Prior to the event, all the teams agreed not to use the new controversial 'black foam' brush heads, that are legal for competition. The new brush heads have firmer foam, which has caused debate among curlers,[4] with the ensuing controversy being dubbed "Broomgate 2.0" or "foamgate",[5] in reference to the brush head scandal from the 2015–16 season.
In Draw 6, Alberta (Jacobs) defeated Northwest Territories 20–2 setting a playoff-era record (since 1980) for most points scored in a game, breaking the record of 18 set in 2022 by Manitoba.[6] This was also the first time a team scored 20 or more points in a game at the Brier since 1968 (which was also held in Kelowna) when Manitoba defeated British Columbia 22–5.[7]
Team Canada, skipped by Brad Gushue was the first team to clinch a playoff berth in their morning game on March 5, after defeating Alberta's Kevin Koe rink, 7–6. Later in the day, Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen and Alberta's Brad Jacobs also earned playoff spots, after wins against Saskatchewan's Rylan Kleiter and Team Ontario (Sam Mooibroek), respectively. Kevin Koe, a former World Champion was eliminated from playoff competition for the second straight season.[8]
On March 6, Reid Carruthers of Manitoba took the last playoff spot in Pool A, which had been dubbed the "Pool of Death" due to its depth.[9] He had the evening off, but clinched after Manitoba's Matt Dunstone beat Gushue, which earned Dunstone first place in the pool, and gave Carruthers the tiebreaker advantage over Northern Ontario's John Epping who finished with the same record, as they had beaten them in pool play. Had Gushue won, Epping would have made the playoffs instead. In Pool B, Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell earned the final playoff sport after beating Ontario.[10] It was the first time Nova Scotia made the playoffs since 2006.[11]
In the 1/2 playoff qualifier games, Team Manitoba–Dunstone took on Saskatchewan–McEwen, while Alberta–Jacobs took on Team Canada, skipped by Brad Gushue. Dunstone beat McEwen 6–5, sending his team to the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game, and relegating McEwen to play Manitoba–Carruthers in the 3/4 qualifier game. Meanwhile, Gushue defeated Jacobs 7–4 in the other 1/2 game, in the "battle of the Brads", putting Team Canada in the 1 vs. 2 page playoff, and sending Jacobs into the 3/4 game against Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell rink.[12] In the Gushue–Jacobs game, Jacobs missed an in-off in the seventh which could have resulted in multiple points, but instead resulted in a Gushue steal. It was Team Jacobs' first loss in the event.[13]
In the 3/4 games, Team Carruthers sent McEwen packing, defeating them 6–4, while Jacobs sent Team Nova Scotia home, beating them 10–6. The turning point in the McEwen–Carruthers game came in the sixth end, when McEwen attempted a double takeout for three. He hit the first Carruthers rock too thin, resulting in a steal of two instead, an error McEwen later called "catastrophic", and a "monumental error in reading angles", as the shot for three may not have even been possible. The wins put Carruthers and Jacobs into the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game.[12][13]
In the page 3 vs. 4 game, Jacobs defeated Carruthers, 6–5. Carruthers blamed his loss on a few "half shots". Meanwhile, in the page 1 vs. 2 game, Dunstone beat Team Canada 7–4. Team Canada skip Brad Gushue blamed his defeat on an "ad hoc" strategy, failing to "build many ends". The win put Jacobs into the semifinal to face Gushue, while Dunstone earned a bye into the final with his team's win. Carruthers was eliminated.[14]
In the semifinal, Team Jacobs beat Canada's Brad Gushue rink 7–5. Jacobs took a 3–1 lead in the fifth when they scored three after Gushue ticked a guard on his first, and missed a hit and roll attempt on his last. This allowed Jacobs to make a hit for the three points. Gushue came back with a three-ender of his own in the eighth when he made a double takeout on his last stone of the end to take a 5–4 lead. Jacobs responded by making a hit for two in the ninth to take a 6–5 lead into the last end. The game came down to the last shots, with both teams facing time-clock pressure. On his last, Jacobs made a draw to the four-foot behind a guard to sit shot. To win, Gushue had to tap the rock back to score two points. On his final shot, Gushue threw the rock heavy, only grazing the Jacobs rock, giving up a steal and the game. The crowd gasped after the miss by the six-time Brier champion who was looking for his fourth straight championship.[15] The win put Jacobs into the Brier final for the first time in 10 years.[16]
