Matt Dunstone's Team Manitoba defeated Brad Jacobs' Team Canada 7-3 in the Tim Hortons Brier semifinal on March 8, 2026, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The win avenges losses in the 2025 Brier final and Olympic trials, advancing Dunstone to face undefeated Kevin Koe in the championship game. The victor will represent Canada at the world men's curling championship in Ogden, Utah.
The semifinal at the Mary Brown's Centre in St. John's saw Manitoba's Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, E.J. Harnden, and Ryan Harnden overcome Jacobs' squad of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, and Ben Hebert. Jacobs' team, fresh from Olympic gold in Cortina, Italy, on February 22, 2026, entered the game having navigated jet lag, fatigue, and illnesses, including a sinus infection for Jacobs and Hebert missing the opener.
The match was tight early. After a blank first end, teams traded singles in the second and third, with Dunstone drawing for one in the second and Jacobs in the third. Manitoba scored again in the fourth on a pressure draw by Dunstone. Jacobs missed a blank in the fifth, tying it at 2-2, but drew around guards in the sixth for a steal, leading 3-2. Dunstone blanked the seventh and took a 4-3 lead with two in the eighth after Kennedy's light hit allowed an open draw.
The ninth end blanked, leaving Canada with hammer in the tenth, down by one. Jacobs attempted a draw for one but came up light, allowing Manitoba to steal and win 7-3. Shooting percentages favored Jacobs at 90-91 percent to Dunstone's 88 percent.
"I'm happy it's over... We tried, we played hard all week," Jacobs said. "We can walk away holding our heads high. Guess what? We still are Olympic gold medallists."
Dunstone seeks his first Brier title in his third final in four years, having earned two silvers and two bronzes. Koe, 51, aims for a fifth crown, last won in 2019, and could become the oldest winner since Ab Gowanlock in 1953. The final airs at 6 p.m. ET on TSN.
