Canada’s Brad Jacobs won the men’s Pan Continental Curling Championship with a 7-3 win over John Shuster of the United States on Sunday in Virginia, Minn.
The Pan Continental is a regional qualifier for countries for next year’s world championships.
Jacobs, whose team took the bronze medal at the 2025 world championship in April, stole two points in the 10th end to secure the victory over Shuster, who skipped the U.S. to gold in the 2018 Olympic Games.
On Thursday, Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert out of Calgary’s Glencoe Club clinched a spot for Canada at next year’s world championship in Ogden City, Utah with an 8-2 rout of Australia’s Hugh Millikin.
The Canadians went undefeated in Virginia and earned their country’s third gold medal in four years after Brad Gushue was victorious in 2022 and 2023.
“We played some tough teams here, especially in the last couple of games,” said Jacobs. “It’s always great to throw the Maple Leaf on, and it makes you a little bit more hungry and motivated to go and try to wear it again.”
Jacobs and company next travel to California for the Kioti Grand Slam of Curling Tahoe starting Nov. 4.
They’ll be among eight men’s teams battling Nov. 22-30 in Halifax at the Montana’s Canadian Trials for the right to wear the Maple Leaf in February’s Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy.
“Great crowd, great ice, and I think it was a great simulation for the next Slam and the trials,” Jacobs said Sunday.
The foursome will also try to defend their Canadian title Feb. 27 to March 8 at the Brier in St. John’s and earn a return trip to the world championship.
They saw the Pan Continental as another test against international competition.
“Any time you’re in a final it’s important to take advantage of those opportunities,” said Gallant.
“There’s something different in a final, a little bit more pressure and you want to test yourself be able to perform in those circumstances. I thought we played a really strong game against really tough opponent today and we know we’re going to be in that situation hopefully throughout this season.”
The fourth and final Pan Continental Championships was to conclude Sunday with Canada’s Rachel Homan facing Rui Wang of China for gold.
Canada was already assured a berth at worlds from March 14-22 in Calgary as the host country.
World Curling introduced the Pan Continental four years ago to provide a North American and Asian counterpart to the 50-year-old European championship.
But World Curling expanding championship fields and introducing a B championship for promotion and relegation has brought an end to the Pan Continental event. The European championship will continue as a stand-alone event.
