Reid Carruthers chases 3-peat in 3rd edition of curling's PointsBet Invitational

Reid Carruthers seeks a three-peat in curling's quirky PointsBet Invitational that's become an unofficial season kickoff because of money, field and visibility.

The five-day televised tournament starting Wednesday at Calgary's WinSport Arena features the top 10 men's and women's teams in Canada among the 32 entries. The men's and women's victors Sunday each earn a total of $50,000 in prize money.

Winnipeg's Carruthers was the men's champ in both the inaugural PointsBet in Fredericton in 2022, and in Oakville, Ont., last year.

What makes Curling Canada's cashspiel quirky is the single-elimination format, the tiebreaking draw to the button instead of an extra end, and junior, university, college and club teams mixing with curling's elite.

"I categorize this as still a new event," Carruthers said. "It is a slightly different format with it being single-elimination, draw to the button for the win, no extra end.

"It's a little bit different, but a big prize purse. First time for all the teams to be on TV [this season]. To have an early-season challenge like the PointsBet, it's an awesome opportunity to set the tone for the season for your team."

World and Canadian women's champion Rachel Homan is the defending PointsBet women's champion.

The skip sees the event as a combination of high stakes – one loss and you're out -- and a lighter schedule than Grand Slams or the national championship Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

"Playoffs right away is just a different way of thinking about it," Homan said. "You start with playoffs and you don't get any practice games.

"It's something different, something fun, not too physically demanding or exhausting [since] it's just one game a day and one of the days you don't play."

The PointsBet