GSOC Open

Overview
Location
Add Review

December 1, 2026
Event date:
December 6, 2026
Event end:

Fourth Slam of the season

The GSOC Open is the fourth of five Grand Slam of Curling events in the 2026-27 season and runs from December 1 to 6, 2026 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is one of the oldest titles on the Slam circuit and, like every major on the tour, offers ranking points that count towards a place in the season-ending GSOC Players’ Cup in Kingston, where only the top 12 teams per division are invited. The full Slam schedule for 2026-27 is played entirely in Canada over two months, and the Open comes directly after the GSOC National in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Format and field

Sixteen men’s and sixteen women’s teams compete. In each division, 12 berths go to the top teams on the World Curling Team Rankings, two to winners of Satellite Events and two to GSOC or sponsor invitations, so the field is effectively a who’s who of the world’s best rinks. Confirmed line-ups are published after the qualification cut-off.

The defending champions are Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller in the men’s draw and Silvana Tirinzoni in the women’s draw, both winners of the 2025 edition in Saskatoon.

Dates: December 1–6, 2026
Teams: 16 men’s, 16 women’s
Defending champions: Yannick Schwaller (men), Silvana Tirinzoni (women)

Host city and venue: Fort William Gardens

The host arena, Fort William Gardens, opened in 1951 and seats about 4,680. Few rinks in Canada have a richer curling record: it staged the 1960 Brier, the 1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts and the Scotties in both 2022 and 2025. It is also familiar Slam territory – the Gardens hosted the 2002 Canadian Open, won by Kevin Martin, who still holds the record of five men’s titles at this event. Thunder Bay last welcomed a Slam in 2018.

Set on the north shore of Lake Superior, Thunder Bay is the largest city in northwestern Ontario and a regular stop for national championships, so visiting fans will find a city used to welcoming big curling crowds.

Tickets

Early-bird full-event and weekend passes are already on sale through the City of Thunder Bay’s ticketing service, and day passes are also offered. Single-draw tickets go on sale on October 20. Prices have not been published in the event announcements.