Could we see a skip win in their first appearance at the World Men's Curling Championship?
It happened on the women’s side, with Switzerland's Xenia Schwaller capturing gold this past weekend in Calgary, and now we turn our attention to the men’s tournament, which begins Friday in Ogden, Utah.
Canada’s Matt Dunstone skips the highest-ranked team entering the event at No. 4 in the world and will make his World Men's Curling Championship debut. Scotland's Ross Whyte, whose team is right behind Dunstone at No. 5 in the rankings, also fits the bill. Whyte has made two previous appearances as an alternate, but will now make his first appearance as a skip.
Another similarity to the women's tournament: none of the medallists from the Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina are present. Canada's Brad Jacobs, Scotland's Bruce Mouat and Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller were also on the podium at last year's men's worlds in Moose Jaw, Sask.
Meanwhile, veteran skip John Shuster of the United States has been on a roll this season and aims to win his first world championship on home ice. Sweden’s Niklas Edin has already claimed a record seven world men’s titles as a skip as he looks for one more.
Here’s a rundown of the 13-team field. Six teams will advance to the playoffs following the conclusion of round-robin play, with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals.
CANADA
World Ranking: No. 4
Lineup: Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden
Dunstone had his banner moment earlier this month, winning his first Canadian men’s title at the Montana’s Brier in St. John’s, N.L. The 30-year-old will wear the Maple Leaf for the first time since the world juniors in 2016. That's where the experience of the Harnden Bros. will come in handy. E.J. has earned four silver medals at the men's worlds, while Ryan has two. It'll also be E.J.'s final event with the team before he steps back from full-time curling.
Dunstone won his second Grand Slam of Curling men’s title at the AMJ Masters in September and was the runner-up in two other events in the series. The Winnipeg-based club has had its ups and downs this season, but is riding the momentum from its Brier title.
Brad Gushue skipped Canada to its most recent championship victory at the men's worlds in 2017. Gushue's team featured lead Geoff Walker, who is with Dunstone this week as the alternate.
CHINA
World Ranking: No. 12
Lineup: Xu Xiaoming, Fei Xueqing, Li Zhichao, Yu Sen
After just missing the podium in fourth at the men’s worlds last year, Xu's team had a disappointing performance at the Olympic Winter Games, finishing at the back of the pack with a 2-7 record. They reached the semifinals of the Crown Royal Players’ Championship in January, becoming the first Chinese men’s team to make it to the final four of a Grand Slam event since Liu Rui’s team in 2013. Fun fact: Xu threw second stones for Liu.
CZECHIA
World Ranking: No. 28
Lineup: Lukas Klima, Marek Cernovsky, Martin Jurik, Lukas Klipa
Klima was the first to represent Czechia in men’s curling at the Olympic Winter Games, and finished eighth in Milano Cortina with a 3-6 record. The team just missed the playoffs at the men’s worlds last year with a personal-best 6-6 record, one win shy of the qualification stage. They have the potential to make the cut this time.
GERMANY
World Ranking: No. 20
Lineup: Marc Muskatewitz, Benjamin Kapp, Felix Messenzehl, Johannes Scheuerl
Muskatewitz put the curling world on notice when his team upset Mouat to win gold at the 2024 European Curling Championships. We’re still waiting for the encore performance as the team finished eighth at the men's worlds last year (5-7 record) and missed the playoffs at the Olympic Winter Games as well in seventh (4-5 record).
ITALY
World Ranking: No. 7
Lineup: Stefano Spiller, Amos Mosaner, Sebastiano Arman, Alberto Pimpini
Were you expecting Joël Retornaz? The veteran skip decided not to compete in the men’s worlds as he prepares for Rock League. Enter Spiller, who skipped Italy to gold at the World Junior Curling Championships last year and earned silver at the event this season. That’s not the only change. Pimpini, who has served as Retornaz’s alternate, is listed as lead with Mattia Giovanella on the bench. This event might be more of a learning experience than anything else.
