Playoff-bound Canadian men's curlers defeat Olympic hosts Italy, overcoming slow start

Amos Mosaner threw his water bottle on the coach's bench after a critical miss. Italian teammate Sebastiano Arman kicked a rock against the bumper so hard he flipped the stone over.

Brad Jacobs left his opponents frustrated and discouraged on Wednesday after an 8-3 Canada victory that left the host team on the Olympic playoff bubble with one game remaining.

"Italy melted down, and we were able to get that win," Jacobs said.

A four-point steal in the sixth end gave Canada a 7-3 lead. Italian skip Joel Retornaz missed a cross-house double-takeout in the seventh, and the teams shook hands.

The victory gave Canada hammer in its semifinal game on Thursday night and left Italy (4-4) in a dogfight to make the four-team playoff cut.

Jacobs and his Calgary-based side of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert will finish second in the round-robin standings after improving to 7-1.

Playoff-bound Brad Jacobs defeats Italy at Milano Cortina 2026

"When the other team is showing their frustration, that's when we start to feel like we've got them," Jacobs said.

A round-robin finale against Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell in the morning will be Canada's last playoff tune-up.

Italy took a 3-0 lead when Jacobs had his rock roll out after a double-takeout in the third end. Canada rebounded with a deuce in the fourth and was gifted another point when Retornaz ticked a blank attempt.

"We started to get a few breaks and the back end was making some big shots," Gallant said. "All of a sudden, it turned in our favour."

Both teams shot 83 per cent, but Retornaz struggled at 63 per cent, including just 50 per cent on draws.

"We missed a lot of shots," said Italian national coach Marco Mariani. "That performance was not good enough in the sixth end