The 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts final, ultimately, came down to two shots.

Taking place in Mississauga, Ontario, it was an all-Manitoba affair, with Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada taking on Kaitlyn Lawes for the Canadian curling crown. Einarson’s rink came out on top 4-3 on the evening, stealing the extra-end victory.

And with five blanks and just seven total points scored across 11 ends of play, it’s no surprise that the final ended up being decided by the tightest of margins.

But it was the 10th-end angle raise by Einarson to force the 11th end that will remain as the defining highlight of the tournament.

“Kerri made a pistol,” Team Canada third Val Sweeting said postgame.

WIth a trio of her own guards above the house compared to four of Lawes’ stones inside, Einarson had to come up with a big moment in order to keep her chances alive.

“She saved us,” second Shannon Birchard said, who tied an all-time record with her sixth Scotties win.

“That's why she throws our last rock. She's clutch,” lead Karlee Burgess added.

For Einarson, it was those same teammates that helped give her the confidence to make the shot.

“I just saw it like, ‘do this for your teammates Kerri… they need you here!’ [I thought] we'll take this to an extra and we'll go from there. And yeah it was amazing. called amazing, throwing great and the girls just swept it,” she said.

But while those watching might’ve been unsure of the outcome of Einarson’s crucial shot, the fourth opposite her wasn’t all that surprised.

“I had confidence that she was going to make it,” Lawes said. “It wasn’t like an emotional rollercaster in any sense."

In the 11th end, Lawes was facing a similar chance for a big shot with her last, with Einarson sitting a rock right on the button. But attempting a double runback, Lawes was able to make contact with Einarson’s shot rock, but wasn’t able to move it away far enough, giving up a steal for the title.

“I had about a half inch of the rock and had to throw it and hope. So it was kind of a Hail Mary. I had to make my first one and was just a little bit short,” Lawes said of her final shot in the extra end,” Lawes said.

And while Lawes had the confidence in Einarson’s shot in the 10th, the same couldn’t be said in the opposite direction in the 11th.

“She hit it as perfect as she could. I don't think it was there unfortunately. She threw it great,” Einarson said of Lawes’ finals hot.

Einarson’s only two losses coming into the final were to Lawes, dropping 9-4 and 10-2 results to their provincial rivals. Lawes, on the other hand, had run the table, going 10-0 heading into Sunday.

“We just got on the wrong side of a couple rock placements and just guess it wasn't meant to be,” Lawes shared. “ wish I could have made that last shot for [my teammates].”

The win gives Einarson the right to both be Team Canada at the women’s world championship from March 14-22, taking place in Calgary, as well as next year’s Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown.

Lead image by Andrew Klaver/Curling Canada