The men's curling competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina got underway on February 11 with four tight matches in the opening draw. Great Britain delivered a dominant 9-4 win over China, while the United States edged Czechia 8-7. Canada and Italy also secured narrow victories against Germany and Sweden, respectively.
The men's curling event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics features 10 teams in a round-robin tournament running from February 11 to 19, with the top four advancing to semifinals on February 19, followed by medal games on February 20 and 21. Defending champions Sweden, led by skip Niklas Edin and veteran Oskar Eriksson—who holds the record for most Olympic curling medals with one gold, one silver, and two bronzes—entered as strong contenders after winning gold in 2022 with a 5-4 victory over Great Britain. However, they stumbled in their opener, losing 7-6 to host nation Italy, skipped by Joel Retornaz in his fourth Olympics.
Great Britain, the favorites, started strongly under skip Bruce Mouat, who is seeking to upgrade their 2022 silver medal. Mouat's team, including Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan Jr., and Bobby Lammie, has won world championships in 2023 and 2025. "Trying to get over that moment... it was pretty tough," Mouat said of the Beijing silver. Hardie added, "What's fueling us to try and get back... and make sure it's the gold next time."
Team USA, making their Olympic debut under 24-year-old skip Danny Casper, overcame Guillain-Barre Syndrome to lead a young squad to an 8-7 win over Czechia. Casper, joined by Luc Violette, Ben Richardson, Aidan Oldenburg, and 54-year-old alternate Rich Ruohonen, beat 2018 gold medalists Team Shuster in trials. "If my opponents want to get in a trash talk competition with me, they’re not going to win it," Casper remarked.
Canada, with three prior gold medalists including skip Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, and Ben Hebert, defeated Germany 7-6. Jacobs noted the challenge: "I’d be surrounded by guys that really want to... win."
Other teams include Switzerland (Yannick Schwaller), Norway (Magnus Ramsfjell), and China (Xu Xiaoming). The tournament will be broadcast on USA Network, CNBC, and Peacock.
