Canada's Team Brad Jacobs and China's Team Wang Rui claimed gold medals at the Pan Continental Curling Championships.
Jacobs defeated Team John Shuster of the United States 7-3, and Wang fended off Canada's Team Rachel Homan 7-6 during Sunday's finals in Virginia, Minn.
Tied 3-all, Jacobs capitalized with an open hit to score a deuce in the ninth and added two more points from a steal in the 10th.
Team Jacobs ran the table, completing a 9-0 run through the tournament, as the Calgary-based club now turns its attention to the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe, Nov. 4-9 in Lake Tahoe, Nev., followed by the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, Nov. 22-30 in Halifax.
"We played some tough teams here, especially in the last couple of games," Jacobs said in a Curling Canada release. "Great crowd, great ice, and I think it was a great simulation for the next Slam and the Trials.
"It's always great to throw the Maple Leaf on, and it makes you a little bit more hungry and motivated to go and try to wear it again."
It was the third time Canada earned men's gold in the four-year history of the event. Team Brad Gushue won back-to-back gold medals in 2022 and 2023 and finished fourth last year.
World Curling announced earlier this month that this would be the final edition of the Pan Continental Curling Championships.
Meanwhile, Wang also wrapped up the week with an unblemished 9-0 record.
Trailing 3-2 against Homan, Wang grabbed the lead for good with a deuce in the sixth, followed by a single steal in the seventh. Homan was held to a single in the eighth, and Wang added two more points in the ninth. The two-time reigning world champion Homan held the hammer coming home, but she couldn't score more than a deuce.
"We had some opportunities, and just didn't quite guess right in the spots that we hadn't seen," Homan said in a Curling Canada release. "That was really the difference."
The Ottawa-based Team Homan arrived at the event straight from winning a second consecutive Grand Slam of Curling title at the CO-OP Tour Challenge last Sunday in Nisku, Alta.
“You're going to learn more from your losses,” Homan added in the release. “We know what to work on moving forward. I think we came into this a little bit tired, and I’m really proud of my team for battling through when it was hard, and when it was a bit of a grind mid-week. We made a ton of shots out there. They (China) made everything, and kudos to them. It's just been the end of a long two weeks for us, and we're really proud of how we did.
“We're really excited to get home and see our families, and recharge, and get some rest, and be ready for the next Slam.”
Homan took gold in the event last year, with Canada's Team Kerri Einarson winning bronze in 2022 and finishing fourth in 2023.
Earlier Sunday, Japan's Team Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi beat China's Team Xu Xiaoming 6-5, and South Korea's Team Eun-ji Gim topped Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States 11-8 in an extra end during the bronze medal games.
