When is men’s curling Winter Olympics final as Team GB face Canada | Other | Sport
Team GB men’s curling team face the controversial Canadians in the final of the 2026 Winter Olympics (Image: Getty)
When is men’s curling Winter Olympics final as Team GB face ‘cheat storm’ Canadians again?
- The Team GB men’s curling final against Canada is scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 2026, at 18:05 GMT. Bruce Mouat’s rink will compete for the gold medal at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium following their hard-fought progress through the knockout stages.
- Live television coverage in the United Kingdom will be broadcast on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer starting from 17:15 GMT, with Clare Balding hosting the programme. Alternatively, viewers can watch every stone of the final on TNT Sports 2 or via the discovery+ streaming service, which offers comprehensive coverage of the Games.
- Team GB reached the final after a mixed round-robin campaign where they finished with a 5–4 win-loss record. They secured vital victories against China, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the USA but suffered narrow defeats to Italy, Switzerland, Norway, and Canada.
- In a tense semi-final, Great Britain overcame the previously unbeaten Swiss side with an impressive 8–5 victory. Despite trailing 3–4 at the halfway mark, the British team turned the match around with a crucial point steal in the sixth end and a dominant finish.
- The turning point was a “runback triple takeout” by skip Bruce Mouat in the seventh end, a shot he later described as one of the best of his career. Reflecting on the win, Mouat said he was “very, very proud” of the team’s resilience, while Hammy McMillan Jr remarked that the shot “saved our bacon.”
- This performance ensures Team GB will at least match their result from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where they secured a silver medal. In that tournament, they were narrowly defeated 5–4 by Niklas Edin’s Swedish rink in a dramatic sudden-death extra end.
- The Canadian men’s team, skipped by Brad Jacobs, has enjoyed a strong tournament, finishing the round robin in second place before beating Norway 5–4 in their semi-final. They have looked formidable throughout the Games, including a convincing 9–5 victory over Great Britain earlier in the week.
- However, the Canadians have been at the centre of a “cheat storm” after being accused of “double-touching” the stones, an illegal move where a player allegedly pokes the rock after its initial release. These accusations surfaced during matches against Sweden and Switzerland, leading to the installation of extra officials on the ice.
- The controversy sparked a heated exchange between Canada’s Marc Kennedy and Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson, with Kennedy being caught on a hot mic telling his opponent to “f*** off” after being confronted about the alleged infraction. Eriksson had challenged Kennedy on the ice, stating he would show him video evidence of the foul immediately after the match concluded.
- Kennedy vehemently denied the allegations, claiming his reaction was a defence of his integrity against a “premeditated plan” by the Swedes to disrupt their focus. He admitted he “could have handled it better” but refused to apologise, stating that his back gets up whenever his honesty as a sportsman is questioned.
