Team Jacobs looking to capture Canada's first men's worlds title since 2017 in Moose Jaw
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For the first time since 2021, a new team will represent Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Moose Jaw.
Brad Gushue and his St. John’s, Nfld., rink wore the Maple Leaf at the previous three men’s worlds, finishing with the silver medal each time.
Now Calgary’s Team Brad Jacobs will take a shot at winning Canada’s first men’s worlds title since Gushue accomplished the feat in 2017 from Edmonton.
Jacobs, alongside veteran curlers in third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert, are no strangers to top-level international curling, having a combined 12 appearances at the men’s worlds heading into this year’s event. Tyler Tardi will serve as the team's alternate in Moose Jaw.
Team Brad Jacobs board
Both Kennedy and Hebert were part of teams that won gold at the 2008 and 2016 World Men’s Curling Championship, while Gallant won it all as a member of Team Gushue in 2017. Jacobs took silver in his lone appearance in 2013.
The 39-year-old Jacobs is the newcomer to this squad, taking over for Brendan Bottcher this season after he was cut following the 2023-24 campaign.
The new-look Team Jacobs owns an impressive 53-18 record this season, with five final appearances and two wins across 11 events played.
At the Montana’s Brier in Kelowna, B.C., Jacobs and company were the only group to go a perfect 8-0 in round-robin play. However, that was quickly extinguished when they fell to Team Gushue in the 1 vs. 2 Page Playoff qualifier, forcing them to win four straight elimination games to hoist the Brier Tankard.
Team Jacobs went on to defeat Nova Scotia’s Team Owen Purcell, Manitoba’s Team Reid Carruthers, Canada’s Team Gushue and finally Manitoba’s Team Matt Dunstone in the championship game to capture the Canadian title.
To say they are battled tested heading into worlds would be an understatement.
For their efforts, Team Jacobs is ranked third in the world. Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat, ranked first, are the only team ranked higher in this year’s field.
Joining Mouat and Jacobs as medal contenders in Moose Jaw are Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller (No. 4), Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz (No. 8), Team Korey Dropkin of the United States (No. 11), Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz (No. 12), Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin (No. 13) and Norway’s Team Magnus Ramsfjell (No. 14).
Following a 12-game round robin, the top six rinks will qualify for the playoffs with the top two earning byes straight to the semifinals. Teams ranked two through six will battle in qualification games to reach the final four.
Let’s take a closer look at Canada’s path to gold in Moose Jaw in the 66th installment of the World Men’s Curling Championship.
World Men's Curling Championship Board
Game 1 – Japan
Saturday, March 29 at 4 p.m. ET
Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi
Team Jacobs begin their gold medal pursuit at Mosaic Place with a matinee clash against Japan’s Team Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi.
The 40-year-old Yamaguchi skips this rink from Karuizawa and throws third stones, while 23-year-old Riku Yanagisawa has the responsibility of throwing last rocks in just his second appearance at the men’s worlds.
Yanagisawa skipped Japan to a 5-7 record in his first appearance in 2023 and Yamaguchi played third on that team. This will be Yamaguchi’s eighth appearance at the men’s worlds as he continues to search for his first podium finish.
Team Yamaguchi is ranked 28th in the world after posting a 37-25 record in 2024-25 with their lone win coming at their national championship in early February.
They have had some success against Team Jacobs recently, edging them 5-4 in their lone matchup this season at a bonspiel in Penticton in October.
Japan should give Canada a good challenge in the opener.
Game 2 – Germany
Saturday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET
Marc Muskatewitz
Canada is right back on the ice a few hours later against Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz, the dark horse of this year’s tournament.
The 29-year-old Muskatewitz has represented Germany at six previous World Men’s Curling Championship, spending time at both skip and third.
Muskatewitz led the Germans to an impressive 8-4 record at last year’s worlds in Switzerland, the nation’s first appearance in the playoffs since claiming the silver medal in 2007.
Muskatewitz’s momentum has continued to this season as they are ranked eighth in the world after posting a 62-24 over a very busy 15-event season. They’ve made the playoffs in all but one of their events, highlighted by a historic win at the European Curling Championships in November, upsetting world No. 1 Team Mouat of Scotland in the final, 9-7.
It marked the first time a German team won the men’s Euros since 2004.
Jacobs downed Muskatewitz 7-4 in the quarter-final of the Masters in mid-January.
Germany will be true medal contenders in Moose Jaw and this matchup should test the Canadians early.
