Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs is poised to conclude the nation's Olympic curling drought as they advance to the men's gold-medal game following a nail-biting victory over Team Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway. The match concluded with a score of 5-4 in an extra end on Thursday at Milano Cortina 2026, ensuring Canada’s spot in the finals.
The Canadian team is set to face the reigning world champions, Team Bruce Mouat of Great Britain, for the coveted gold medal on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET (10:05 a.m. PT), which will be broadcast on CBC Gem and Sportsnet+. This matchup comes after Jacobs and his team displayed an impressive level of skill and resilience throughout the tournament.
“That was probably the most nervous we’ve been as a group in a long time,” Jacobs said in an interview with CBC Olympics. He emphasized the palpable tension of the match, acknowledging Norway's strong performance in a game characterized by competitive back-and-forth play. Securing a medal for Canada is a significant achievement, and Jacobs expressed his team’s desire to clinch gold, stating, “Everyone was really excited just about that simple fact, but, yeah, one more big win here and we’d love to come home with gold for Canada.”
Canada has not won gold in men’s curling since Jacobs led another rink to victory in 2014, marking the last occasion when a Canadian team achieved this feat in an Olympic team curling event. That year was particularly momentous as Jacobs and fellow Canadian curler Jennifer Jones both claimed their respective titles.
In the semifinal, Ramsfjell managed to force an extra end by scoring a deuce in the tenth end. However, in the 11th end, Ramsfjell failed to execute a challenging double takeout, allowing Jacobs the opportunity to forgo throwing his last rock, thereby securing the victory.
On the other hand, Mouat’s path to the gold-medal game saw him entering the playoffs as the fourth seed with a 5-4 record. He advanced by defeating the previously unbeaten Team Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland with a score of 8-5 in their semifinal match. Mouat, who won an Olympic silver medal in 2022, also claimed world titles in both 2023 and 2025. His previous encounters with Jacobs included a semifinal matchup at last year’s world championship, where Mouat triumphed en route to gold in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, while Canada secured the bronze medal.
During the round-robin stage, Jacobs compiled a noteworthy record of 7-2, overcoming a significant controversy where Canada’s third, Marc Kennedy, faced accusations of double-touching rocks during a heated game against Sweden. The ensuing dispute led to World Curling temporarily revamping its umpiring protocols. However, following additional contentious calls in subsequent matches, they reverted to a more traditional umpiring structure.
