The two-time defending champions are once again the favourite to win next week’s newly named Bunge Championship for the provincial men’s curling crown.
With Team Matt Dunstone not in the field as a pre-qualified team for the Brier, Team Reid Carruthers from the Granite Curling Club was voted the top seed by his fellow curlers.
Carruthers, a nine-time provincial men’s champion, has hoisted the trophy in three of the last four years, although he’s had a different lineup each time. This time he enters with the same foursome that beat Braden Calvert in last year’s final with BJ Neufeld at third, Catlin Schneider at second, and Connor Njegovan at lead.
Team Jordon McDonald of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club is ranked second, followed by Calvert of the Heather Curling Club. The Assiniboine’s Brett Walter is seeded fourth and Tanner Lott of the Fort Rouge Curling Club rounds out the top five.
“It’s always a loaded lineup in Manitoba,” said Carruthers’ fifth Kyle Doering. “This is one of, if not the hardest province to win. And so, I think whoever does win this championship will have an excellent chance at the Brier.”
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Even without Dunstone, it’s still a pretty stacked field again this year.
“It’s tough,” said Walter. “It’s one of the toughest provincials for a reason. And with how many teams there always is in this provincials, you got to be on your A-game at all times. And the competition is tough and you can’t take anybody for granted at any point.”
It’s the first year for the new format, with the field getting chopped from 32 teams down to 24. And it’s now a triple-knockout instead of the usual double-knockout format.
“I think I’ll be in favour of it,” Walter said. “Cause you never know, there’s always the top teams, or even some of the teams that aren’t at the top that have a bad first game, right? And then you’re already down to your last life.
“So, now it kind of gives you a chance to get maybe that one bad game early out of the way and deal with the struggles that you may have had on ice reading or just how you’re throwing it.”
The 2026 Bunge Championship begins Tuesday in Selkirk, Man.
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