JAPAN
World Ranking: No. 16
Lineup: Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (skip/third), Riku Yanagisawa (fourth), Takeru Yamamoto, Satoshi Koizumi
The team just missed out on a trip to Milano Cortina after losing to China for the final berth at the Olympic Qualification Event in December. Yamaguchi has already earned one medal on American ice this season, claiming bronze at the Pan Continental Curling Championships in the fall in Virginia, Minn. The team will look to improve after finishing ninth at the men’s worlds last year with a 5-7 record.
NORWAY
World Ranking: No. 48
Lineup: Andreas Haarstad, Wilhelm Naess, Michael Mellemseter, Mathias Braenden
Haarstad made his debut at the men’s worlds in 2019, playing lead for Magnus Ramsfjell, and now returns in the skip role. Ramsfjell will be tagging along as the team’s alternate. Like Norway’s team at the women’s worlds, this will be all about gaining experience — and avoiding relegation.
POLAND
World Ranking: No. 90
Lineup: Konrad Stych, Krzysztof Domin, Marcin Cieminski, Bartosz Lobaza
Stych not only makes his first appearance at the men’s worlds, but it’s also Poland’s first appearance in the event. The team finished seventh at the European Curling Championships in the fall to guarantee a spot here, and will be in a fight to keep it and avoid relegation as the lowest-ranked team in the field.
SCOTLAND
World Ranking: No. 5
Lineup: Ross Whyte, Robin Brydone, Craig Waddell, Euan Kyle
The three-time Scottish champs have been waiting for this moment. With Mouat's team not in the running for selection after competing at the Olympic Winter Games, Whyte's crew could not be denied this time. Whyte reached the final at the past two Grand Slam events and won his second career title at the Crown Royal Players’ Championship.
SOUTH KOREA
World Ranking: 40
Lineup: Chang-min Kim (skip/third), Soo-hyuk Kim (fourth), Min-hyeon Yoo, Jae-ik Jeon
South Korea featured a strong contingent in the women’s division this season, with three teams in the top 15 of the rankings. The men’s teams have some catching up to do. Team Kim finished fifth at the Pan Continental Curling Championships to qualify here, but missed out on a trip to Milano Cortina with a fourth-place result at the Olympic Qualification Event.
SWEDEN
World Ranking: No. 13
Lineup: Niklas Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranaa, Christoffer Sundgren
Edin will look to bounce back from a miserable Olympic Winter Games where his team finished ninth with a 2-7 record. The team is still full of surprises, as seen with their gold performances at the European Curling Championships in the fall and at the men’s worlds two years ago.
SWITZERLAND
World Ranking: No. 18
Lineup: Marco Hoesli (skip/third), Philipp Hoesli (fourth), Simon Gloor, Justin Hausherr
Hoesli defeated Schwaller in the best-of-three final at the Swiss curling championships, less than a week after Schwaller earned Olympic bronze in Milano Cortina. Could we see a Swiss sweep at the world championships and in the first appearance for both teams? Hoesli’s team will face a tougher road ahead, but a playoff spot is certainly a possibility.
UNITED STATES
World Ranking: No. 8
Lineup: John Shuster, Christopher Plys, Colin Hufman, Matt Hamilton
It’s the last dance for the team as both Christopher Plys and Colin Hufman are planning to step back at the end of the season and look to be going out on top. The team reached at least the semifinal round in 10 of 11 events this season — the lone exception being the Crown Royal Players’ Championship, where Shuster eliminated Mouat in a tiebreaker before falling to eventual champ Whyte in the quarterfinals. The 2018 Olympic gold medallist Shuster is making his 12th appearance at the men's worlds and this might be his best shot at the title.
PREDICTIONS
This reporter’s bold prediction at the start of 2026 was that Whyte was going to win everything: Crown Royal Players’ Championship, Scottish Curling Championship, World Men’s Curling Championship and Rock League. Whoa, we’re halfway there, so we’re sticking with that for now. Dunstone and Shuster appear to be the most likely to disrupt that.
