A spectacular start to 2026 for British Curling’s Team Whyte continued on home ice as they overcame a strong field to claim the Perth Masters title for the first time, beating Italy’s World Junior Champions Team Spiller 6-3 in the final at The Dewar’s Centre.
Just seven days after they had clinched the last title of the season on the lucrative Canadian Grand Slam of Curling circuit at The Players’ Championship in Manitoba, Ross Whyte, Robin Brydone, Craig Waddell and Euan Kyle proved too strong for the young Italians as they also overcame jet-lag to power through the event. 
There had been concern that their schedule might have caught up with them when they lost their opening match in Perth, but from that point the world no.5 ranked quartet demonstrated why they had come into this event as favourites and for no-one was the victory more special than vice skip Brydone, who grew up in this venue.
In those days the leading Canadian teams were regular visitors to this event and Brydone made his debut as a teenager, facing Sweden’s Team Edin in the year that they won their first of their record seven World Championship titles.
Nowadays, the boot is very much on the other foot with Scottish teams having featured in the last 10 Grand Slam finals in Canada, winning eight of them, with Whyte’s men beating compatriots Team Waddell in an all-Scottish final in Manitoba last week.
However, it was still hugely meaningful for Brydone to be part of the team winning this trophy at last, in front of his baby daughter Brooke and his Canadian partner Clancy Grandy, who has twice won the women’s event at the Masters.
“It means a lot to win this title,” said the 29-year-old.
“I can remember my first time here when I was about five years old and seeing all the top Canadian curlers at this event, Randy Ferbey, Glenn Howard and the likes, so to finally get my name on that trophy has been a long time coming but it feels amazing to finally win it.
“It’s been a really busy few weeks and it shows that last weekend wasn’t a fluke and it wasn’t just a hot streak in one week. 
“We came back here with a bit of jetlag and a bit of fatigue and we have been able to grind away here.
“It wasn’t our best week of curling performance wise but if we can not play at our best and still get the win then we will take that and it is showing good things and if we keep doing that then it will be great.
”We were just off a plane and barely had a chance to practice and came back in and we were maybe a little tired and dropped that first game, but after that we got on a roll and got hold of the ice conditions and played well from there.”
In an unprecedented era of domestic curling, Brydone paid tribute to the way current World Champions and long-time World number one ranked Team Mouat have set standards that the rest are aspiring to match.
“I think the phrase is that success breeds success and it is quite apt in this case and this new era of curling in Scotland,” said Brydone.
“Bruce and the guys have done a great job before us and I think the big chase after each other meant that we have all had to get better and had to improve and I think we have really started to show the world what we are capable of here, which is really impressive for a small country like Scotland when we have less than 10,000 curlers in the country.”
That naturally extends to looking to challenge the supremacy of the team that will represent Team GB in the men’s event at next month’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
“We would love to be at the Games, but obviously we are not and Bruce and boys are going having earned that right over the last quad.
“I think what we have done since the start of the year, competing in two events and winning them I think we have put ourselves in good stead for the next quad and 2030 and trying to get ourselves to those Games and see what we can do there. 
“We need to keep doing what we are doing and keep working hard and hopefully we will get the chance.”
They are consequently hopeful of taking the chance to demonstrate their capacity to perform at the highest level at the forthcoming World Championships.
“Ranking-wise we are top five in the world and I think anyone in that position has a good opportunity to go and win a world champs if they are there,” said Brydone.
“If we do get to go it would be our first one, so it would be an experience which can play a part, but we feel comfortable and confident playing these teams that are going to be there all the time, so hopefully we get the call up, but first we have the Scottish Championships next month and we want to get another national title under our belt.”
However, as much as those major challenges lie ahead, Brydone knew this was a moment to savour and, with threat having hung over the future of this iconic curling venue in recent years, he expressed the hope that it would be there at least long enough to help give the next generation the opportunity he has had.
“This was definitely worth the wait and all the more special to have my daughter here now,” said Brydone.
“It is great to come off the ice after a big win and see her and Clancy.
“Clancy won this event twice before I did, so she still has the bragging rights at home, but I just hope this ice rink here at Perth is around long enough so that Brooke will be able to get the chance to play here.
“That would be really special to say she has curled in the same place as her dad.”
In the women’s event, Denmark’s Olympic representatives at Cortina skipped by Madeleine Dupont beat Norway’s Torhild Bjoernstad 8-2 in the final. Team GB’s Olympic representatives Team Morrison narrowly lost out 6-5 in the quarter finals to Team Constantini, who will also be in Cortina flying the flag for the host country.
Images: Tom J Brydone & British Curling
