Scotties 2026: Lawes stays unbeaten as standings tighten and the Tournament of Hearts schedule hits midweek swing
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts 2026 is moving into a pressure stretch in Mississauga, Ontario, with the round-robin standings starting to separate the leaders from a crowded middle. Kaitlyn Lawes has surged to the top of Pool A, while Pool B has quickly turned into a three-lane race with unbeaten Manitoba and two Alberta teams close behind.
The event runs from Friday, January 23 through Sunday, February 1, 2026, with play staged at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Most days follow a three-draw rhythm that effectively doubles as the Scotties 2026 TV schedule window in Eastern Time: morning, afternoon, and prime-time sessions.
Lawes’ Manitoba rink grabs control in Pool A
Kaitlyn Lawes’ Manitoba team has been the early headline, sitting alone atop Pool A at 5 and 0 after a statement win over Team Canada skipped by Kerri Einarson, 9 to 4. The Manitoba lineup has Lawes throwing fourth stones, with Selena Njegovan handling skip duties while also playing third, plus Laura Walker at second and Kristin Gordon at lead.
The result matters beyond one checkmark in the win column because Pool A’s top end is now defined by Lawes and Einarson, with the rest of the group fighting to keep contact. Lawes entered the week looking to break a two-year playoff drought at the national championship level, and the perfect start has put that goal firmly in reach.
Scotties 2026 standings: where both pools sit right now
With round-robin play well underway, the standings snapshot after Draw 10 shows a clear top two in Pool A and a tighter cluster in Pool B.
In Pool A, Manitoba with Lawes leads at 5 and 0. Team Canada with Einarson sits second at 4 and 1. Nova Scotia with Taylour Stevens, Ontario with Hailey Armstrong, Saskatchewan with Jolene Campbell, and British Columbia with Taylor Reese-Hansen are all bunched at 2 and 2. Quebec with Jolianne Fortin is 2 and 3, Northwest Territories with Nicky Kaufman is 1 and 3, and Yukon with Bayly Scoffin is 0 and 5.
In Pool B, Manitoba with Beth Peterson is unbeaten at 4 and 0. Nova Scotia with Christina Black is 4 and 1. Alberta with Selena Sturmay and Alberta with Kayla Skrlik are both 3 and 1. Northern Ontario with Krista Scharf is 2 and 3, Prince Edward Island with Amanda Power is 1 and 3, New Brunswick with Mélodie Forsythe is 1 and 3, and both Newfoundland and Labrador with Mackenzie Mitchell and Nunavut with Julia Weagle are 1 and 4.
The format adds urgency: the top three teams from each pool advance to the championship round, so every loss now lands heavier for the teams sitting around .500.
Reese-Hansen and Armstrong sit at the center of Pool A’s logjam
If the top of Pool A has started to crystallize, the middle is where the tournament’s day-to-day drama is building. Taylor Reese-Hansen’s British Columbia team and Hailey Armstrong’s Ontario team are part of a four-team knot at 2 and 2, and that’s the danger zone where one good session can create separation and one bad session can push a team into must-win territory.
That pressure shows up immediately on the schedule, where B.C. and Ontario meet head-to-head on Tuesday afternoon. In a pool where tiebreak math can show up fast, those direct matchups do more than add a win; they can also decide who owns crucial head-to-head advantage later in the week.
Scotties Tournament of Hearts 2026 schedule: the next key draw blocks in ET
Tuesday, January 27 keeps the standard three-draw cadence, with games at 2:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. ET after the morning session. The afternoon slate includes Manitoba with Lawes versus Yukon, B.C. versus Ontario, Northwest Territories versus Nova Scotia with Stevens, and Saskatchewan versus Team Canada with Einarson. The evening slate features Northern Ontario versus Nunavut, an all-Alberta matchup with Skrlik versus Sturmay, Prince Edward Island versus Manitoba with Peterson, and New Brunswick versus Nova Scotia with Black.
Wednesday, January 28 continues at 9:00 a.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. ET, and 7:00 p.m. ET, with matchups that can reshape both pools. Notable pressure points include Manitoba with Peterson facing Alberta with Skrlik in the afternoon, and Saskatchewan meeting Ontario in the evening while Lawes’ Manitoba plays Northwest Territories later that night.
Thursday, January 29 follows the same three-session pattern, highlighted by Saskatchewan versus Manitoba with Lawes in the afternoon and Team Canada with Einarson versus B.C. in the same draw.
The playoff window is already set on the calendar in Eastern Time: qualifiers begin Friday, January 30 at 1:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. ET, the Page games run Saturday, January 31 at 1:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. ET, and championship Sunday features the semifinal at 1:00 p.m. ET and the final at 7:00 p.m. ET.
With Rachel Homan not in this year’s field as she prepares to represent Canada at the Olympics, the championship path is more open than usual — and the midweek draws will decide which teams get a clean runway into the Page playoff bracket and which ones are forced into survival mode.
