Top 10 Curling Champions: A Look at the Greatest Players in the Game
Best Curling Players of 2025
- Bruce Mouat
- Rachel Homan
- Yannick Schwaller
- Silvana Tirinzoni
- Matt Dunstone
- Anna Hasselborg
- Ross Whyte
- Eunjung Kim
- Brad Jacobs
- Satsuki Fujisawa
Curling is often described as “chess on ice”, with the winter sport demanding strategy, skill, and precision, whether with the rock or the broom. With roots dating back to 16th-century Scotland, curling has evolved from a pastime on frozen ponds to an Olympic sport with dozens of championships.
The sport’s growing popularity, from its heartlands of Canada, Sweden, its native Scotland, and Switzerland to new pastures like South Korea and Japan, has led to increased competition at the highest level. Ultimately, this has produced some of the most talented and decorated athletes in the sporting world.
But who is the best? Ranking the best curlers is a fun but challenging task. Different playing styles, eras, and formats, such as team curling and mixed doubles, make direct comparisons difficult.
However, some key factors that help determine the sport’s greats, like the ability to deliver under pressure and contribute to their team’s success, all define the legends of curling.
The following list highlights the top 10 curlers in the world today. These men’s and women’s curlers have dominated their respective nations, played a crucial role in key victories for their teams and nations, and innovated the game in style and athletic advancements. We hope you’ll agree, each is a legend of this wonderful sport.
Current Top 10 Curling Players
1. Bruce Mouat
Image Credit: BBC News
Bruce Mouat is one of the most accomplished curlers of his generation. Emerging as a dominant force in the game in the 2010s, Mouat is known as a versatile and strategic skip and was ranked the world’s best men’s curler in 2024.
Playing across team and mixed doubles disciplines, his career achievements include a World Men’s Curling Championship gold medal in 2023, European Championship titles in 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and nine Grand Slam titles.
He also claimed a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the men’s team event and won a World Mixed Doubles championship in 2021, partnered with Carrington CC curler Jennifer Dodds.
Mouat is known for his precision, calm demeanor under pressure, and exceptional shot-making ability, including his tremendous two-in-one shot at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and his super-spinner at the Princess Auto Players’ Championship in 2024.
Mouat’s leadership and teamwork are also pivotal to his role as skip, and he has formed a great partnership with long-time teammates Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, and Hammy McMillan Jr.
As one of the youngest skips to win a Grand Slam and the first British curler to compete in both Olympics mixed and team doubles, his legacy in the sport is without doubt. An exceptional curler capable of shop-stopping shots, Mouat is a true legend of the game.
2. Rachel Homan
Image Credit: Акутагава/Wikimedia Commons
Rachel Homan is one of the most accomplished Canadian curlers of her era, renowned for her precise shot-taking and competitive drive. An accomplished skip from the Ottawa Curling Club, one of the oldest curling clubs in the world, Homan has been relentless and dominating in her sport, winning four Scotties Tournaments of Hearts in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2024, alongside two World Women’s Curling Championships in 2017 and 2024.
In 2016, Homan was invited to participate with her team in the Elite 10 Grand Slam Event, becoming the first women’s team to compete in a men’s Grand Slam event.
The 2024 title was particularly historic, as under her leadership, Canada ended Switzerland’s 42-match unbeaten run and secured Canada’s first women’s gold. Homan also represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Homan is known for an aggressive style and is famous for delivering clutch shots in critical moments, including her outstanding shot for three in the Co-op Canadian Open in 2024.
Her ability to execute precise draws and takeouts has defined her career, including her takeout in the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
3. Yannick Schwaller
Image Credit: Eurosport
Yannick Schwaller is a Swiss curler known for his skill and leadership as a skip. He emerged in the 2010s, making a name for himself in the junior ranks before winning a World Junior Curling Championship title for Switzerland in 2014. This ultimately marked him as one of the sport’s rising talents.
