Canada leading the way!

Two-win day has Team Canada at top of heap at BKT World Men’s Championship

How do you improve on shooting 97 per cent in your opening game of, well, any sports competition?

You don’t. But skip Brad Jacobs of Team Canada (2-0) didn’t have to Saturday night in his second game of the 2025 BKT World Men’s Curling Championship at the Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw, Sask.

Jacobs still shot an impressive 89 per cent and it went a long way in explaining his team’s 7-5 win over European champs Team Marc Muskatewitz of Germany (0-1) in the evening draw.

The victory, which looked assured after eight ends, came down to a frantic finish, but in the end the Canadians held their nerve to close out the deal. 

The win completed a near-perfect day for Jacobs, vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert, alternate Tyler Tardi, team coach Paul Webster and national coach Jeff Stoughton. Earlier in the day the Canadians blitzed Japan’s Team Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (0-1), with Jacobs checking in with a near perfect rating en route to a 7-3 win.

“Great day today,” said Jacobs, who earned his spot at the worlds by winning the 2025 Montana’s Brier in Kelowna, B.C., two weeks ago.

 “We beat two good teams today. We expect those teams to have great weeks.” 

The win boosted the Canadians alone to the top of the 13-team standings, although it’s still mighty early in the nine-day event.

But Jacobs and his entourage will take it. They were playing alongside other sheets with former and current world and Olympic champions on the ice, and getting a leg up on them early is a must.

Team Canada can rest and relax a bit Sunday with only one game on their schedule against winless South Korea’s Team Hyojun Kim (0-2). The Koreans lost their second game of the day, falling 9-2 to Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz (1-1) in six ends.

The Germans, surprise winners of the European championship this season, put up a stiff resistance, and despite being down 6-2 after eight ends, made things interesting by scoring three in the ninth to close the gap to nail-biting close.

Jacobs opened the door for the theatrics when he rubbed a guard on his final shot in the ninth, allowing Muskatewitz the chance to split his front stone and roll his shooter into the rings for three. He made it by a measurement and was back in business.

Jacobs needed a precise tap up on his own stone to the four-foot in the 10th to nail down the win.

“A little sloppy by me in the ninth when I missed one to let them back in it, but a great way to finish the game to have a nice shot to win,” said Jacobs. “We were still in great spirits (after nine). You have to put things in perspective. We were still one up with hammer. We said let’s put a good end together and finish this off.”

Gallant admitted the Canadians fed off the crowd.

“The crowds were great, the energy was great. It gives us a lot of energy,” he said. “They were really supportive of us today. It’s easy to stay in the game.”

Curling fans who came to the arena to see the best in the world got an eyeful, with seven-time world and defending champion Niklas Edin of Team Sweden, and 2023 world champion Team Bruce Mouat of Scotland on the ice for their first game.

Team Scotland, behind the 100 per cent shooting of Mouat, scored early and often in rolling to a 12-2, six-end win over Austria’s Team Mathias Genner (0-1).

Team Sweden (0-1), however, faded down the stretch and was upset 9-5 by China’s Team Xiaoming Xu (1-0).

Team Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland (1-0), Korey Dropkin’s Team U.S.A. (1-0), and Czech Republic’s Team Lukas Klima (1-0), all idle Saturday evening, are the other undefeated teams after Day 1. Norway’s Team Magnus Ramsfjell (0-1) also had the evening bye.

Jacobs and Co. are looking to bring a world men’s title back to Canada for the first time since 2017 when skip Brad Gushue (with Gallant at second) won in Edmonton.

The round-robin wraps up April 4, with the top six teams advancing to the playoffs.

Making the playoffs is key, but teams are also eyeing the top two spots and a bye to the semifinals, a big advantage in the sprint to the finish.

 The final goes Sunday, April 6.

The event will also help determine most of the countries that will be competing for gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

The 2025 BKT World Men’s Curling Championship continues with draws Sunday at 9 a.m.,  2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (all times Central Standard).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2025 BKT World Men’s Curling Championship are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2025 BKT World Men’s Curling Championship. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2025 BKT World Men’s Curling Championship, go to www.curling.ca/2025worldmen/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2025worldmen/nouvelles/?lang=fr.