The 2024 Princess Auto Players' Championship was held from April 9 to 14 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario. It is the fifth and final Grand Slam event of the 2023âÂÂ24 curling season.
Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni rink defeated Sweden's Isabella WranÃÂ¥ rink the in the women's final, 6âÂÂ5. It was a re-match of the 2023 Players' Championship final, in which Team WranÃÂ¥ was victorious. Team Tirinzoni opened up the scoring in the second end when last rock thrower Alina Pätz made a hit and stick for two. WranÃÂ¥ made a double in the third end to get a single, but nearly gave up a steal. WranÃÂ¥ missed a double in the fourth, and Pätz responded with a draw for two to take a 4âÂÂ1 lead into the break. In the fifth, WranÃÂ¥'s last rock crashed on a guard, but rolled into the house, resulting in a score of two after a measurement. WranÃÂ¥ scored a steal of one in the sixth after Pätz missed a hit and roll, tying the game at four. In the seventh, Pätz made a bump of two WranÃÂ¥ stones that were close together, scoring two points in the process to take a 6âÂÂ4 lead into the final frame. In the eighth, WranÃÂ¥ missed her last shot, scoring just a single point to lose the game. It was third straight Slam final for the Swiss team, after losing the previous two. It was the fourth career Slam title for Tirinzoni.
In the men's final, Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue won his 15th Grand Slam title after defeating the World #1 ranked Joël Retornaz team from Italy, 7âÂÂ6. Team Gushue started the game off by getting forced to a single in the first after Gushue made a hit against two Retornaz rocks which sat across the rings. Retornaz scored a deuce in the second after making a hit on his last rock, which was followed by Gushue scoring a deuce of his own in the third after making a draw for two to take a 3âÂÂ2 lead. Retornaz scored another deuce in the fourth after removing a Gushue stone off the button. Gushue scored another two in the next end with another draw, to take a 5âÂÂ4 lead after five. In the sixth, Retornaz attempted to make a run double on his last, but missed, giving up a steal of one, to go down 6âÂÂ4. In the seventh, with the team already sitting two, Retornaz attempted a raise on a guard to get a third point, but missed. The team still scored the two points, tying the game going into the last end. In the final end, Gushue missed a runback on his first shot, allowing Retornaz to draw to sit three to make things more difficult for Gushue. Gushue did not miss his last shot however, a draw to the back four which "pinballed" off of a Retornaz stone to come to a rest, winning the game.
The top 12 ranked men's and women's teams on World Curling's Year-to-Date rankings as of March 11, 2024 qualified for the event. In the event that a team declines their invitation, the next-ranked team on the world team ranking is invited until the field is complete.
Top Year-to-Date men's teams:
Top Year-to-Date women's teams:
The teams are listed as follows:
Final Round Robin Standings
All draw times are listed in Eastern Time ().
Tuesday, April 9, 11:30 am
Tuesday, April 9, 3:00 pm
Tuesday, April 9, 6:30 pm
Wednesday, April 10, 8:00 am
Wednesday, April 10, 11:30 am
Wednesday, April 10, 3:30 pm
Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 11, 8:30 am
Thursday, April 11, 11:30 am
Thursday, April 11, 3:30 pm
Thursday, April 11, 7:30 pm
Friday, April 12, 7:30 am
Friday, April 12, 11:00 am
Friday, April 12, 3:00 pm
Friday, April 12, 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 13, 3:30 pm
Saturday, April 13, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 14, 2:30 pm
The teams are listed as follows:
Final Round Robin Standings
All draw times are listed in Eastern Time ().
Tuesday, April 9, 11:30 am
Tuesday, April 9, 3:00 pm
Tuesday, April 9, 6:30 pm
Wednesday, April 10, 8:00 am
Wednesday, April 10, 11:30 am
Wednesday, April 10, 3:30 pm
Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 11, 8:30 am
Thursday, April 11, 11:30 am
Thursday, April 11, 3:30 pm
Thursday, April 11, 7:30 pm
Friday, April 12, 7:30 am
Friday, April 12, 11:00 am
Friday, April 12, 3:00 pm
Friday, April 12, 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 13, 11:30 am
Saturday, April 13, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 14, 10:00 am