The Grand Slam of Curling schedule came to an end for Brad Jacobs and his team from the Community First Curling Centre on Saturday night.
Team Jacobs, which includes third Marc Kennedy, second E.J. Harnden, and lead Ryan Harnden, dropped a tight 6-5 decision to Bruce Mouat in semifinal action at the Players’ Championship at Calgary’s Markin MacPhail Arena.
With the Jacobs rink up by one in the eighth end, Mouat scored a pair in the end to pick up the win after a measurement for the second point.
With the win, the Mouat rink will have an opportunity to win in seven days after the Scottish-based rink won the Champions Cup on Monday, also in Calgary.
After blanking the opening end, Mouat got on the board with a single in the second end to take the lead early.
The teams then traded singles in the third and fourth ends, giving Mouat a 2-1 lead at the break.
Jacobs took the lead in the fifth end after a hit and stick for two, but Mouat proceeded to take the lead right back thanks to an angle raise for two of his own and a 4-3 lead.
Sitting shot rock in the seventh end, Jacobs made a draw for two, giving the Sault rink a 5-4 lead heading into the eighth, but Mouat would pick up two again to avoid an extra end and book a spot in the final.
Mouat will face Brad Gushue in the final.
Gushue beat Mike McEwen’s rink, skipped this week by Reid Carruthers, 6-5 in an extra end in Saturday’s other semifinal game.
The Jacobs rink earned a spot in the semifinal thanks to a 5-4 quarter-final win over Matt Dunstone in an extra end earlier in the day Saturday.
Dunstone opened the scoring with the hammer by picking up a pair in the second end after blanking the first.
Jacobs got on the board with a single in the third end for trying things up with a steal of one in the fourth.
After Dunstone retook the lead with a single in the fifth, Jacobs went ahead 4-3 with a pair in the sixth end.
Dunstone would then blank the seventh end before forcing an extra end with a single in the eighth end.