Brier 2026: McEwen’s Playoff Push and Knapp’s Elimination Reveal a Tight Race
An afternoon upset and an evening elimination reshaped the middle of the standings at brier 2026, as Mike McEwen’s rink suffered a 9-4 loss to Braden Calvert’s Manitoba and Kelly Knapp’s Regina rink was later eliminated following a loss to Brad Gushue. The contrasting outcomes sharpen playoff permutations: McEwen remains within reach of a fourth straight playoff appearance, while Knapp’s path closed after an evening defeat.
Background and context
The events unfolded at Montana’s Brier in St. John’s, N. L., where McEwen’s Saskatoon-based rink dropped to 5-2 following the loss to Manitoba. Earlier in the day, Knapp earned a morning victory over the Newfoundland and Labrador rink skipped by Nathan Young, which improved her team to 3-3 and kept them in the hunt briefly, but an evening loss to Gushue eliminated Knapp’s rink from contention.
brier 2026: Standings and playoff permutations
McEwen’s defeat to Braden Calvert came by a 9-4 score, with Manitoba building incremental advantages through the middle ends. Calvert scored two in the second after a blank first end, extended with two in the fourth, and added a decisive triple in the eighth. McEwen generated single points in a number of ends and a double in the seventh, but the cumulative scoring left the Saskatoon rink needing a key result in the coming draw.
With Matt Dunstone’s 6-5 win over Yukon elevating Dunstone to 5-1, McEwen now faces a pivotal match against Dunstone. A McEwen victory would keep him at two losses and open the possibility of a three-way tie between Calvert, Dunstone and McEwen, at which point last stone draw distance would determine positioning. Because of the earlier loss to Calvert, a tie in the standings between the two teams would favour the Manitoba side under the current tiebreak criteria.
Roster details add texture to the stakes: McEwen’s rink, representing the Nutana Curling Club, lists Colton Flasch at third, Kevin Marsh at second and Dan Marsh at lead. That quartet had been positioned to lock in a playoff berth with a win over Calvert; instead they must now navigate a narrow path forward anchored to one remaining head-to-head result and pre-established tiebreak procedures.
Expert perspectives and regional impact
The outcomes amplify the roles of established skips and regional rinks in shaping the playoff landscape. Braden Calvert’s Manitoba rink produced timely ends throughout its game to force the issue against McEwen, while Matt Dunstone’s narrow victory earlier in the day altered the margin for error across the field. Kelly Knapp’s Regina rink — with Brennen Jones at third, Dustin Kidby at second and Mat Ring at lead, representing the Highland Curling Club — demonstrated resilience in the morning but could not withstand the evening loss that resulted in elimination.
Regionally, the results underscore how quickly momentum can swing at a national championship. Manitoba’s win strengthens its position, Saskatchewan faces a tense evening with critical head-to-head consequences, and Newfoundland and Labrador will see its undefeated run challenged by key matchups. The interplay of single-end scoring bursts, steals, and multi-point responses in several games has magnified the importance of both strategic shotmaking and the cumulative last stone draw metric.
Operationally, the playoff picture at brier 2026 now hinges on a small set of matches and pre-existing tiebreak rules rather than a broad sweep of outcomes. That compresses pressure onto a handful of teams and converts individual ends into tournament-defining moments.
The immediate questions for competitors and fans are clear: can McEwen beat Dunstone to force the three-way scenario and rely on last stone draw rankings, and how will Manitoba leverage its standing after the win over McEwen to secure positioning? Meanwhile, Knapp’s elimination closes one storyline but highlights how quickly fortunes change in a condensed round-robin.
As play continues, the brier 2026 field will be watched intensely for how narrow margins and tiebreak protocols decide which teams advance — and which promising runs end at the round-robin stage.
