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If Team Northern Ontario, skipped by Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs, advances to semifinal action at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, it’s going to take three wins on Saturday.
The Jacobs rink, which includes third Marc Kennedy, second E.J. Harnden, lead Ryan Harnden, and alternate Lee Toner, split a pair of games in Championship Pool action on Friday in the nine-day event.
With a 7-4 record, the Jacobs rink finished in a four-way tie for the final spot in the playoff round.
Jacobs will face Kevin Koe’s Team Canada rink in tiebreaker action on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
The winner of that game will face the winner of the other morning tiebreaker between Ontario’s John Epping and Mike McEwen’s Wild Card team.
The two winners will then meet in a second tiebreaker game at 2 p.m., where the winner will then move on to fac Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador in Page 3-4 action at 7 p.m.
Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone will play in the Page 1-2 game at 2 p.m. on Saturday with the winner advancing directly into the final on Sunday.
The loser will face the winner of the Page 3-4 game in semifinal action on Sunday afternoon.
On Friday, the Jacobs rink opened the day with a 7-3 win over Koe in eight ends in the afternoon draw.
After blanking the opening end, Jacobs took the lead with a pair in the opening end before stealing one in the third to go up 3-0.
Koe got on the board with a pair in the fourth end.
Jacobs then blanked the fifth end before breaking the game open with four in the sixth end.
Koe capped off the scoring with a single in the eighth end.
Team Jacobs dropped a 10-6 decision to Epping in Friday’s evening draw.
After Jacobs opened the scoring with the hammer in the second end, the two teams traded deuces in the following two ends.
Epping would take the lead with three in the fifth end.
Jacobs blanked the sixth end before evening the score at five with two in the seventh end.
Epping took the lead for good with a pair in the eighth end before sealing the win with three in the 10th end after Jacobs could only score one in the ninth end.