'Hungry' Brad Jacobs skips Canada to big first day at curling worldson March 30, 2025 at 12:38 am

The first day of the World Men’s Curling Championship finally arrived Saturday for Brad Jacobs. Read More

The first day of the World Men’s Curling Championship finally arrived Saturday for Brad Jacobs. It’s been a long wait — in fact, a dozen years — since Draw 1 of his last push-off from the hack at the high-profile event in the bid for global supremacy. And there was no holding back to open

Team Canada skip Brad Jacobs of Calgary AB during draw 1 against team Japan. Curling Canada/ Michael Burns Photo Photo by michael burns photo /Curling Canada/michael burns pho

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The first day of the World Men’s Curling Championship finally arrived Saturday for Brad Jacobs.

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It’s been a long wait — in fact, a dozen years — since Draw 1 of his last push-off from the hack at the high-profile event in the bid for global supremacy.

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And there was no holding back to open the 2025 edition in Moose Jaw, Sask.

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“We’ve been looking forward to this day for a really long time,” said Jacobs, Canada’s talented skip from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., whose crew from Calgary started its schedule with two wins — a Saturday afternoon 7-3 decision in nine ends over Japan’s Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi and a 7-5 top of Germany’s Marc Muskatewitz (0-1) at Temple Gardens Centre.

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“Great start to the worlds,” Jacobs told TSN late Saturday. “We’re 2-0, and the boys played awesome. Just an awesome day all-around.”

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It’s the fifth worlds for Canada third Marc Kennedy, 43.

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Same for lead Ben Hebert, 42.

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And the fourth for the youngest guy on the Canadian squad, 35-year-old second Brett Gallant.

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But for 39-year-old Jacobs, it’s just his second appearance comes in without a visit to the worlds since 2013 in Victoria, B.C.

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To boot, the others of the Brier-winning rink have all been at least twice since — Kennedy in 2016 Basel (Switzerland) and 2021 Calgary, Gallant in 2017 Edmonton, 2018 Las Vegas and 2022 Las Vegas and Hebert in 2016 Basel and 2019 Lethbridge.

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“And I’m the only guy on our team who hasn’t won a world championship,” continued Jacobs, who’s flanked by a pair of two-time winners in Kennedy and Hebert and one-time champ Gallant.

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“You can’t get any more hungry than me.”

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Jacobs certainly showed his hunger in the win over Japan, with his accuracy a sizzling 97% — including 100% on draws — in the first-game victory.

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Perhaps the skip’s best contribution was the perfect pick of a Japanese rock he made to score the deuce in the eighth end.

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And his rink-mates joined in on the solid execution for a team-toal 93%, to help Canada open scoring with a deuce in the fourth and a game-breaking three-ender in the sixth. The latter was set up by Hebert’s key hit-and-roll.

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“Our skipper ended off at the Brier where he did (Saturday),” said Hebert, of Jacobs’ hot hand. “So we’re riding the hot hand and really riding the energy of the crowd out there. It got us going. Had the goose-bumps going a couple of times.”