Playoffs Day 1 at the Brier: Brad Gushue 'proved why he's Brad Gushue'

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We knew one Brad would win — either Gushue or Jacobs in the ‘Battle of the Brads’ on Friday afternoon at the 2025 Montana’s Brier.

But history told us which one was likely to get the job done in Kelowna, B.C.

And so it was ‘Brier Brad’ — the defending three-time champion — with the victory in the pivotal 1-v-2 qualifying game that slides him all the way to Saturday evening’s 1-v-2 Page playoff tilt with two lives still in his pocket.

“Brad Gushue just proved why he’s Brad Gushue,” Alberta’s Jacobs told reporters moments after the 9-6 game in Prospera Place. “I think he probably curled 100 per cent — I don’t think he missed a shot. And their whole team played really well.

“We got out-played, especially late in the game, which is too bad.”

It wasn’t quite a perfect party for the super skip from St. John’s, NL.

But at 98%, it might as well have been, proving that Gushue is — once again — right at home and comfortable when the playoffs begin at the Canadian men’s curling championship.

“It was more than me,” Gushue, repping Team Canada at the national event, told reporters. “I thought our team played really well. Once we figured out Brendan (Bottcher) had some straight rocks early in the game, I thought we managed it very well. Mark (Nichols) made some big shots. Brendan made some big shots. And Geoff (Walker) probably played his best game of the week.”

Indeed, lead Walker rang up 96% execution, second Bottcher was 91% and third Nichols scored 93%.

Tough to beat that, even if you’re a team — like Jacobs’ crew from Calgary — which finished with a mint 8-0 record in the round robin and played the best of any rink in the previous seven days of this Brier.

That magnificent mark means nothing now, since Friday’s 1-v-2 loss — which turned on a Canada steal in the seventh end and a Canada three-count in the ninth — suddenly forced Jacobs and his Glencoe Club side to run the table in their next four games in order to capture the coveted Canadian crown.

Included was Friday’s late elimination affair against Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell and his upstart mates from the Halifax Curling Club — one won by Jacobs 10-6.

Fellow Pool B qualifier Mike McEwen and his Saskatchewan squad went into Friday night’s other elimination game — against Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers — also in the same boat after falling to Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone.

That 1-v-2 seeding game Friday afternoon was a 6-5 down-the-last-rock thriller capped by the Winnipeg skip’s double-takeout facing three Saskatoon stones.

But he didn’t fair as well as Jacobs, losing 6-4 to Carruthers.

Still, Jacobs is alive where McEwen isn’t.

“Big mountain to climb now,” said Jacobs, the 2013 Brier king. “That (1-v-2 qualifier) is a big game. And unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get through that game in my career yet, which kinda sucks.

“It sucks going 8-0 and feeling like you can’t miss to coming out and still playing pretty good (and losing) and then it’s a long-shot (to win the Brier).”

And so there’s only four teams remaining for the Page playoffs, which begin Saturday with the 3-v-4 Page playoff game — Jacobs v. Carruthers — in the afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET) and the 1-v-2 Page playoff game — Gushue v. Dunstone — in the evening (9:30 p.m. ET) and conclude with the crowning of the Brier champion Sunday (8 p.m. ET).

A six-time Brier winner himself, battle-tested Gushue used his experience to ensure the victory in his whopping 266th game of the Canadian championship, which was a well-played contest by all involved.

“I would imagine we’re going to have play two or three more of these (types of) games to win on Sunday,” added the 44-year-old Gushue. “It just happens to be the way the top four teams in this event are playing …

“It’s at a pretty high level.”

Nothing ‘Brier Brad’ can’t handle, it seems.

CARRUTHERS THROUGH, TOO

Carruthers hasn’t been thought of among the top-four teams this year.

But the Winnipeg rink top four now at the Brier after Friday night’s elimination of favoured McEwen, moving him into the final four.

Carruthers took the lead in the sixth end of the 3-v-4 qualifying game, when his counterpart missed his bid to score three. In fact, it went horribly wrong for McEwen on the shot, as he tried a triple take-out of Manitoba rocks but instead spilled just one and two of his own. The Saskatchewan skip’s shooter rolled out, as well, giving Carruthers a sudden steal of two.

From there, nothing seemed to go right for McEwen and his Nuntana Curling Club crew.

And they are going home.

DUNSTONE DEUCE

The Dunstone victory over McEwen came courtesy of a surgical removal of a Saskatchewan rock in the sixth end to give the Fort Rouge Curling Club crew a critical deuce — the last of the game.

“It felt really good,” Dunstone told reporters, of the triumph. “We’ve been on a good little stretch the last 72 hours, and just carried that forward into (Friday). We have a very strong belief within this group that when we bring our best, we are very hard to beat.

“That’s what this group believes right now, and we’ve put ourselves in a great spot moving forward.”

BRIER AWARDS

First-Team All-Stars
Skip — Brad Jacobs, Alberta-Jacobs
Third — Mark Nichols, Canada
Second —Brett Gallant, Alberta-Jacobs
Lead — Ryan Harnden, Manitoba-Dunstone

Second-Team All-Stars
Skip — Brad Gushue, Team Canada
Third — Marc Kennedy, Alberta-Jacobs
Second — Kevin Marsh, Saskatchewan-McEwen
Lead — Connor Njegovan, Manitoba-Carruthers
(determined based on a combination of shooting percentages and media vote)

Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award
2025 winner — Sheldon Wettig (vice-skip, Nunavut)
(Winner determined through a player vote)

Paul McLean Award
2025 winner — Ted Wyman (in memoriam)
Ted Wyman was the longtime curling writer for the Winnipeg Sun, and his battle with cancer ended in November, sending shockwaves through the curling and journalism communities. Ted was respected by curlers and media around the world for his fairness, his dedication to his craft, his passion for the sport and for just being a good guy to be around.
(Presented by TSN and named after their highly-respected producer and executive producer who passed away to cancer at the age of 39 in December 2005. His legacy lives on in an award that honours a media person who has made a lasting contribution behind the scenes to the betterment of our sport.)

Ray Kingsmith Award
2025 winner — Jock Tyre (Kelowna)
Since arriving in Kelowna more than three decades ago, Tyre has transformed the Kelowna Curling Club into one of the top and most innovative curling facilities in the world. He is constantly looking for new ways to do business and bring newcomers into the curling community, and he is a tireless booster of our sport. He also has played a role in attracting numerous national and international curling events to Kelowna, which have given this city significant exposure and generated millions of dollars in economic impact.
(The Ray Kingsmith Award is named after the man who played a leading role in bringing curling to the Winter Olympic family. He was a tireless volunteer in administration and management roles in the sport of curling. The award honours individuals who best demonstrate a similar commitment and dedication to our sport that made Kingsmith the consummate sport executive.)

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM