The tournament consists of four groups with four teams in each group. Each team will play a minimum of four games: three against teams within their pool and one crossover game against a team from another pool. Teams from Pool A will face teams from Pool B, and teams from Pool C will face teams from Pool D. The matchups in the crossover games will be determined based on the standings following the conclusion of pool play. The first ranked teams will face the fourth ranked teams, and the second ranked teams will face third ranked teams. The highest ranked team will play red stones and practice last. LSD will be conducted.
In case of a tie after 8 ends a winner will be determined through “one stone shoot-out” whereby each team makes one final draw. The team with the stone closest to the button is the winner.
Points will be awarded in the following way:
3 points for winning in 8 ends.
2 points for winning in “one stone shoot-out”.
1 point for losing in “one stone shoot-out”.
0 points for losing in 8 ends.
15 minutes before the game starts the first team (marked with *) will have 4 minutes of practice followed by two Last Stone Draws (LSD) consisting of 1 stone per player, 1 clockwise and 1 counter clockwise. The winner of LSD (lowest average) decides hammer. Team practicing first plays yellow stones. The second team will practice after the first team has finalized its LSD.
Please note that before the game starts a “game photo” of both teams will be taken.
WCF approved sweeping equipment must be used. – The “no-tick rule” does not apply to Mixed Doubles.
Time clocks will not be used during the matches. Players are expected to play in a reasonable pace to ensure that there are no delays in the schedule. That means that a game of 8 ends are expected to take 1 h 30 min. Each team, regardless if they have a coach present or not, may call one 60 seconds time out per game. Teams that have a coach present may consult with the coach during these 60 seconds.
In each session, two stones will be designated as pre-placed stones. Teams are then free to select any five of the remaining six stones to play with. The selection does not need to remain the same for each end. Stones 1 and 2 will be the pre-placed stones in session 1, stones 3 and 4 in session 2, and so on, following a rotating schedule.
Play-offs, ranking and tie-breaks
The two highest ranked teams in each group will qualify for the play-offs. The other teams are out of the competition.
Teams are ranked within the group based on:
- Number of points
- Head-to-head record
- Draw Shot Challenge (DSC) (counting the team’s 7 best shots from the LSD)
For the play-offs the group winners will be ranked 1-4, second placed teams will be ranked 5-8. Ranking between teams from different groups will be based on number of points in the group stage followed by the DSC.
In the quarter finals team ranked 1 will play the team ranked 8, team ranked 2 will play team ranked 7 etcetera. In the semi-finals the highest ranked team will play the lowest ranked team. Teams ranked 2 and 3 will play each other.
Best ranked team after the group stage have hammer in the play-off games, play yellow stones and practice first. The tournament management will determine the sheets in all play-off games.
All play-off games are played in 8 ends. In case of a tie, the “one stone shoot-out” will be used in the quarterfinals and the bronze game. In the semifinals and the final, one extra end will be played in case of a tie. Note that the extra end is played in the same direction as end 8. In the unlikely event of a blank end in the extra end, the “one stone shoot-out” will be applied.