Schwaller easily transitioned to the senior circuit and has consistently led his team to strong performances on the World Curling Tour, securing multiple victories such as the prestigious Baden Masters and Schweizer Cup. His crowning achievement came in 2020 when he won the Swiss Men’s Curling Championship title.
Schwaller is also known for his precise shot-making and calm demeanor under pressure. His multiple points score in the 2024 World Men’s Double Championship match against Norway cleared both the opponents’ scores from the button.
Schwaller remains one of the best in his sport, and with plenty of his career ahead of him, the Solothurn native is set to continue to improve and dominate.
4. Silvana Tirinzoni
Image Credit: Sportsnet
Another Swiss skip, Silvana Tirinzoni is, simply put, a legend of Curling. She is one of the most accomplished curlers of her generation and arguably in the history of the sport.
A dominant force in women’s curling during the 2010s, Tirinzoni reached her peak at the end of the 2010s and beginning of the 2020s, where she won her first Women’s Curling Championship in 2019, and followed it up by three successive titles in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Responsible for an astounding 42-game winning streak at the World Championships, Tirinzoni’s Switzerland team was one of the world sport’s most formidable opponents before Rachel Homan’s Canada ended the historic streak in 2024.
The Zurich native also boasts four Grand Slam titles and a European Championship gold medal in 2023, further solidifying her status as a curling icon.
Her leadership as a skip, combined with her calm demeanor, has been vital in her team’s success. Tirinzoni’s style of play is both methodical and adaptable, allowing her to outmaneuver opponents in critical moments.
5. Matt Dunstone
Image Credit: Grand Slam of Curling
Matt “The Sheriff” Dunstone is a Canadian curler with the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, where he acts as skip. Emerging as a standout junior curler in the 2010s, Dunstone gained national attention in 2013 when he won the Canadian Junior Curling Championships.
The Sheriff followed this with an exceptional performance at the World Junior Curling Championship the same year, earning Canada a bronze medal. He repeated his junior success in 2016, earning a second Canadian title and another World Junior bronze medal, increasing his rapidly rising stock.
He transitioned to the men’s circuit in 2017, joining Team Laycock, and won a Manitoba provincial men’s title in 2018, a year into his senior career. He made the jump to skip in 2018, forming his own team and quickly winning the 2018-19 Curling World Cup leg against the legendary skip Niklas Edin.
He followed this up with his first Grand Slam title in 2019, winning the Masters title against Brad Gushue, an all-time great of the sport.
Dunstone has secured multiple provincial titles, a Grand Slam victory, and consecutive bronze medals at the Tim Hortons Brier in 2020 and 2021 in two of his seven appearances at the event. A dynamic and aggressive player with a cute shot and excellent skills on the ice, Dunstone will only get better in the future.
6. Anna Hasselborg
Image Credit: Mattuta/Wikimedia Commons
Anna Hasselborg comes from a family of Swedish curlers, including her father Mikael, uncle Stefan, brother Marcus, and cousin Mio. This pressure hasn’t stopped her from dominating the sport domestically and internationally. Hasselborg rose to fame during the late 2000s in domestic competitions and the Junior circuit, winning the World Junior Championship in 2010.
She followed up her excellent junior career to win six Swedish Women’s Championships in fourteen years, in 2011, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024. She became the first curler in history to simultaneously hold the European Curling Championship, World Mixed Doubles Championship, and Olympic gold medals in November 2019.
Her precision, ability to read the ice, and strong sense of the patterns of play have characterized her style over her career. She has an unbelievable clutch ability to win games, like her game-winning runback in the 2019 European Championship title. With multiple Grand Slam victories, Hasselborg also led the first women’s team to achieve a career Grand Slam.
7. Ross Whyte
Image Credit: Mattuta/Wikimedia Commons
Ross Whyte is an emerging English-born Scottish curler who has made significant strides in the sport. Representing Stirling CC, Whyte established himself in the junior ranks, earning a silver in the 2018 World Junior Curling Championships and bronze at the 2019 Juniors and 2019 Winter Universiade.
