BRANDON, Man. – They're ready to rumble at the Tim Horton Brier.

After a long week of curling action, 16 rinks have been whittled down to the final four and they’ll go head-to-head this weekend at Westoba Place with the coveted Tankard on the line.

And it’s no surprise who’s still in play at the 2019 Canadian men’s curling championship: Alberta’s Kevin Koe, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs, Team Canada’s Brad Gushue and Brendan Bottcher’s wild-card rink from Edmonton own four of the top seven spots in the World Curling Rankings and all are in the top five in Canada.

The best-of-the-best in this county will now battle it out for the right to represent the Red and White in Lethbridge, Alta., at the world men’s curling championship next month.

There’s no shortage of storylines either.

Can Team Gushue capture the highly coveted three-peat?

Or will Jacobs and his recharged Sault Ste. Marie rink get back to the top of the podium for the first time since 2013?

What about Bottcher? What a scene it would be if the second youngest skip at the Brier wins his first Canadian championship on Sunday.

And finally, can the ever so calm and collected Koe join curling legends Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey and Kevin Martin as the only skips to win four career Briers?

It should be one very interesting weekend in Brandon.

 

Page Playoff 3 vs. 4 – Saturday at 3pm ET on TSN 1/3

Wild Card’s Brendan Bottcher (8-3) vs. Canada’s Brad Gushue (9-2)

Team Gushue’s 2018-19 record - 43-16
Team Bottcher’s 2018-19 record –51-17

Head-to-head at 2019 Brier – Gushue beat Bottcher, 8-5, in the championship pool finale Friday night
Head-to-head in 2018-19 season – Bottcher is 2-1 against Gushue
Notable previous Brier games – Gushue edged Bottcher, 6-4, in the 2018 Brier final

The weekend kicks off with a rematch of last year’s Canadian championship final in Regina.

Gushue and his St. John’s rink defended their title with a 6-4 victory over Bottcher’s Team Alberta rink in 2018, thanks to grabbing deuces in the third and fifth ends. Gushue beat Bottcher 10-7 earlier in the week as well.

Team Canada was almost unbeatable at nationals last season, dropping just one game the entire tournament. On the other hand, Bottcher’s crew made a name for themselves as a force to be reckoned with, especially their sharpshooting 27-year-old skipper.

“He definitely one of the top 10 players in the world at this point,” Gushue said of Bottcher on Friday. “I think he’s gotten to that level. He started off slow from what I’ve watched this week, but he seems to be playing better as of late.”

After falling in provincial playdowns, Bottcher and company were forced to qualify for the Brier the hard way by defeating Ontario’s John Epping in the wild-card game last Friday. Following a drubbing of Northern Ontario in the opener last weekend, Bottcher and his team have raised their game to a new level, dropping just one game to undefeated Alberta heading into Friday’s championship pool finale.

“I feel like we’re really at peace with how we’ve done so far this week. We’re trending the right direction and we’re definitely playing our best in these past couple games. That’s all you can ask for,” said Bottcher.

Bottcher wasn’t at his best Friday night, however. The young skip gave up a steal of two in the fourth end and another steal of one in the fifth after being light on a pair of draws. Gushue will have the hammer in Saturday’s game as a result thanks to the 8-5 victory.

Earlier this season, the Edmonton native topped Gushue in the round robin of the Canada Cup and the semi-final of the Canadian Open on the World Curling Tour.

Team Gushue, of course, has won the past two Briers and has a chance to join the famous Ferbey Four as the only rinks to win three consecutive national championships.

Gushue said he’s more than ready for prime time.

“I’m not too worried about being the single sheet out there, the only one with all the eyes on us,” said the 38-year-old. “That’s kind of what we relish. Those are exciting times. We’ve been there tons. I’m looking forward to it.”

Game time is at 3 pm ET on TSN 1/3.

