Numerous blowout video games. A 6-2 group missing out on the playoff cut. No sudden deaths.
The 18-team style at the Brier has actually had its share of doubters despite the fact that 6 solid groups made it to the playoff round at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C.
Six- time Brier champ Brad Gushue went one action additionally after round-robin play wrapped up by recommending that transfer– a much-criticized credentials round that was just made use of for a couple of years– be thought about once again.
“I think it would be worth a discussion,” Gushue stated. “I’m not advocating for it but I think that’s the best option that’s been shared with me that gets us back to that full round-robin that I used to love playing and I think the fans (loved).
“It obtains the most effective groups there. It’s worth speaking about.”
Relegation format
In the relegation format, which Curling Canada called a ” pre-qualifying” stage when it was used from 2015-17, the four lowest-seeded provinces and territories played a round-robin.
The winner would reach the main draw and the three losing teams would go home. Longtime Northwest Territories women’s skip Kerry Galusha weighed in on the subject on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“As somebody that joined all 3 years of transfer it made us function tougher and improve, not claiming it’s the response yet we are visiting unbalanced ready years ahead up until the Northern groups begin functioning tougher and taking a trip extra. I recognized what we needed to do.”
Curling Canada moved to a 16-team setup for the Brier and the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2018. The defending champion and all provincial and territorial winners were given direct entry along with a wild-card team.
Two pools of eight teams were used in a format that has since expanded to 18 teams with three pre-qualified entries based on the previous season’s rankings.
Format debate found another gear this past week when Northern Ontario’s John Epping and Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers finished tied for third place in their pool at 6-2.
Their head-to-head record was the tiebreaker, leaving Epping on the outside even though a 5-3 team from the other pool — Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell — made the cut.
“It’s odd to play a Brier and it’s a double-knockout,” Epping said.
Supporters feel the format creates more intensity in the early going. The cutoff for the Friday qualifying games ahead of the Page playoffs heightens mid-week drama.
Top rinks still play hard because seeding and hammer are on the line. At the same time, several teams in the field have essentially no chance against the well-funded, well-travelled powerhouse rinks.
“We’re attempting to make everyone delighted and we’re not making anyone delighted,” said Brent Laing, who coached Mike McEwen’s Saskatchewan side. “It’s a little bit of a mess.”
‘It’s never perfect’
Darren Moulding, who coached Thomas Scoffin’s Yukon team, said ranking imbalance in the pools can also be a factor. He noted that sometimes in pro leagues like the NHL, MLB or the NFL, a team with a mediocre record can sneak into the playoffs.
“In sporting activities, it’s never ever excellent,” he said. “If you alter the style to make that not take place, there’s mosting likely to be something else that you compromise.”
Nunavut’s Shane Latimer and Aaron Bartling of the Northwest Territories both went 0-8 in round-robin play.
Bartling was dumped 20-2 in his second game and gave up an average of almost 11 points a game. Latimer, meanwhile, was outscored 83-25 over his eight losses.
” I do not see with the means it’s presently structured just how it aids these lower-ranked groups ahead in right here and obtain burnt out,” said former Curling Canada event manager Warren Hansen. ” I recognize it’s a huge adventure for a great deal of them (to be right here).
“But I can’t really see myself enjoying coming into this venue and this setting and getting completely annihilated, which a lot of them have this week.”
Curling Canada revealed in 2023 that the existing style for the nationwide playdowns will certainly stay in position with following period.
“If any changes are made, they would begin in the next (Olympic) quadrennial,” a company spokesperson stated through e-mail.
Another interesting style peculiarity followed Alberta’s Brad Jacobs went an ideal 8-0 in round-robin play and after that shed his very first certifying video game.
That required him right into a circumstance where his only path to a title would certainly be 4 straight must-wins in the playoffs.
Jacobs took care of to draw it off with a 7-5 semifinal gain Gushue on Sunday mid-day and a 5-3 success over Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone at night last.
ENJOY|Jacobs and Team Alberta win 2025 Brier on excellent last shot:
Trailing with the last rock in the last end, Brad Jacobs pressed in an excellent shot to rack up 3 and downMatt Dunstone’s Team Manitoba
“At the end of the day, there’s certain games you can’t lose,” Laing stated. “I don’t know all the answers.
“The old style was a great deal easier, that’s for certain.”
