By Kevin Snow, European curling writer
It hasn’t been the smoothest of seasons so far for Team Marc Muskatewitz, so maybe returning to the Kisakallio Sport Institute will stir up some positive mojo for the young German squad.
When the 2025 European Curling Championships get underway on Saturday in Lohja, Finland, Team Muskatewitz will enter the event as the defending champions, after defeating Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat for the gold medal in last year’s tournament. The win was not only the first major victory for Team Muskatewitz, but it was also Germany’s first European title in 20 years.
That win hasn’t translated into instant success for Team Muskatewitz, which also includes lead Johannes Scheuerl, second Felix Messenzehl, and third Benny Kapp.
They’ve compiled a record of 18-20 in eight events this season but have won just four of 13 games across the three Grand Slams. While they have made two semifinals and one quarterfinal this season, they have yet to qualify for a Grand Slam playoff.
Despite their record, nobody is panicked. You see, Muskatewitz is playing the long game.
With a berth in the 2026 Winter Olympics already locked up, the 29-year-old skip devised a season-long strategy that focused on the strength of schedule rather than more on-ice repetitions.
A quick glance at their schedule shows they haven’t faced any cream puffs this season. They’ve already battled the No. 1-ranked Mouat in each of the three Slams, in addition to four meetings with Switzerland’s Team Marco Hösli.
There’s definitely a method to Muskatewitz’s madness.
"This season is different than last season. Last season, we played a lot more tournaments. It was about quantity to get more training and experience. This year, we focused more on just the Grand Slams to prepare for the Olympics and have more training time in between,” explained Muskatewitz. “The biggest difference is we are always competing in tournaments where the top 16 teams are here. The competition is always very tough at these tournaments. It’s not like some of the other bonspiels, where you might have some easier games.
“From Slam to Slam, we make new milestones, set where we want to train and how to get better. Every game is usually very tight, and we’ve been happy with our progress.”
Having tasted victory on the European stage, Muskatewitz knows what Olympic success would do not only for his team, but for the entire country of Germany. He compared it to the ripple effect that John Shuster’s gold medal had across the United States following their win in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
“For me, it’s my biggest goal to go to the Olympics," Muskatewitz said. "It’s really big for me to represent Germany there. I think for German curling it will be very good. It will be like you saw when USA won the gold medal and how the sport was able to grow. It will also be huge just to get more views and more interest in the sport in Germany.”
Joining Muskatewitz in the 10-team men’s field are five familiar faces from the Grand Slams: Team Joël Retornaz (Italy), Team Bruce Mouat (Scotland), Team Yannick Schwaller (Switzerland), Team Niklas Edin (Sweden) and Team Magnus Ramsfjell (Norway).
Austria, Czechia, Denmark and Poland round out the men’s side. The top eight teams will qualify for the 2026 World Men’s Curling Championship that will take place March 27-April 4 in Ogden City, Utah.
A trio of Grand Slam regulars are part of the 10-team women’s bracket, including: Team Anna Hasselborg (Sweden), Team Rebecca Morrison (Scotland) and Team Stefania Constantini (Italy).
Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye comprise the remainder of the women’s field. The top seven teams will earn a spot in the 2026 World Women’s Curling Championship set for Calgary, from March 14-22.
A notable absence on the women’s side is defending champion Team Silvana Tirinzoni from Switzerland. Despite winning gold in 2024, Team Tirinzoni could only muster a third-place finish in last season's Swiss Women’s Championship, their lone opportunity to qualify for this event. Team Corrie Hürlimann will represent Switzerland at the Euros.
Both the men’s and women’s gold medal games will take place on Saturday, Nov. 29.
