With Two Wins in One Day: Dunstone Clinches Playoff Spot at Curling Worlds

Summary:

• Matt Dunstone secured his playoff spot on Wednesday, leading Canada into the next stage with an 8-2 record.
• Dunstone scored a narrow victory over Switzerland and a controlled win against Czechia on the same day.
• Canada is pushing for a top-two spot and a direct semifinal place.

Canada’s Matt Dunstone will be heading to the playoffs at the 2026 World Men’s Curling Championship following an impressive performance on Wednesday, April 1.

The Winnipeg skip picked up not one, but two victories on the same day, boosting his record to 8-2 while also carrying his winning streak to six in a row after back-to-back losses.

He Delivered Under Pressure

The day kicked off with a tight match against Switzerland’s Marco Hoesli. Canada found itself under pressure late after giving up three points in the ninth end. That set up a tense final shot in the 10th, where Dunstone needed to deliver under pressure.

Didn’t love the looks of it, didn’t love the feel of it. I knew it was heavy out of my hand, and the sweepers weren’t a big fan of what I gave them either, but fortunately that rock had eyes, and I’m thankful it did.

His draw to the button was enough to seal an 8-7 win and keep Canada’s momentum going.

Later in the day, Dunstone and his team faced Czechia’s Lukas Klima and delivered a more controlled performance. Canada built its lead steadily and pulled away in the ninth end with a three-point score, finishing with a 9-5 victory.

Canada lead Ryan Harnden,

We controlled the game. (The ice) was quite slow, so we tried to keep it as simple as we could. Get a lead and just kind of lean on them, and that’s exactly what we did.

All Eyes on the Standings

The results secured Canada a place in the playoffs, joining Switzerland, Sweden, Scotland, Italy, and host United States, who had already confirmed their spots earlier.

With one day of round-robin play remaining, attention now turns to the standings. The top two teams will earn a direct place in the semifinals, avoiding an extra game in a packed schedule.

Sweden’s Niklas Edin leads the field at 9-2, while Canada sits among a group at 8-2, alongside Switzerland and Scotland.

Dunstone knows there is still work to be done.

We have to keep the pedal down and keep on going. That bye would be big, for sure, just given the schedule and not having to go back-to-back games on Friday. But we’ll take it one at a time and hopefully give ourselves a chance to lock up first or second tomorrow.

With medal games set for Saturday, Canada is building momentum at the right time.