Curling is an up and coming sport and with events like the Pan Continental Curling Championships taking place at the end of October, it is set to get another huge profile boost on the world stage.
2022 Pan Continental Curling Championship
The Pan Continental Curling Championship is being held in Calgary, Canada. The event starts on October 31st, 2022, and runs until November 6th. It is a qualifying event for the 2023 World Curling Championships, and involves Pacific, Asian, and American nations.
- What; Pan Continental Curling Championship
- Where; Markin MacPhail Center, Canada Olympic Park, Calgary, Canada
- When; October 31st, 2022 - November 6th, 2022
There is a menâs competition, and also a womenâs one. The competition is Round-Robin, and there are two groups (Group A and Group B) for both the men and the women.
In the menâs event, the top four nations (along with hosts Canada) from Group A will qualify for the 2023 World Curling Championships. While in the womenâs competition, the top five Group A nations qualify.
To add to the jeopardy, the nation that finishes bottom of Group A is relegated to Group B for the following year. Again, this applies to both the menâs and womenâs competitions.
The only difference being that due to an anomaly (Australia couldnât attend last yearâs competition), there are now nine teams in womenâs Group A. This means to redress the balance, the bottom two will go down to Group B, with just one team replacing them in Group A. This will see the groups return to their normal sizes in 2023.
Who is the favorite to win the menâs and womenâs competitions?
Naturally, the Canadians are fancied to win in both the menâs and the womenâs competitions. Unfortunately, there are currently no odds available on the competition as of yet. But when you see Canada men are skippered by Brad Gushue, and the women are led by Kerri Einarson, you can see why they are expected to win.
Brad Gushue has an Olympic Gold medal to his name, albeit back in 2006 at Turin. But he is still well able to compete at this level and should be capable of seeing off competition from the likes of Brazil, China, and Australia.
BRONZE BABY!!! Congratulations to Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Meilleur, alternate Krysten Karwacki and coach Reid Carruthers on bringing home the bronze for Canada at the 2022 @BKTtires & @oktire World Women's Curling Championship! đ„#WWCC2022 pic.twitter.com/tqmUeUhIX8
— Curling Canada (@CurlingCanada) March 27, 2022
As for Kerri Einarson, she has a medal from the 2022 World Curling Championships to her name. The level of opposition at the Worldâs is far higher than what she will come up against here. For example, Switzerland won the World Curling Championship, and they are not in this competition.
| Pan Continental Curling Championships Men's Winner |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| USA | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| New Zealand | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Brazil | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| China | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| South Korea | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Japan | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Chinese Taipei | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
Here are the groups that will be competing in Canada at the end of the month.
Menâs Group A
- Brazil, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States.
Menâs Group B
- Australia, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Womenâs Group A
- Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and the United States
Womenâs Group B
- Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, and Nigeria.
Betting on Curling
For a long time, Curling only really gained attention outside of nations like Canada and Scotland every four years when the Winter Olympics came calling. And while itâs still true that the Winter Olympics is Curlingâs biggest stage, it is also true that the sport is growing fast and if it continues its growth, it won't be long before it becomes more mainstream.
It is still unfortunately true that outside of Canada, the best online sports betting sites can be slow to get Curling betting markets live. But again, it is only a matter of time before the odds become more readily available.
Like a lot of, shall we say, fringe sports, Curling generally has to wait until a tournament is about to start before any odds get offered on it. This is opposed to mainstream sports such as football, NHL, MLB, etc. Where markets for the following yearâs competition go live barely five minutes after the previous season has finished.
All this means futures bets are difficult to make on Curling. But as weâve mentioned, we believe the tide is turning.
Popular sportsbooks like BetOnline and Bovada offer odds on Curling at the Winter Olympics. They are also starting to cover more Curling events throughout the year. You can learn more about these sportsbooks and the bonuses they offer at our BetOnline sportsbook review, and our Bovada sportsbook review.
Popular Curling Betting Markets
Other popular Curling betting markets are the usual North American ones. Head-to-head bets on the Moneyline, handicap bets, and total points.
Like with most North American sports, there are no ties in Curling, meaning head-to-head bets are two-way.
The handicap market allows for the inferior player to be given an imaginary start with the bookmakers. This makes the bet more of a 50/50 split. So the inferior player may be given a 2.5 points start. Meaning the favorite has to win by three clear points for the bet to win.
In the Curling total points betting market, a total points spread (the amount of points scored by both teams combined in the match) is set by the sportsbook. You simply have to decide if it will be over or under the set spread amount.
