Purcell, Asselin early Brier entries after winning provincial men's curling finals
18 teams will compete Feb. 28 to March 9 in Kelowna
Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell and Quebec's Felix Asselin joined the Canadian men's curling championship field by winning their respective provincial finals Sunday.
Purcell, who defeated Kendall Thompson 8-5 in Halifax, will make his debut as skip at the Montana's Brier in Kelowna, B.C.
Asselin's 9-3 victory over Robert Desjardins in Alma, Que., marks the return of his third and former Canadian champ Jean-Michel Menard to the Brier.
Menard, the 2006 national champion and world silver medallist, stepped back from men's competitive curling in 2018 before joining Asselin's team this season. Asselin makes his fifth Brier appearance and second as skip after going 5-3 in 2023.
Purcell and Asselin were among the first provincial and territorial representatives determined for the 18-team field Feb. 28 to March 9 in Kelowna.
Six-time champ Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., has already punched his Brier ticket as defending champion.
Teams skipped by Brad Jacobs, Mike McEwen and Matt Dunstone pre-qualified for the event based on their rankings at the end of the 2023-24 season.
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Jacobs, a Canadian, world and Olympic champion, took over as skip of Brendan Bottcher's Alberta-based team before the season began.
Thomas Scoffin was crowned Yukon's champion earlier in January when his team won a best-of-five territorial final over Dustin Mikkelson with three straight wins.
Scoffin will skip Yukon at the Brier for the sixth time. His team posted a 2-6 record last year in Regina.
Shane Latimer will represent Nunavut a second straight year after beating Peter Macey three straight in a best-of-five series. Latimer went 1-7 in his Brier debut last year in Regina.
Provincial and territorial men's championships were still to be played in Northwest Territories, B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northern Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
The Brier field will be complete Feb. 9 when the Alberta and Manitoba men's champions are crowned.
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