How Four-time champion Kevin Koe crashed out of contention at Brier
Among the surprises to start the 2024 Canadian men’s curling championship, four-time champion Kevin Koe’s struggles were completely unexpected.
The buzz around four teams toppling higher seeds on the fourth day of the Montana’s Brier spilled into Tuesday, when the No. 3 men’s team in Canada added to the drama in Regina by falling out of playoff contention with a fifth loss.
“This is about rock bottom,” Koe said after an 11-5 loss to Nova Scotia’s Matthew Manuel. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve been to a lot of Briers. This is a new feeling. It sucks.”
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Koe, third Tyler Tardi and lead Karrick Martin are in their second season together with Jacques Gauthier the newcomer at second when Brad Thiessen stepped back from the sport.
The four men out of Calgary’s Glencoe Club have been assembled with the 2025 Olympic trials in mind.
A 1-5 record to start the Brier — the win was against Kevin’s brother Jamie, who called his older sibling’s losing record “really shocking” — doesn’t have Kevin pondering changes to his lineup.
If the team holds onto its ranking through April’s Players Championship in Toronto to season’s end, Koe could pre-qualify for the 2025 Brier in Kelowna, B.C., under new Curling Canada criteria.
