In the final, Ontario's
Glenn Howard defeated
Kevin Koe in ten ends with a score of 7–6. Howard won his fourth Brier title overall and his second Brier title as skip.[3] Ontario third
Wayne Middaugh became the first person in Brier history to win at three different positions, as second in
1993, as skip in
1998, and as third in 2012. Middaugh also set a record for best performance by a third in the final (with 98%), and won the Hec Gervais Award, which was awarded to the most valuable player in the playoffs.[4]
This edition of the Brier saw the first Northwest Territories/Yukon team advancing to the page playoffs in Brier history since the induction of the playoffs format in 1980.[5] Previously, the best performance from the Territories came in 1975, when
Yukon's
Don Twa and his team tied for second place after the round robin. In
1985, the Territories made it to a tiebreaker before being knocked out. The Brier also saw Ontario skip
Glenn Howard breaking the record for most career games played at the Brier, which was previously set by his brother
Russ Howard at 174 career games, after defeating Saskatchewan in Draw 10.[6]
Teams
At this year's Brier, Alberta was represented by former Brier champion and former world champion
Kevin Koe, who defeated
Brock Virtue in the provincial final. He made his second appearance at the Brier with a new third,
Pat Simmons, who had skipped for Saskatchewan in five previous Briers.
Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador clinched a sixth straight berth to the Brier after defeating former provincial champion
Ken Peddigrew in the provincial final. Gushue made his ninth appearance at the Brier with a new team formed at the close of the last season. Northern Ontario was represented by
Brad Jacobs, who played at his third consecutive Brier after defeating former provincial champion
Mike Jakubo in the provincial final.[7]Glenn Howard of Ontario made his seventh consecutive and fourteenth overall appearance at the Brier after winning the provincial final over
Peter Corner.
Rob Fowler of Manitoba made his first appearance at the Brier after defeating
Mike McEwen in the provincial final.
Kevin Martin and
Jeff Stoughton, two recent Brier champions who together won three of the past four Briers, were both eliminated before the finals of their respective provincial championships.[8]
British Columbia was represented by
Jim Cotter after Cotter, who played at his third Brier, won his second straight provincial championship over
Brent Pierce.[9]Terry Odishaw made his first appearance at the Brier since 1998 after winning the New Brunswick final over defending provincial champion
James Grattan.
Jamie Murphy represented Nova Scotia at his first Brier, after defeating former Brier champion
Mark Dacey in the final of the provincials. Prince Edward Island was represented by
Mike Gaudet, who made his fourth Brier appearance, his first as skip since
2004, as he was the third for last year's Prince Edward Island skip
Eddie MacKenzie.
Robert Desjardins represented Quebec at his second consecutive Brier, his first Brier as skip, after defeating
Phillipe Lemay in the provincial final. Saskatchewan was represented by
Scott Manners, his first appearance at the Brier after upsetting
Bruce Korte in the provincial final.
Jamie Koe made his fourth consecutive and sixth overall appearance representing the Northwest Territories and Yukon after finishing the provincials with an undefeated record.[8]