.

The top 16 men's teams and top 16 women's teams from around the world were slotted into four pots based on their rankings — Nos. 1-4, Nos. 5-8, Nos. 9-12 and Nos. 13-16 — with only one team from each pot per pool.

Morris told Broom Brothers co-host John Cullen that it was Team Mouat lead Hammy McMillan Jr. who suggested the pot draft, similar to the system used for the FIFA World Cup draw.

“We looked at that a little bit more and actually it’s a pretty awesome way to do it,” Morris said. “It’s balanced, there’s no bias, which is great. It’s a random lottery draft for each pot and it just creates a bit more excitement rather than just here are the teams and the pools are just based on your rankings strictly. It kind of adds a new element to it.”

The AMJ Masters takes place Sept. 23-28 at the Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ont.

Each team will play four round-robin games: three against teams within their pool and one crossover game. Teams from Pool A will face teams from Pool C and teams from Pool B will face teams from Pool D. Crossover games will be played Sept. 26, with the matchups determined based on the standings following the conclusion of pool play Sept. 25. The first-place team will cross over to play the fourth-place team with the second-place team facing the third-place team, and vice versa.

The top eight teams will qualify for the playoffs. If necessary, tiebreakers will be played the morning of Sept. 27.

The AMJ Masters will also feature a Tier 2 event at the St. Thomas Curling Club in St. Thomas, Ont., and the inaugural GSOC Wheelchair Curling Invitational at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo, Ont. The Tier 2 finals and GSOC Wheelchair Curling Invitational medal games will be played alongside the Tier 1 finals Sept. 28 at the Western Fair Sports Centre and streamed online. More information for both events will be announced in the near future.

AMJ Masters Tier 1 draw schedule

| Day                    | Time (ET) | Draw                                                                                    | Sheet A                                                                               | Sheet B                         | Sheet C                            | Sheet D                    |
|------------------------|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|------------------------------------|----------------------------|
| Tuesday, Sept. 23   | 8 a.m.    | 1                                                                                       | Y. Schwaller vs. Xu                                                             | Einarson vs. X. Schwaller | Fujisawa vs. Tabata          | McEwen vs. Ramsfjell |
| 11:30 a.m.             | 2         | Muskatewitz vs. Hösli                                                             | Kim vs. Black                                                                   | Yoshimura vs. Wranå       | Whyte vs. Epping             |
| 3 p.m.                 | 3         | Mouat vs. Edin                                                                    | Gim vs. Ha                                                                      | Tirinzoni vs. Wang        | Jacobs vs. Kleiter           |
| 6:30 p.m.              | 4         | Gushue vs. Retornaz                                                               | Hasselborg vs. Constantini                                                      | Homan vs. Skrlik          | Dunstone vs. Dropkin         |
| Wednesday, Sept. 24 | 8 a.m.    | 5                                                                                       | Kim vs. Ha                                                                      | Muskatewitz vs. Edin      | Whyte vs. Kleiter            | Fujisawa vs. Wang    |
| 11:30 a.m.             | 6         | Einarson vs. Constantini                                                          | McEwen vs. Dropkin                                                              | Gushue vs. Xu             | Tirinzoni vs. Tabata         |
| 3:30 p.m.              | 7         | Gim vs. Black                                                                     | Dunstone vs. Ramsfjell                                                          | Y. Schwaller vs. Retornaz | Homan vs. Wranå              |
| 7:30 p.m.              | 8         | Hasselborg vs. X. Schwaller                                                       | Mouat vs. Hösli                                                                 | Jacobs vs. Epping         | Yoshimura vs. Skrlik         |
| Thursday, Sept. 25  | 8 a.m.    | 9                                                                                       | Tabata vs. Wang                                                                 | Retornaz vs. Xu           | Ramsfjell vs. Dropkin        | Ha vs. Black         |
| 11:30 a.m.             | 10        | Wranå vs. Skrlik                                                                  | Y. Schwaller vs. Gushue                                                         | Mouat vs. Muskatewitz     | X. Schwaller vs. Constantini |
| 3:30 p.m.              | 11        | Tirinzoni vs. Fujisawa                                                            | Homan vs. Yoshimura                                                             | Hösli vs. Edin            | Hasselborg vs. Einarson      |
| 7:30 p.m.              | 12        | Epping vs. Kleiter                                                                | Jacobs vs. Whyte                                                                | Dunstone vs. McEwen       | Kim vs. Gim                  |
| Friday, Sept. 26    | 8 a.m.    | 13                                                                                      | Crossover Games - TBD                                                                 |
| 11:30 a.m.             | 14        | Crossover Games - TBD                                                                   |
| 3:30 p.m.              | 15        | Crossover Games - TBD                                                                   |
| 7:30 p.m.              | 16        | Crossover Games - TBD                                                                   |
| Saturday, Sept. 27  | 8 a.m.    | 17                                                                                      | Tiebreakers (if necessary) or Men's Quarterfinals                                     |
| 11:30 a.m.             | 18        | Men's Quarterfinals                                                                     |
| 3:30 p.m.              | 19        | Women's Quarterfinals                                                                   |
| 7:30 p.m.              | 20        | Men's and Women's Semifinals                                                            |
| Sunday, Sept. 28    | 11 a.m.   | 21                                                                                      | Men's Finals (Tier 1 and Tier 2) and GSOC Wheelchair Curling Invitational Medal Round |
| 3:30 p.m.              | 22        | Women's Finals (Tier 1 and Tier 2) and GSOC Wheelchair Curling Invitational Medal Round |