%^&*(LIVE/CURLING): 2026 Montana’s Brier LIVE in St. John’s February, 27- March 08, 2026
Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert will be rolling into Newfoundland for the Brier this week on a real high thanks to their incredible Olympic gold-medal performance, but the skipper from Sault Ste. Marie and his Alberta-based team will have some major competition when it comes to who will be the talk of the town in St. Johns.
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Copy Link and Paste For Watching 2026 Brier
Live Link: https://watch.curling.world/r/1b032e220c
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Much of the hype heading into the national championship is squarely focused on hometown skip, Brad Gushue, since this is his swan song and its poetically happening on the very Rock he grew up on. The 45-year-old Gushue is retiring at the end of this season and will attempt to cap off his incomparable career with a record-setting seventh Brier.
Gushues long-time third, Mark Nichols, and lead, Geoff Walker, are also each going after an incredible seventh national championship. But Gushues Team Newfoundland, which includes Brendan Bottcher at third, will be in tough: Six teams in the 2026 Montanas Brier field sit higher in the world rankings.
With competition opening Friday night and the final set for Sunday, March 8 lets take a look at the major storylines and questions as this 18-team field fights for the right to represent Canada at world championships next month in Utah.
Can Gushue do it again?
The skip was 36 years old and competing in his 14th Brier when he won it for the first time in 2017, right at home at the Mile One Centre in downtown St. Johns (where the 2026 edition is also being played, though its now known as Mary Browns Centre).
It seems crazy now to think that the Brier was at one time elusive for Gushue, who led Canada to Olympic gold in Turin 11 years before he captured his first national title. Gushue is now the winningest Brier skip in history, and only Walker, Nichols and Randy Ferbey can match his six Tankard titles.
This will be an emotionally charged event for Gushue. His team is the crowd favourite wherever they go in Canada, and thatll be amplified in St. Johns, where a highway, sports complex and a few streets are named for the skip.
Its been 20 years since Gushue won Olympic gold. He also hasnt won a major championship since he took home his 15th Grand Slam title in April of 2024, and his last two attempts to earn a chance to represent Canada have ended in tears: At Olympic Trials last November, Gushue missed the playoffs for the first time at the event, and in the 2025 Brier semifinal, against Team Jacobs, Gushue last shot produced one of the biggest misses of his career.
Hugely disappointed, and feel like Iܙm going to be apologizing to my teammates for quite some time after that Gushue said, when his 2025 Brier was over.
No doubt hes hoping this 2026 version ends much better.
Gushue is in Pool A, which is set up for a classic Battle of the Brads showdown to close out round-robin play on Thursday, March 5.
Itd sure be pure poetry for Gushue to go on a run and cap off his career with a record-setting seventh Brier, at home, and earn one last chance to represent Canada.
No matter what happens, though, the skippers career has been incomparable.
Jacobs and Team Canada riding high
Jacobs and Co. come into St. Johns on four days of rest (if you include commuting from Italy) after upsetting world No. 1 Bruce Mouat and Team Great Britain in the gold-medal final in Milan. What a run! What a win!
Jacobs, 38, is the first mens skipper to ever win two Olympic gold medals, earning his first back in 2014.