Game 3 – South Korea
Sunday, March 30 at 4 p.m. ET
After a two-game day to kick things off, Team Jacobs has back-to-back single game days, beginning with a clash against South Korea’s Team Hyojun Kim on Sunday.
Team Kim is ranked 61st in the world and have posted a 33-35 record this season, earning their spot at the men’s worlds after winning the Korean National Championship all the way back in June.
They failed to make the playoffs at the Pan Continental Curling Championships with a 3-4 record. These two teams haven’t played each other this season.
Game 4 – Scotland
Monday, March 31 at 4 p.m. ET
Bruce Mouat
Canada’s toughest stretch of the World Men’s Curling Championship begins with a Monday afternoon clash against Bruce Mouat and the top-ranked Scots.
Team Mouat have won 70 of their 84 games this season, highlighted by taking the first three Grand Slam events, including beating Team Jacobs in the National final in December.
Team Bruce Mouat board
They haven’t been as hot since the calendar flipped to 2025, however, failing to finish first across four events.
Mouat dropped the Masters semifinal to Jacobs in mid-January and then lost to Ross Whyte in the Scottish championship final for a second straight year.
Despite not being a national champ, British Curling selected Mouat and company to represent Scotland at the men’s worlds.
Mouat, third Grant Hardie, second Bobby Lammie and lead Hammy McMillian Jr. have been together since the 2017-18 season and are set to compete in their sixth men’s worlds. The foursome own a gold medal from 2023 and a silver medal from 2021. They dropped last year’s bronze-medal game to Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz.
Jacobs and Mouat are the two highest-ranked teams in Moose Jaw, so this matchup could very well be a gold medal preview. This one could go either way.
Game 5 – Sweden
Tuesday, April 1 at 11a.m. ET
Niklas Edin
Canada kicks off the month April with a tough matchup against seven-time world champion Niklas Edin and his team from Sweden.
The 39-year-old and his Karlstad rink of third Oskar Eriksson, second Rasmus Wrana and lead Christoffer Sundgren defeated Team Gushue in last year’s final in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, improving to 5-1 against Canadian teams in gold-medal games at the World Men's Curling Championship.
Edin’s first world championship title came in 2013 when he outlasted Jacobs and his Sault Ste, Marie rink, 8-6, in the final from Victoria, B.C.
Edin will surely go down as one of the greatest curlers to ever step onto the pebbled ice, but the 2024-25 season has been a challenge for the 2022 Olympic champion.
Niklas Edin board
Team Edin is just 35-27 with no event victories on their card. They made the playoffs at two of four Grand Slams and were eliminated in the quarter-final round each time. At the European Curling Championships, an event Edin has won seven times, the Swedes missed the playoffs after losing a tiebreaker.
Jacobs is 2-0 against Edin this season.
The results have them ranked 13th in the world coming into Moose Jaw, a change of pace for a team that’s regularly in the top five.
Despite the tough results as of late, Team Edin have still won five of the past six men’s world championships and will be contenders once again this year.
Game 6 – Italy
Tuesday, April 1 at 9 p.m. ET
Joel Retornaz and Ryan Fry
The opponent doesn’t get any easier in the night cap as Team Jacobs takes on the two-time bronze medallists in Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz.
Retornaz and company were one of the best rinks on the planet last season after finishing with three Grand Slam wins and their second medal at the men’s worlds in three years.
It was all good enough to end the campaign ranked first on the world rankings.
Like Team Edin, the 2024-25 season has been a little more difficult.
Team Retornaz have put together a 41-29 record with their lone win coming at the Italian National Championship, an event they were the clear favourites in.
Outside of nationals, Team Retornaz have missed the playoffs in five of 12 events, including two Grand Slams and the Euros.
They lost their lone game against Team Jacobs at the National.
Team Retornaz will look to find their groove in Moose Jaw as they prepare to host the world at next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
Game 7 – Norway
Wednesday, April 2 at 11 a.m. ET
Magnus Ramsfjell
Magnus Ramsfjell will skip Norway for the fourth consecutive year at the World Men’s Curling Championship.
The 27-year-old is bringing back the same lineup that posted a 4-8 record in Schaffhausen last year. That performance was a step back from going 10-2 in the round robin a year prior in Ottawa.
This season, the Norwegians are ranked 14th in the world, owning a 47-31 record with no event wins on their card.
They did capture bronze at the European Curling Championships with a 7-4 victory over Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller for their first podium finish in the prestigious event.
