Gushue wins Battle of the Brads as Brier playoff picture takes shape

Brad Gushue’s Newfoundland and Labrador rink eked out a 4-2 win over Olympic champions Team Jacobs in Draw 17 on Thursday to head into the 2026 Brier playoffs undefeated at 8-0.

Team Gushue and Alberta’s Kevin Koe are the only two teams to escape the round robin portion without suffering a loss as the playoff rounds are set to begin on Friday. 

To kick off the playoffs, there are a pair of games at the Mary Brown’s Centre on Friday, including Team Jacobs taking on Team Kevin Koe, and Team Gushue facing Manitoba’s Team Dunstone. 

The winners of the above matchups will meet in the Page 1/2 game on Saturday and will battle for a chance to reach Sunday’s final. 

The losers are not yet eliminated, but will have a longer and harder test to reach the Brier final.

The losing team of the Gushue/Dunstone match will face Team Ontario at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Similarly, the non-winning team of the Koe/Jacobs match will live to curl another day and will face Manitoba’s Team Calvert, also at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. 

The winners of those matchups will then battle against one another for a chance to play the loser of the Page 1/2 game. The winner of this match will then face the winner of the Page 1/2 match in the Brier final on Sunday.