Kerri Einarson led Team Canada to a dramatic 4-3 extra-end win over Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes in the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts final. The comeback victory at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, secures Einarson's fifth Canadian women's curling championship. The team will now represent Canada at the world championship in Calgary this March.
The final unfolded with intense back-and-forth play on Sunday evening before a crowd of 4,000. Team Einarson, consisting of skip Kerri Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, and lead Karlee Burgess, trailed by one entering the 10th end. Einarson executed a crucial long angle-raise takeout to tie the game, drawing roars from the spectators.
"I just thought, do this for your teammates, Kerri, they need you here, and we’ll take this to an extra and go from there," Einarson said. "It was amazing – called amazing, thrown great, and the girls just swept it."
In the extra end, Einarson stole the win after Lawes' team attempted a difficult thin double-raise but failed to remove the Canadian stone fully. Lawes, skipping a rink that included third Selena Njegovan, second Kristin Gordon, and fourth Laura Walker (filling in for Jocelyn Peterman), expressed disappointment but pride in her squad.
"We all tried our best and you can’t really ask for shots back," Lawes said. "I’m super proud of my teammates – they played incredible. I wish I could have made that last shot for them."
This marks Einarson's fifth Scotties title, matching her previous wins in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Birchard ties the record with her sixth championship, having also won in 2018 with Jennifer Jones. Sweeting earns her fifth, while Burgess claims her first after three prior silvers.
The low-scoring affair tied the record for fewest points in a Scotties final, with just seven total. Einarson rebounded from earlier losses to Lawes, including a 10-2 defeat in the 1v2 page playoff and 9-4 in round-robin play. She advanced by defeating Alberta's Selena Sturmay 12-4 in the semifinal.
Team Einarson will compete at the world women's championship from March 14-22 at WinSport Event Centre in Calgary. The victory highlights ongoing dominance in Canadian women's curling, with Rachel Homan absent due to Olympic preparations.