Whyte’s senior career has seen a similar meteoric rise, with him winning European titles in 2018 and 2021 as an alternate for skip Bruce Mouat and a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the men’s team event. His performances in 2024 earned him the rank of number four men’s player in the world.
Whyte has excelled as a skip and team member and has delivered a number of crucial shots to deliver titles for himself and his teams, including his calm and collected shot in the WFG Masters Men’s Final, which sealed his first-ever Grand Slam title.
8. Eunjung Kim
Image Credit: Trainholic/Wikimedia Commons
Eunjung Kim, known by curling fans as “Annie,” is an icon of the sport whose career spurred curling in South Korea. From Uiseong, her efforts in the sport have led to her home city becoming known as the curling capital of Korea.
She rose to prominence as the skip of the South Korean national team, famously labeled the “Garlic Girls,” leading them to a historic silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. This achievement was a defining moment, not only for Kim but for curling in Korea, as it showcased the nation’s growing prowess on the international stage.
Kim’s style of play is marked by precise shot-making and her ability to adapt to opponents, making her one of the sport’s most respected skips.
Beyond her Olympic success, Kim has claimed multiple national titles and secured victories at prestigious World Curling Tour events. This includes the 2016 Pacific-Asia Curling Championship, where she defeated China’s Wang Bingyu to claim her first Asia-Pacific title.
9. Brad Jacobs
Image Credit: Krazytea/Wikimedia Commons
Brad Jacobs is one of Canada’s most celebrated curlers, and he was known for his dominance in the sport in the 2010s. Jacobs is also an Olympic champion, having led Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
His crowning achievement came with a 9–3 victory over Great Britain in the final, cementing his status as one of the sport’s current best. He also achieved silver at the 2013 World Men’s Curling Championships.
Additionally, Jacobs led his team to a 2013 Tim Hortons Brier title, becoming the first Northern Ontario team to win a championship since 1985. He has dominated his provincial scene, winning 12 Northern Ontario provincial titles.
He was a key figure in curling’s evolution toward a more athletic and fitness-oriented approach. His team, often described as “fitness freaks,” set a new standard for physical conditioning in the sport.
10. Satsuki Fujisawa
Image Credit: Palsternakka/Wikimedia Commons
Satsuki Fujisawa is a Japanese curler who, like Eunjung Kim, has made great efforts to raise the popularity of the sport in her native country. A skip with exceptional leadership and ability with the rock or broom, she has dominated Japanese curling, claiming six national titles and leading her team to a groundbreaking 2023 Canadian Open Grand Slam victory – the first by an Asian team.
Known for clutch performances and technical precision, she guided Japan to its first World Championship podium (silver, 2016) and pioneered success in mixed doubles, winning national titles with Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi.
Fujisawa’s resilience, highlighted by Olympic comebacks and tactical brilliance, cemented her legacy as a pioneer who transformed Japan into a strong curling contender.
The Best Curling Players
The ten best curlers highlighted in this list have earned their legendary status through many personal and team accolades, often leading their teams as skip. Each has contributed greatly to the sport, dominated their respective nations, and more. Many have broken the sports norms and fitness regimes, alongside defining what is possible with the rock and broom.
Legends like Silvana Tirinzoni and Bruce Mouat have showcased mastery across disciplines. At the same time, Rachel Homan and Anna Hasselborg redefined excellence with clutch performances, multiple Grand Slams, and breaking gender barriers.
Brad Jacobs’ Olympic gold and fitness-driven approach revolutionized curling’s athletic standards, emphasizing physical conditioning as critical to success.
Pioneers like Satsuki Fujisawa and Eunjung Kim elevated their nations, with Fujisawa securing Japan’s first Slam and Olympic medals, while Kim’s “Garlic Girls” put South Korea on the map. Their success allowed curling to break out from its traditional strongholds and become a truly global sport.
These legends transformed curling into a faster, more strategic, and more inclusive sport. Their achievements, whether through Olympic glory or pioneering new frontiers, have cemented their status as icons who reshaped curling for the better.
