Brier Curling Playoffs: What We Know

ST. JOHN’S, NL – Essentially, we know that many things can be true all at once.

For example, it’s true the Brad Gushue and Kevin Koe teams have endured a couple of years of poor performances (by their lofty standards).

Koe was 2-6 and 4-4 in last two Briers. Gushue was trundling along last year, not spectacular but not terrible, until he inexplicably missed a shot to tie the Page Playoff 1 vs 2 game and then missed for a semifinal playoff win against Brad Jacobs.

Yet here they both are, undefeated at the 2026 Brier, heading into Friday’s Page Qualifiers (12:00 noon ET, TSN).

Gushue will take on Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone (7-1) while Koe battles the 7-1 Jacobs. The winners advance to Saturday’s Page 1 vs 2 playoff while the losers drop into Saturday afternoon must-wins against Ontario’s Jayden King and Manitoba’s Braden Calvert (both 5-3, 6:00 p.m ET).

That’s right… of all the permutations The Curling News offered up yesterday, Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen lost out and Calvert made the playoff grade, advancing based on a head-to-head win over McEwen and superior Last Shot Draw (LSD) scores.

It’s true that Brier rookies don’t win Briers anymore. 

It’s wistful to say that as we approach the 20th anniversary of Quebec’s wild 2006 Brier victory, just hours after that champion skip, Jean-Michel Ménard – and two of his teammates – bade farewell to high-performance competition as they left the Mary Brown’s Centre ice surface.

King and Calvert are rookies, though, and are into today’s playoffs. Is there more to come from them?

It’s true that fans in St. John’s have been cheering for virtually everyone. Team Jacobs were initially surprised at their love-in reception; back in November of 2024, the locals booed lustily as Jacobs defeated Gushue and the local Brad publicly chided his fans.

It’s also true those fans have, when Team Gushue is on the ice, cheered for opposition misses, which is considered another no-no in curling snobbery.

What is definitely true is that this Brier, the 99th in history, has produced fine curling displays through the competition. Friday afternoon’s Gushue defeat of Jacobs, to conclude pool play, now ranks as one of the best in recent memory – similar to the first eight ends of the Canada-Great Britain Olympic men’s final. 

That one was contested just days ago… though it sometimes feels like months have passed, right?