PH men’s curling team sweeps way to Olympic Qualifier event after perfect run

The Philippines’ men’s curling team displayed a dominant campaign after posting a spotless 6-0 record during the Men’s Curling Pre-Olympic Qualifying Event in Aberdeen, Scotland, Oct. 10.

Team Philippines ruled the ice after defeating Australia, Austria, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, New Zealand, and Poland to finish as the No. 1 seed and march into the Olympic Qualifiers Event (OQE).

The Philippines’ remarkable run, spearheaded by skipper Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Brayden Carpenter, and alternate Alan Frei, kicked-off its campaign with a 7-4 victory over the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic silver medalist, Denmark followed by 10-0 demolition against Chinese Taipei.

“This is surreal. It’s absolutely surreal,” Frei told Olympics.com after defeating their last foe, Poland to clinch the first ticket for OQE.

“Now it’s a chance in a lifetime, you know? Playing the qualification tournament for the Olympics. It’s absolutely mind-boggling,” he added.

With another slot in the bag, the Filipinos will be given a chance to advance in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy where the top 2 teams from OQE will power their way through.

The Philippines faced its toughest challenge against two-time Pacific Curling champion New Zealand, eking out a 6-5 comeback victory. They also endured a gritty 9-7 battle against Austria before bouncing back with an 11-2 blowout over Australia and sealing their perfect campaign with a 7-2 win against Poland.

Prior to this win, the Philippines already notched their first golden finish in the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China where they gave Southeast Asia’s first gold medal in winter olympic sports.

Joined by the Philippines, two more teams qualified for the OQE men’s division such as Poland and New Zealand to be held in December in Canada.