Rachel Homan from Ottawa secured her spot in the women’s final, and Brad Jacobs from Calgary advanced in the men’s category, while Brad Gushue from St. John’s was eliminated after a critical miss at the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.
Homan narrowly defeated Kerri Einarson from Gimli, Manitoba, with a 7-6 score on Wednesday, securing first place in the women’s round-robin competition.
Both teams finished the preliminary round with 6-1 records, but Homan earned a direct entry to the best-of-three final due to her victory in the head-to-head match.
“Our objective at the start of the week was to reach the final,” said Homan. “The competition is fierce, so we gave it our all today to secure our spot in the final. I’m extremely proud of my team for their perseverance.”
Jacobs secured his spot in the final earlier with a 6-2 victory over Matt Dunstone from Winnipeg.
The 2014 Olympic champion topped the men’s standings with a 6-1 record after defeating and eliminating 2006 gold medalist Gushue in the final round-robin match on Wednesday evening.
Gushue, in his final competitive season, lost 6-3 to Jacobs in a tense match. Needing a win to stay in the competition, the experienced skip missed his last shot with a chance to score three points in the 10th end while trailing 5-3.
This loss marked the first time Gushue missed the playoffs at the Canadian Trials in his career.
“He’s a formidable opponent and has been for the majority of the last decade — a true legend in his career,” Jacobs commented. “When you have the chance to eliminate a great team like that, you have to seize the opportunity. We performed exceptionally well today, and I believe this sets us up nicely for the finals.”
Gushue tied with Dunstone for third place with a 4-3 record, but Dunstone advanced based on their head-to-head result in the round-robin stage.
Dunstone will compete against Mike McEwen from Saskatoon (5-2) in the men’s semifinal on Thursday night. McEwen, who defeated Gushue 9-7 earlier on Wednesday, also triumphed over Dunstone 9-5 in the evening session.
McEwen will make his first playoff appearance in eight years after finishing as the runner-up in 2017.
“I didn’t start strong on the first night, but things improved, and I felt different after that Saturday. I’ve been in the moment ever since. I’m more focused, and the team feeds off that,” McEwen stated.
“I’m feeling energized and positive. My movements are good, and it boosts the team’s morale, which helped us navigate through four tough games to reach five wins and two losses.”
In the women’s competition, Homan extended her lead to 7-4 by scoring two points in the eighth end, but Einarson responded with single points in the last two ends.
Einarson will face local favorite Christina Black in the Thursday semifinal, with the final scheduled for Friday.
Black secured a spot in the semifinal by defeating Kate Cameron from St. Adolphe, Manitoba, with a 10-6 victory, finishing tied for third place with Kaitlyn Lawes from Winnipeg and Selena Sturmay from Edmonton, all with a 4-2 record. Black advanced based on having the best cumulative ranking in the last stone draw among the three teams.
The last stone draw is a pre-game competition where two players per team deliver a stone to the center of the house, determining which team