Team Matt Dunstone downs reigning champs to earn 2026 Montana’s Brier final berth

Manitoba’s Team Matt Dunstone will be in familiar territory on Sunday evening at the 2026 Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, as the Winnipeg outfit punched its ticket into the final with a 7-3 semifinal win over Team Canada, skipped by Brad Jacobs (Calgary), at the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s.

Dunstone, whose team is completed by third/vice-skip Colton Lott, second E.J. Harnden, lead Ryan Harnden, alternate Jake Horgan and coach Caleb Flaxey, played 10 stellar ends of curling to earn the final berth, set for 7:30 p.m. NT.

The work is decidedly not done for The Sheriff; after two dropped Montana’s Brier finals in 2023 and 2025, there’s no more room for silver on his bandolier. His team is now trending in the right direction after a 9-7 Saturday night to Alberta’s Team Kevin Koe (Calgary) in the Page 1-2 game, setting the stage for the Sunday night rematch.

“Great bounce-back after a tough loss last night,” said Dunstone. “We’re right where we want to be. Pretty excited for what’s to come in a couple of hours.”

Team Dunstone is 0-2 at the 2026 Montana’s Brier against Team Koe, whose skip was a first-team all-star and has been on a white-hot shot-making streak since taking to the ice in St. John’s.

None of that matters to Dunstone.

“We’re going to go out and play. Just another final — just happy to be back in one.”

No team could crack the code on a multi-score end in the semi until the eighth end, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort on either side. Save for a blank in the first, both teams took chances in the first half with plenty of rocks in play, but no outright risks. High-calibre shot-making fuelled the tight contest with Team Dunstone shooting 91 per cent after five to Team Jacobs’ 94 per cent.

Team Jacobs, however, did lapse in the fifth end when a blank attempt caught the target stone too thick and sticking his shooter for a self-imposed force, but redeemed itself with a steal in the sixth.

Action heated up in a firecracker 10^th end, where Jacobs would have a chance to send the game to an extra with a very difficult draw to the side of the can through a port, but the offering landed about five feet short of its tiny-margined target.

The end relied heavily on a port on the clockwise side of the sheet, but both teams suffered from some under-curl in that spot, making Jacobs’ final stone even more difficult.

It’s an advantage that Dunstone leveraged in the final end.

“That was a learning we had from last night,” said Dunstone. “We had a very similar sheet today. I think that having that in the back of our minds, knowing how we can and can’t throw shots late in the game, helped. We were really precise down the stretch.

Pundits and curling fans alike are split on whether it’s an advantage to have played, and won, a semifinal on the same sheet in the same day as a final, and Dunstone agrees that it’s not always a cut-and-dried situation.

“It’s hard to know what’s good for you,” said Dunstone. “Been in two finals; done it both ways now. Maybe, just (help) you get your feet under you a little bit. You don’t have to sit around all day thinking about it. Either way, we’re in a final. It feels good.”

Dunstone had been facing a irksome knee issue in the last 24 hours after experiencing a mild tweak in his right knee during the Page 1-2 game Saturday night, but says he’s feeling fine.

“Yeah, we’re good,” said Dunstone with smiling conviction. “I’m playing tonight.”

Meanwhile, after nearly a calendar month of all-out curling, Team Jacobs is headed home for a long-awaited rest with Montana’s Brier bronze medals.

“Congrats to those guys,” said Jacobs. “I’m happy for (his cousins) Ryan and E.J. — they get another chance, and Dunny and Colton, they get an opportunity at their first Brier, so, should be a great final. We’re going to have a bunch of beers and watch.”

There’s no doubt that Jacobs and Co., including vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert, alternate Mike Caione and coach Paul Webster, wanted to win, but there’s a sense of relief on the team now that its journey is at an end.

“I’m happy it’s over,” said Jacobs. “We tried — there’s nothing else we can do. We played hard all week, we never gave up at any point in time and I think we can walk away from this Brier holding our heads really high.

“Guess what we still are: Olympic gold medallists. Can you believe it? I can’t wait to go home and see my family and friends and share the gold medal with everyone.”

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 20256 Montana’s Brier are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/.

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2026 Montana’s Brier. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2026brier/nouvelles/