Manitoba skip and Kamloops resident Matt Dunstone (left) celebrating the Manitoba men's provincial title (Image Credit: Curl Manitoba)

By Chad Klassen

2023 BRIER

Kamloops curler Dunstone going back to his Manitoba roots at 2023 Brier

Mar 2, 2023 | 3:53 PM

KAMLOOPS — Matt Dunstone has been to four Briers, and in the previous four he’s worn the Green and Yellow of Saskatchewan, even as a wildcard last year.

However, in the upcoming 2023 Brier in London, Dunstone will be wearing his home provincial colours — the Brown and Yellow of Manitoba.

“Yeah it’s going to be great. We knew we were going to be here in London, regardless of how that provincial championship went, but that still meant a lot to us, to go out and win that,” Dunstone told CFJC Today from London, where the Brier starts Friday (Mar. 3). “Obviously my first Buffalo.”

In the Manitoba final, Dunstone defeated Reid Carruthers 8-7 with three in the 10th end to win his first Manitoba men’s provincial championship.

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Wearing the Manitoba colours on the ice is familiar to Dunstone, who represented Manitoba during his 2013 and 2016 Canadian junior curling wins.

Dunstone then joined Steve Laycock’s Saskatchewan rink for the 2017-2018 season and then formed his own Saskatchewan rink.

He felt it was time to return to his home province, starting the conversations days after last year’s Brier.

“Curled there my whole life prior to playing in Saskatchewan. It’s where I grew up learning the game. Watched guys like Jeff Staughton, Kerry Burtnyk, Vic Peters growing up, my dad [Dean Dunstone],” he said. “So to be able to put together a team, a good competitive team in Manitoba was a pretty good opportunity and one I felt I couldn’t pass up.”

Dunstone enters this year’s Brier as the No. 1-ranked team, accumulating the most points on the curling circuit this season, with defending champion Brad Gushue and Team Canada ranked third.

“This is what we’ve worked our entire season for. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position to have a successful week and ultimately go and win gold for Canada. We haven’t been able to do that for a while to go out and win a world championship. That’s what motivates us,” said Dunstone.

The closest he’s been to winning the Brier and going to the worlds is back-to-back bronze medals in 2020 and 2021, losing to eventual champion Brendan Bottcher in the semi-final in 2021 by a tight 6-5 margin.

“The experience gained in those moments are completely invaluable. Definitely some of the bigger games I’ve ever played in were those semi-finals,” he said. “To be put back into position, it’s easy to be comfortable in those situations. You know exactly what to expect. If we happen to get in that situation again, I’m going to be very comfortable.”

He’d be even more comfortable once he wins the whole thing. It’s a younger field, which he says is great for the sport, but he’ll have to contend with Gushue and other former champions Bottcher and Kevin Koe.

“You’ve got Team Canada and Brad Gushue who’s won this thing, it seems like religiously lately. Brendan’s been in every final lately, Koe’s been in every final,” said Dunstone about the tough competition from the veteran teams. “Those have been the three skips that have been in the final the last six, seven years. Very excited to go out and compete against those guys because they’ve had a ton of success in the Brier lately. Hopefully we can take care of business against a couple of them this week.”