There is a shocking leader at the 2024 Montanas Brier at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. At four wins and one loss, it is Jamie Koe of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, who leads Pool B.
On Monday, Koe won both of his games, as he defeated Team Canada’s Brad Gushue, the gold medalist from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, 7-5 and then Nunavut’s Shane Latimer 9-2. There were two major reasons why we saw Koe beat Gushue. In the fifth end, Gushue came up light with his final stone, and forced Koe to steal two points. Then in the eighth end, Koe took a 6-3 lead when Gushue was unsuccessful with a double takeout.
We also saw greatness on Monday from Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith. Canada’s smallest province is 3-1 after a 10-3 win over Nunavut and a shocking 8-5 win over Alberta. So far Smith is curling 86% for the week, which is tied for third among all skips. Smith is actually tied with Koe. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan lost their first game of the week on Monday, as they were beaten 7-4 by Nova Scotia. Gushue meanwhile regrouped in the evening draw and beat Alberta’s Kevin Koe 8-3.
Four teams are above .500 in Pool A. Brad Jacobs’s Team Manitoba is 3-0, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot are 3-1, and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone are 2-1.