Ramsfjell dropped his lone matchup against Jacobs this season.
Norway has been a bit hot or cold at the World Men’s Curling Championship over the past few years, so time will tell which version of Team Ramsfjell shows up against Canada with the race to the playoffs ramping up at this point of the tournament.
Game 8 – Czechia
Wednesday, April 2 at 9 p.m. ET
Lukas Klima
Czechia will once again be led by 34-year-old Lukas Klima. The native of Prague has skipped the Czechs at the previous three men’s worlds, finishing with a record below .500 each time.
Ranked 34th in the word, Team Klima is 30-25 this season with a victory at the Swiss Cup Basel in November being the highlight of their season. Overall, Team Klima have failed to qualify for the playoffs in six of 10 events and posted a 2-7 record at the Euros.
They did beat Team Jacobs, however, in their lone matchup of the season.
Czechia will still likely be in tough to make the playoffs in Moose Jaw but have proven they are fully capable of giving Team Jacobs a good game.
Game 9 – China
Thursday, April 3 at 11 a.m. ET
Xu Xiaoming
Thursday is another split day for the Canadians as they will take on the Chinese foursome in the morning.
China is skipped by 40-year-old Xu Xiaoming, who will make his eighth men’s worlds appearance and first since 2017. This year’s event will also mark Xiaoming’s first as a skip after playing third and second in his previous appearances.
Team Xiaoming, ranked 25th, are having a strong season, posting a 42-20 record, highlighted by three wins on Tour, including the Pan Continental Curling Championships in Lacombe, Alta.
China, who hasn’t sent a team to this event since 2021, has never reached the podium at the World Men’s Curling Championship.
This will be the first matchup between the two teams this season.
Game 10 – Switzerland
Thursday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET
Yannick Schwaller
With round-robin play drawing to a close, Team Jacobs will take on Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller, ranked fourth in the world, in a Thursday night cap.
Team Schwaller, featuring last-rock thrower Benoit Schwarz van-Berkel, owns a 52-25 record this season, including a 3-0 showing against Team Jacobs.
They won the early season Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and Short Jenkins Classic in September and made the playoffs in three of the four Grand Slams.
As the host nation, Team Schwaller went a very disappointing 6-6 at last year's men’s worlds and missed the playoffs.
The Swiss have always been strong contenders at this event but haven’t stepped atop the podium since 1992 and haven’t played in a final since 2003. Switzerland has won 12 bronze medals at the men’s worlds, just one behind the United States for the most of all-time.
In eight career appearances, Schwarz has gone home with the bronze five times and will look to change the colour of the medal in Moose Jaw.
Count on Switzerland bouncing back and reaching the playoffs at this year’s world championship.
Game 11 – Austria
Friday, April 4 at 4 p.m. ET
Austria will send a team to the World Men’s Curling Championship this year for just the fourth time in history and first since 2002.
Austria won just once over their three previous appearances, going winless in both 2002 and 1984. Mathias Genner will skip this year’s team in Moose Jaw.
Team Genner is ranked 111th in the world, the lowest in the field. They own an 8-34 record and did not qualify for the playoffs in the any of their nine events.
Austria qualified for the men’s worlds via their seventh-place finish at the European Curling Championship.
Earning at ticket to the men’s worlds is a major accomplishment for Genner and company, but Austria will be in tough all week long, especially against the veteran-laden Canadians.
Game 12 – United States
Friday, April 4 at 9 p.m. ET
Korey Dropkin
Canada wraps up round-robin play against Korey Dropkin and the rival Americans.
Dropkin and his crew from Duluth, Minn., punched their tickets to the men’s worlds with a memorable game-winning shot in the final of the USA Curling National Championships.
This will be Dropkin’s second appearance (also served as an alternate in 2019) at the world championships. The 29-year-old made the playoffs before falling to Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz in the bronze-medal game in his first showing back in 2022.
Team Dropkin is 47-29 on the season with tour wins at the Saville Grand Prix and Curling Stadium Martensville International. Ranked 11th in the world, they’ve qualified for the playoffs in nine of 13 events and are 1-3 against Team Jacobs.
The last time an American team reached the podium at the men’s words was in 2016 when John Shuster and company finished third. They haven’t played in a final since 1981 with their last gold medal performance coming in 1978 thanks to Bob Nichols.
United States are likely to be in the playoff mix and this game could determine whether or not the get it.