Team Brad Jacobs and Team Matt Dunstone to clash in 2025 PointsBet Invitational Men’s Final

A Calgary Saturday night that began with more questions than answers about which two teams will grace the 2025 PointsBet Invitational men’s final gave way to clarity in thrilling fashion, seeing Team Brad Jacobs (3-1; Calgary) set to take on Team Matt Dunstone (3-1; Winnpeg) Sunday at 4 p.m., (all times MT).

And while the stat-heads were salivating over potential outcomes and pre-game permutations, of which there were more than you could count on two hands, the solution for Team Jacobs was simple: win, and then hope for a little help.

Needless to say, the Glencoe Club cohort of vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert and coach Paul Webster had everything go its way, defeating Team John Epping (3-1; Toronto) 8-5 in draw 8.

“It all worked out for us today,” said Jacobs. “What can I say? We played awesome. We felt like we were in control of the game almost the whole time, except for seven and eight.”

Team Jacobs surrendered a three-point score in the seventh end that would put the game in an interim deadlock at four but would bounce back with a sneaky score of two with the hammer to alleviate some pressure on the scoreboard.

“The eighth end was not looking great though,” said Jacobs. “They had a lot of great shots. They played really well. They made it tough on us. So, to have a shot for two in eight, we definitely felt a bit fortunate. That was an important deuce.”

Winning the final round-robin match is great, but the Jacobs crew weren’t into Sunday’s final just yet.

Meanwhile two sheets over, Team Brad Gushue (2-2; St. John’s) was in tough against a steadily rising Team Kevin Koe (2-2; Calgary), but a missed double attempt on Koe’s final stone in the tenth end provided Team Gushue a 7-6 win.

The Gushue victory was the final all-important ingredient to Team Jacob’s winning elixir, knocking Team Koe down to a split record, securing Pool A’s berth to the finals.

“We squeaked it out,” said Jacobs. “It’s great to be in another PointsBet final.”

Jacobs himself admits that he was keeping a close eye on the result from sheet A, knowing that his team would need a Koe tie or loss paired with a Jacobs win in order to see life on Sunday.

“We saw that they were in a tight battle over there,” said Jacobs. “We got what we needed so I think we owe Gushue a beer or two after that one.”

In men’s Pool B, it wasn’t until Saturday evening that the impending opposition Team Dunstone would confirm its berth into the PBI final; several hours after the Winnipeg squadron had put the finishing touches on a 9-3 polishing of Team Mike McEwen in draw 7. That win proved essential for Team Dunstone, as it brought Team McEwen down to one loss. Team Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg), who were in action Saturday evening and earned a 12-6 win over Team Sam Mooibroek (0-4; Whitby), had also posted a 3-1 record, but with McEwen, McDonald, and Dunstone all boasting matching win-loss totals, Dunstone took the berth via Last Stone Draw (LSD) shootout scores.

Out of 24 head-to-head matches, Brad Jacobs owns a 75 per cent win record versus Matt Dunstone (18 wins) dating back to 2018, with Dunstone winning the last two of three.

The 2025 PointsBet Invitational women’s final is scheduled for 11 a.m., with Team Corryn Brown (4-0; Kamloops, B.C.) set to take on Team Rachel Homan (4-0; Ottawa).

The winner of the men’s and women’s final will earn $35,000 respectively, with the runners-up taking home $15,000 each.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2025 PointsBet Invitational are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS will provide coverage of the 2025 PointsBet Invitational. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2025 PointsBet Invitational, go to www.curling.ca/2025pointsbetinvitational/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2025pointsbetinvitational/nouvelles/