Jacobs continues success against Edin to keep Team Canada unbeaten in feisty men’s curling at Milano Cortina 2026

Brad Jacobs has had Niklas Edin’s number through much of their rivalry and he had it again Friday as Team Canada scored four in the eighth end for an 8-6 win over Sweden in men’s curling at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.

In a game that reeked of strategy and intense respect for each team’s abilities, there was a bit of gamesmanship when Swedish third Oskar Eriksson accused his Canadian counterpart Marc Kennedy of illegally touching the stone after he had released it. The pair had some testy words for each other during the game but did shake hands when it was over.

“That was a big one, a really important one,” Kennedy said of Canada’s third straight win and second win Friday. “Returning gold medallists — to get them to 0-3 is good.

“Didn’t have hammer to start the game but we played great. Brad made some big shots again. We got out of a jam in the fifth, got a break in the eighth to get four. That was a big win for us.”

On the scoreboard, there wasn’t any separation until Edin failed to make a double takeout and left Jacobs an open draw for the four.

“Feels great, feels great,” Jacobs said of the win. “Another must win game against Sweden. To knock them back to 0-3 is big for the spiel. They can be very dangerous and lethal, especially at the end of the week, so big win for us.”

Edin has been a thorn in the side of Canadian curlers for years, more often than not emerging victorious, especially in big-time games. Edin and teammates beat Brad Gushue 5-3 in the 2022 Olympic semifinals, ending Canada’s hopes for a gold medal.

But in 41 head-to-head games, Jacobs, who called Edin the greatest curler of all time before the Olympics, now holds a 26-15 edge over the Swedish skip.

Edin, the only player in the World Curling Federation to have won three Olympic medals (gold, silver, and bronze), and Jacobs have battled on the ice through numerous Grand Slam events and world championships and Friday was no different from most of those previous meetings.

The 40-year-old Edin, who has been suffering from numerous injuries in recent years, tried to blank the first end but nose hit on a takeout and was forced to take a single. After blanking the second, Canada got the two it wanted in the third. Jacobs made back-to-back accurate draws forcing Edin, playing in his fifth Olympics, to try a runback double that was only half successful. Jacobs drew for the deuce.

The teams traded singles in the fourth and fifth ends, but it took a stunning turnaround for Canada to get its single. Sweden looked poised for a possible multi-point steal in five until Kennedy flipped things with his second shot that eliminated two troublesome guards, sending one into the house to kill one of three Swedish counters and pave the way for a Canadian score.

Jacobs, who had been curling 100 percent, was heavy with his last-rock draw in the sixth end and left Edin with an open house draw to score two and take a 4-3 lead. After blanking seven, Canada cracked the four in eight, gave up two in the ninth without much concern, and finished the game with one in the tenth.

Team Canada finished with a solid shooting percentage of 88, with Jacobs leading the way at a game high 91 percent. Sweden shot 82 percent, but Edin was the least effective at just 70 percent.

Canada’s next game is Saturday afternoon against Yannick Schwaller and Switzerland.

In other games, Italy (Joël Retornaz) lost 6-5 to Germany (Marc Muskatewitz); Switzerland (Yannick Schwaller) outscored China (Xu Xiaoming) 9-7, and Norway (Magnus Ramsfjell) beat Czechia (Lukáš Klima) 7-4.

After four draws, Canada and Switzerland are atop the standings at 3-0 followed by Great Britain (Bruce Mouat), Germany, Italy, and Norway all at 2-1, the United States (Daniel Casper) at 1-2 and China, Czechia, and Sweden all winless in three games.

The ten teams each play nine round-robin games with the top four teams then advancing to the semifinals.