Kerri Einarson maintained her perfect record in the Canadian Olympic curling trials by defeating Kayla Skrlik 6-5 in Halifax on Tuesday evening. Einarson, hailing from Gimli, Manitoba, had already secured a playoff spot before the match but secured her sixth victory nonetheless. The four-time Canadian women’s champion scored a single point in the final end against Calgary’s Skrlik, who now stands at 2-4 in the competition. Reflecting on her team’s journey this season, Einarson expressed satisfaction with their performance and unity during the trials.
Meanwhile, Rachel Homan from Ottawa kept the pressure on Einarson with an 8-7 triumph over Kaitlyn Lawes, improving her record to 5-1. Despite giving up a steal of three in the seventh end, Homan, a two-time reigning Canadian and world champion, bounced back with two points in the eighth end and stole a single point in the ninth to secure a two-point lead. Lawes missed a chance to extend the game to an extra end as her draw shot was heavy.
Einarson and Homan have secured spots in the three-team playoffs and are scheduled to face each other in a crucial round-robin finale on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET to determine first place and earn a bye into the best-of-three finals. The team that tops the round-robin standings will directly advance to the final, while the second and third seeds will compete in a semifinal match.
In the men’s afternoon session, 2006 Olympic champion Brad Gushue and 2014 gold medalist Brad Jacobs both emerged victorious, resulting in a three-way tie for first place. Gushue, representing St. John’s, clinched an 8-6 win over Jordon McDonald from Winnipeg, scoring two points in an extra end. Jacobs and his Calgary team secured a 6-4 victory against John Epping from Toronto.
Heading into the final two men’s round-robin matches on Wednesday, Gushue, Jacobs, and Matt Dunstone from Winnipeg were all tied at 4-1. Dunstone faced his first defeat of the tournament on Tuesday afternoon, losing 5-4 to Kevin Koe from Calgary.
Mike McEwen triumphed over Ryan Kleiter with a score of 9-7 in the battle of Saskatoon skips. McEwen and Koe closely followed the leaders with records of 3-2, while Kleiter and Epping stood at 1-4 and McDonald at 0-5.
The victors of the men’s and women’s trials will have the honor of representing Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy.