Team Casper defeated Team Shuster, 7-6, in a nailbiter that will be remembered for its dramatic and controversial 7th end.

Trailing 3-2 in Game 1 of the men's event finals, skip Danny Casper delivered a hammer stone that wound up scoring his rink a massively crucial four points. However, Casper sweeper Luc Violette, as well as Team Shuster skip John Shuster and sweeper Chris Plys, acknowledged Violette slightly moved a stationary Shuster rock in a crowded house, pushing it slightly further away from the pin. Upon review, it became clear he did just that, knocking the rock about three-fourths of an inch from its original resting spot.

“It’s my responsibility to let them know,” Violette said in a postgame interview. “Although that one was obvious enough that Chris, John and I all knew about it. That whole interaction was a great example of the ‘spirit of curling’ which is part of our rulebook. It’s one of the things that makes curling unique and cool.”

As the opposing skip of the offending team, John Shuster was tasked with deciding how to proceed. He determined that the stone Violette nicked did not impact the number of points Team Casper would have accrued had it not been displaced initially. Therefore, Casper scored the four points instead of three. Matt Hamilton of Team Shuster was visibly displeased, shaking his head in what appeared to be frustration.

Shuster picked up two points in the following end to cut the deficit to one, and then stole another point in the ninth to tie things up. Each member of Team Casper delivered the stones of their lives in the tenth, with their captain throwing the game-clinching hammer rock that earned them a one-point victory. 

John Shuster lunges forward to deliver a curling stone

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

We’ll never know if Shuster’s honorable seventh-end call ultimately was responsible for his rink losing the contest, but it’s difficult to ignore that they did fall short by a single point—a Casper point that would have been taken away if Shuster came to a different conclusion.

After the game, with more time to process what happened, the Olympic gold medalist brought up an interesting additional point: “I didn't even think about Luc sweeping before he was allowed to sweep. You can’t sweep before a [stationary] rock [in the house] gets hit.”

If Violette did indeed sweep too early as Shuster claimed, it could have resulted in a rule violation and removal of the stone (and thus, removal of a point).

“We played one really bad end, and that's curling,” the 43-year-old continued. “If you play a bad end and someone hangs a big number on you, it's hard to win. But if we get my last rock a foot deeper, we might win that game.” 

The loss marks Team Shuster’s first of the Trials. Meanwhile, Team Casper is now one win shy of a major upset and from securing a place in December’s international Olympic Qualification Event (where they, along with seven other countries, will vie for two final spots at the Milan Cortina Games). Despite the deflating defeat, Shuster remains confident.

“I don't doubt my team's ability. Ever.”

Game 2 of the men’s event final begins at 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday and streams live on both Peacock and USA Network.

Team Peterson struck first and pulled away late from Team Cousins to take a 1-0 lead in their Trials championship series. 

The contest was tight throughout, until the eighth end. Skip Tabitha Peterson proved why she’s stone cold on the sheet, delivering a three-point hammer rock after a beautiful setup by teammate (and future mixed doubles Olympian) Cory Thiesse. 

Skip Elizabeth Cousins threw a nice shot of her own immediately following Thiesse’s, and it appeared as if she was going to limit the damage to a point or two. Not so. As she often does, Peterson rose to the moment and nailed the most clutch throw of the 2025 Trials to date.  

"We're right where we want to be," Tabitha said. "Winning the first one is always a good momentum swing."

Team Cousins clinched a finals berth in a tiebreak victory over Team Strouse. Hours later, their backs are against the wall once again, as they face another elimination scenario.

Meanwhile, the Peterson rink, who lost just one game during pool play, is on the precipice of winning the overall spiel. The 2025 national champions have the opportunity to close out their opponents tomorrow in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. 

A Team Trials triumph would be the second in a row for Tabitha and her sister, Tara Peterson, who accomplished the feat in 2021 ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games. More importantly, it would send them to the international Olympic Qualification Event in December. A top-two finish there secures them a place at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Of course, there’s still plenty of Team Trials left to play with a desperate Team Cousins trying to stay alive.

Game 2 of the women's event final streams live at 3:00 p.m. E.T. Saturday on Peacock and USA Network. 

Team Dwyer/Emt defeated Team Ricker/Samsa in Game 1 of the Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Trials finals. The Wisconsin-based rink led wire-to-wire, dominating from the first throw. They put up four quick points in the first end and didn’t look back, cruising to a 9-1 victory in six ends.

As the reigning wheelchair mixed doubles national champions, Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt represented the U.S. at the 2025 World Championships, placing ninth and earning the country a bid at the 2026 Winter Paralympics.  

At a pre-Trials event in September, Team Dwyer/Emt and Team Ricker/Samsa were the two rinks (out of eight competing) to secure spots at the Winter Paralympic Mixed Doubles Curling Trials.

Now, Dwyer and Emt have the chance to qualify for the Milan Cortina Games with a win, where mixed doubles curling will make its Paralympic debut.

Game 2 starts at 10:00 a.m. ET Saturday and streams live on Peacock and NBC Sports Digital. 

The full schedule for the remaining best-of-three championship contests can be found below.