In the final, Team Jacobs took on Team Dunstone in front of a sellout crowd of 5,483. Team Dunstone started with hammer, and blanked the first four ends. In the fifth, Jacobs missed a cross-house double which was followed up by Dunstone drawing for two to take a 2–0 lead. In the sixth end, Dunstone made a tapback to sit two, forcing Jacobs to draw for a single. In the seventh, Dunstone jammed on a double attempt which gave Jacobs a steal to tie the game at two. The teams then blanked the eighth. In the ninth end, Dunstone flashed on his first shot, and would be forced to take a single point, to take a 3–2 lead into the final end. In the 10th end, Team Dunstone tried to bunch up stones around the button in an attempt to force Jacobs to just one, but Team Jacobs made eight perfect shots in the end. On his first Jacobs made a soft tap to sit four, which Dunstone replied by making a freeze to hold Jacobs to sit just one. On Jacob's final stone, he picked out the frozen Dunstone rock to score three, and with it the Brier championship. It was Jacobs' first Brier title since 2013, the fourth Brier championship for third Marc Kennedy, and the fifth title for second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert.[17] It was the first time in Brier history that a team won four straight elimination games to win the event.[16]
A total of eighteen teams qualified for the 2025 Brier. The fourteen Canadian curling member associations held playdowns to determine who represented their province or territory. Team Canada was represented by Team Brad Gushue, who won the 2024 Montana's Brier.[18]
In a slight change in the qualification format from 2024, three teams in the field pre-qualified for the 2025 Brier based on their 2023–24Canadian Team Ranking Standings, which meant they bypassed the provincial qualifiers. These spots went to Teams Brad Jacobs, Mike McEwen and Matt Dunstone.[19] This was different from the 2024 qualification where two teams pre-qualified for the event with the final spot going to the highest ranked team on the CTRS standings following the conclusion of the provincial championships.[20]
Team Canada Pre-Qualified Teams Provincial Winners Provincial winners that are in the same location as Team Canada or the Pre-Qualified teams are listed at the bottom
The Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award is presented to the player chosen by their fellow peers as the curler who best represented Harstone's high ideals of good sportsmanship, observance of the rules, exemplary conduct and curling ability.[27]
The Paul McLean Award is presented by TSN to a media person who has made a lasting contribution behind the scenes to the betterment of the sport.[27]
Ted Wyman (in memoriam; accepted by his son Chris) – a respected longtime curling writer for the Winnipeg Sun who lost his battle with cancer in November 2024.
The Ray Kingsmith Award is presented to an individual who best demonstrates the committment and dedication to the sport that made Kingsmith the consummate sport executive.[27]
^ abcFor the last three ends of Draw 15, Team Canada's alternate Adam Casey threw second stones, second Brendan Bottcher threw third stones and third Mark Nichols sat out.
^For the last two ends of Draw 9, Team Alberta skip Kevin Koe removed himself from the game with the rest of the team moving up the lineup one position. Alternate Mike Libbus threw lead rocks and skipped the game.
^ abTeam British Columbia's alternate Paul Cseke threw lead stones for the last end of Draw 11.
^ abTeam Manitoba (Carruthers)'s alternate Kyle Doering threw second stones for the last three ends of Draws 3 and 13.
^ abcFor the last two ends of Draw 11, Team New Brunswick's alternate Drew Grattan threw lead stones, lead Andy McCann threw second stones and second Paul Dobson sat out.
^ abTeam Newfoundland and Labrador's alternate Nathan King threw lead stones for the last three ends of Draw 3.
^ abTeam Ontario's alternate Gavin Lydiate threw lead stones for the last three ends of Draw 4.
^ abTeam Saskatchewan (Kleiter)'s alternate John Mattern threw lead stones for the last end of Draw 8.
^ abcTeam Northwest Territories used a front-end rotation.
^ abcFor the last three ends of Draw 12, Team Saskatchewan (McEwen)'s alternate Brent Laing threw second stones, second Kevin Marsh threw third stones and third Colton Flasch sat out.
^ abTeam Manitoba (Dunstone)'s alternate Adam Kingsbury threw lead stones for the last end of Draw 3.
Alberta (Jacobs)
Manitoba (Dunstone)
Saskatchewan (McEwen)
Canada (Gushue)
Northern Ontario (Epping)
Ontario (Mooibroek)
Quebec (Ménard)
Nova Scotia (Purcell)
British Columbia (de Jong)
New Brunswick (Grattan)
Prince Edward Island (Smith)
Yukon (Scoffin)
Newfoundland and Labrador (Dilello)
Northwest Territories (Bartling)
Nunavut (Latimer)
2025 Boston Pizza Cup (Alberta): February 5–9
2025 BC Men's Curling Championship: January 21–26
2025 Viterra Championship (Manitoba): February 5–9
2025 New Brunswick Tankard: January 29 – February 2
2025 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard: January 21–25
2025 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship: January 21–26
2025 Northwest Territories Men's Curling Championship: January 30 – February 2
2025 Ocean Contractors Men's Curling Championship (Nova Scotia): January 14–19
2025 Nunavut Brier Playdowns: January 10–11
2025 Ontario Tankard: January 19–26
2025 PEI Men's Curling Championship: January 23–25
2025 Quebec Tankard: January 14–19
2025 SaskTel Tankard (Saskatchewan): January 21–26
2025 Yukon Men's Curling Championship: January 10–11