 

Page Playoff 1 vs. 2 – Saturday at 8 pm ET on TSN 1/3

Alberta’s Kevin Koe (11-0) vs. Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs (9-2)

Team Koe’s 2018-19 record – 54-19
Team Jacobs’ 2018-19 record – 49-17

Head-to-head at 2019 Brier – Koe beat Jacobs, 7-5, in the championship pool finale Friday night
Head-to-head in 2018-19 season – Koe is 3-3 against Jacobs this season
Notable previous Brier games – Koe beat Jacobs, 6-2, in the 2017 Brier 3 vs. 4; Koe beat Jacobs, 6-5, in the 2016 Brier semi-final; Koe beat Jacobs 10-3 in the 2010 Brier semi-final 

The best two teams of the week will square off for a second night in a row Saturday at Westoba Place. Alberta will have the hammer after topping Northern Ontario 7-5 on Friday.

Despite the loss, Brad Jacobs and the boys from the Community First Curling Club have been the talk of town this week in Brandon.

After a disappointing Olympic trials and Brier playoffs last season, some thought Team Jacobs could be headed for a breakup. They stuck it out, however, and have looked like the former Olympics champions they are with sky-high shooting percentages, highlight reel game-winners and plenty of patented fist pumps.

Earlier Friday, Jacobs was forced to make a high pressure draw to the four-foot to edge Canada and punch their ticket to the Page playoff 1 vs. 2.

When it comes to that pressure, the 2013 Brier champion says bring it on.

“To have to make a draw to the four-foot, a pressure shot like that is exactly what I wanted because we know the pressure is going to continue to mount as this event goes on,” said Jacobs. “We welcome all kinds of pressure this week. Bring it on. Test us out as much as humanly possible. That’s what we want.”

Koe ran the table with an impressive 11-0 record. The streak speaks for itself, but that doesn’t mean Team Alberta hasn’t been tested. Koe edged Gushue 7-6 on Monday night after making a fantastic angle raise takeout for the win, for example.

Then they had to battle back against New Brunswick after falling to a 5-2 deficit through four ends. Alberta edged Manitoba and Team Wild Card by single points as well before beating Northern Ontario on Friday in a game that came down to the last shot.

Koe is heading to the playoffs for the sixth time in seven Brier appearances. Remarkably, the three-time Canadian champ will play in only his second 1 vs. 2 game on Saturday.

His first came against John Morris in 2014 at the Kamloops Brier, a game he was forced to concede in the ninth end.

“It didn’t last too long. We got killed. We were in it for about an hour, I think. We got killed by Morris in Kamloops in the 1 vs. 2 game. I’ve been in the semis five times,” said the skip.

“I’m not complaining. It would be nice to start a new trend with this team of winning the 1 vs. 2 game.”

Not to worry though, as Koe would eventually win the Brier that year after getting payback against Morris in the final.

The 44-year-old is going for his fourth Tankard and, for the fourth time, Koe is sporting a slightly tweaked lineup. Koe hasn’t won with the same four players in his previous three championships.

The 2018-19 version of Team Koe was formed after Brent Laing and Marc Kennedy left the squad following last season. In came B.J. Neufeld and Colton Flasch, two prairie curlers looking for their first Canadian title, and the transition has been relatively seamless.

“I’m not worried at all about team dynamics. We get along good on and off the ice. When things aren’t going well we don’t get down on each other,” explained Koe. “We keep fighting and that’s been evident all year.”

Team Koe has made five finals this season, winning two of them as Jacobs got the better of Koe in the Canada Cup final back in December.

But the tour isn’t where Koe has shined in his curling career. Over six prior Brier appearances, Koe has appeared in five finals, winning three of them.

“I focus hard on this event personally, just trying to peak at the right time. I’ve had good teams and we’ve played well at this event,” explained Koe. “At this event it comes down to big shots at the right time and in the past it seems I’ve been able to make more than I’ve missed and that’s the key part.”

Game time is 8 pm ET on TSN 1/3.