Kamloops-based skip Matt Dunstone falls to his knees in celebration after defeating Kevin Koe's rink 6-3 in the Sunday final of the Brier in St. John's, Newfoundland -- his first national men's championships/via Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver
The man they call “the sheriff” has finally put a stop to the heartbreak that has dogged Matt Dunstone and his team at the end of major curling events the past four years.
The 30-year old Dunstone, who calls Kamloops home but skips his team out of the Granite Club in Winnipeg, is the 2026 Brier champion.
Dunstone would secure the national men’s title in a 6-3, nine-end defeat of Alberta’s Kevin Koe in the Sunday final in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Dunstone told Brier host broadcaster TSN after shaking hands with Koe and celebrating with his teammates.
“Been so much work put into this, [with] a lot of heartbreak along the way,” added Dunstone in his televised TSN interview.
Speaking with the rest of the media gaggle after the presentation of the Tankard, Dunstone would elaborate a bit more on how they used their challenges the past few years in major tournaments to put themselves over the top this time.
“There’s been a lot of heartbreak over this quadrennial,” suggested Dunstone. “Losing two of these [Brier finals] prior too, and the [Olympic] Trials… very special moment for this group… we put a lot of work into what we do, obviously.”
Team Dunstone placed runners-up in the last three major Canadian curling tournaments, including finishing 2nd to Brad Jacobs’ rink at last year’s Brier in Kelowna, as well as falling to Jacobs’ rink in the final of the Olympic qualifiers in Halifax this past November.
Team Dunstone, including Kamloops-based skip Matt Dunstone (far left), vice-skip Colton Lott (2nd left), second E.J. Harnden (2nd right) and lead Ryan Harnden (far right) pose with the Tankard after taking the 2026 tournament in St. John’s, Newfoundland/via Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver
This is also due to be the last Brier for Team Dunstone second E.J. Harnden, as he is set to retire after this season.
The elder of the so called “brothers” [Ryan Harnden throws lead stones on Team Dunstone] had already been part of the front-end on a number of Brier-winning teams, and says he was more concerned about earning a victory for the rest of Team Dunstone.
“I couldn’t be happier for Matt, and Colton and Ryan. It’s been 13 years for Ryan, and it’s the first Brier for Colton and Matt,” said E.J. Harnden. “I said I really want to be a part of that, and now I am. This is incredible.”
While E.J. is set to retire from professional curling, their job isn’t over quite yet.
Dunstone and his team will represent Canada at the World Curling Championships, which will get going in Ogden, Utah later this month. [Mar. 27-Apr. 4]
While this will be his first time representing Canada’s Men’s interests on the world stage, Dunstone and his squad do come with international credentials.
This will be the fourth time Dunstone — along with vice-skip Colton Lott — has worn Team Canada colors on the international stage, having played in two World Junior Curling Championships in 2013 and 2016, while also representing Canada at the 2015 Winter Universiade.
Dunstone will also wear the Team Canada colors at next year’s Brier in Saskatoon.
