On the men's side, defending champions Brad Gushue won the event, their eleventh grand slam, beating out the new Reid Carruthers rink 1 UP in the final.
On the women's side, Olympic champion team Anna Hasselborg won their first grand slam event. They defeated team Silvana Tirinzoni 4-and-2, who were looking for their second ever grand slam victory.
Format
Instead of normal curling scoring rules, the Elite 10 uses a match play system in which scoring is based on ends won, rather than rocks scored. An end is won by stealing or scoring two with the hammer, similar to skins curling. Unlike skins, however, there are no carry-overs. In the event of a tie, a draw to the button competition is held to determine the winner. In the standings, wins are worth three points, draw to the button wins are worth two points, and draw to the button losses are worth one point. At the end of the round robin, the top six teams (regardless of pool) advance to the playoffs, with the top two advancing to the semifinals automatically.[2]
Qualification
The top 10 men's and women's teams in the World Curling Tour's Order of Merit rankings as of August 1, 2018 were invited to compete in the Elite 10. If any teams declined, the next highest team was invited until the field of 10 teams was complete.[3]
