A Prairie rivalry was renewed when the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier kicked off Saturday at Westoba Place in Brandon, Manitoba. The host Manitoba team played Saskatchewan’s Kirk Muyres of Saskatoon in the opening draw Saturday at 2 p.m. of the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship.

Later Saturday, Brad Gushue’s Team Canada squad from St. John’s began its quest for a Tim Hortons Brier repeat, taking on Brier rookie Scott McDonald of Ontario. With a gold medal in Brandon, Gushue, with the same team that prevailed in 2017 at St. John’s and last year in Regina would join the Randy Ferbey Alberta team (2001, 2002, 2003) as the only teams ever to win three straight Tim Hortons Brier championships.

Sixteen teams, representing the 14 Curling Canada member associations, Team Canada and the winner of the Wild Card game on Friday at 7 p.m. have been separated into two pools.

They’ll first play a round robin within their pool, after which the top four in each advance to the Championship Pool for four games against teams from the other pool. Upon completion, the top four teams proceed to the Page Playoffs on Saturday. The semifinal is Sunday, March 9, at 1 p.m., while the gold-medal game is at 7 p.m.

Team Saskatchewan’s Schedule (Pool A):

Draw 1, Saturday, March 2 Manitoba 7, Saskatchewan 6

Draw 3, Sunday, March 3 Saskatchewan 6, Yukon 5

Draw 5, Sunday, March 3 Saskatchewan 9, Prince Edward Island 2

Draw 7, Monday, March 4 @ 2 p.m. vs Quebec

Draw 9, Tuesday, March 5 @ 9 a.m. vs Northern Ontario

Draw 11, Tuesday, March 5 @ 7 p.m. vs Newfoundland and Labrador