Manitoba has a new men’s curling champion.
Braden Calvert and his Heather Curling Club rink captured the Bunge Championship title Sunday afternoon in Selkirk, defeating Jordon McDonald of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in an extra end to earn their first Manitoba men’s crown.
Calvert, joined by third Corey Chambers, second Kyle Kurz, lead Brendan Bilawka and alternate Rob Gordon, prevailed in a dramatic rematch of Saturday night’s Page 1-2 playoff game, also won by the Heather rink.
The championship final was tied 7-7 after 10 ends when Calvert slid a foot deep on his last-stone draw, conceding a single point to force an extra end. In the 11th, Calvert set up the winning chance with a perfect first-stone hit, leaving McDonald facing a difficult draw around two centre-line stones. McDonald made the shot but left Calvert a short runback, which he converted to seal the win to represent Manitoba at the national championship.
For Calvert and his teammates, the victory marked a breakthrough after falling short in the past two provincial finals — losing to Reid Carruthers in 2025 and Brad Jacobs in 2024.
McDonald’s rink, which includes Jacques Gauthier, Elias Huminicki and Cam Olafson, had reached the final earlier Sunday with a six-end semifinal win over Brett Walter’s Assiniboine Memorial team.
The result capped a week that guaranteed a new provincial champion. Defending champion and top seed Reid Carruthers and his Granite Curling Club rink were eliminated Saturday afternoon by Kelly Marnoch’s Carberry foursome, opening the door for a first-time men’s champion.
None of the three teams remaining heading into the final day — Calvert, McDonald and Walter — had previously represented Manitoba at the Canadian men’s championship, though several players had won provincial titles at the junior, U18 or mixed levels.
Calvert earned his spot in Sunday’s final by edging McDonald 8-7 in the Page 1-2 playoff Saturday evening. McDonald led 5-3 at the mid-game break but surrendered five points over the next four ends. Facing a McDonald stone on the button in the 10th, Calvert executed a near-perfect freeze, limiting McDonald to a single point.
Earlier in the playoffs, Walter defeated Marnoch 8-6 in the Page 3-4 game, running the Carberry rink out of stones in the 10th end. Marnoch had advanced with his upset of Carruthers, while Walter reached the playoff round with wins over Steve Irwin of Brandon and Tanner Lott of Fort Rouge.
The championship field featured a new triple knockout format, with Carruthers, McDonald, Calvert and Walter all advancing through the opening round unbeaten. Preliminary round wins for Calvert came over Stefan Gudmundson of Steinbach and Irwin, while McDonald defeated Derrick Anderson of Gimli and Marnoch. Walter’s early victories were against Marcus Titchkosky of Morden and Lott.
With the win, Calvert will represent Manitoba at the Montana’s Brier in St. John’s, N.L., from Feb. 28 to March 7. Manitoba will be represented by two teams at the national championship, as Matt Dunstone’s rink has pre-qualified for the event.
