Canada's Dunstone Team Opens 2026 World Men's Curling Championship

Canada's Matt Dunstone and his teammates from Winnipeg's Granite Curling Club are set to open the 2026 LGT World Men's Curling Championship on Friday in Ogden, Utah, facing South Korea in the afternoon and Italy in the evening. The team earned its spot by capturing the Tim Hortons Brier title earlier this month, defeating Alberta's Kevin Koe 8-7 in the final on March 8 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. This marks the first men's world championship appearance for Dunstone as skip and for third Colton Lott, while brothers E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden bring extensive international experience to the lineup.

The victory brought a sense of relief to the squad, allowing them to refocus quickly on the global stage. "A lot of relief has kind of settled in. It kind of feels like playing with house money now a little bit," Dunstone said. The short two-week gap between events provided just enough time to recover without losing momentum. The team arrived in Utah earlier in the week, practicing ahead of the tournament at the Weber County Ice Sheet, the venue that hosted curling events during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Dunstone's last appearance for Canada came over a decade...