Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs and his team from the Community First Curling Centre is in the drivers’ seat heading into the final day of round robin action at the latest Grand Slam of Curling event in Lloydminster, Sask.
After a pair of wins on Wednesday, the Jacobs rink moved to 3-0 at the Masters thanks to a 7-2 win over Switzerland’s Peter De Cruz in Thursday’s afternoon draw.
Jacobs would open the scoring thanks to a steal of one in the first end. After De Cruz tied the game at one in the third end, Jacobs would take the lead for good after scoring three in the fourth. De Cruz would get one back in the fifth end before Jacobs sealed the win with a pair in six and steal of one in seven.
The Jacobs rink remains one of four unbeaten teams on the men’s side as round robin action continues. Calgary’s Kevin Koe (Calgary, Alta.) also sits at 3-0 following a win over Toronto’s John Epping on Thursday evening.
Niklas Edin (Karlstad, Sweden) and Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) each had 2-0 records heading into evening action, Edin and Gushue were set both scheduled to play in Thursday’s evening draw. Edin was to face Jason Gunnlaugson of Winnipeg, Man. while Gushue was set to meet Mike McEwen of Winnipeg, Man.
The Jacobs rink, which includes third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden, wraps up round robin action on Friday against Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock
Playoff action begins with quarter-final action on Saturday afternoon with the men’s final set for Sunday.
The Masters is the second event, and first major, on the Grand Slam schedule. The tournament features 15 men’s and 15 women’s teams. The teams include the top 13 teams based on the World Curling Tour’s Order of Merit while one spot in each is held for a sponsor’s exemption and the final spot goes to the Tour Challenge Tier II winners. The Tour Challenge is the opening event on the Grand Slam schedule.
Teams are split into three five-team divisions for the round robin with the top eight teams moving on to the playoff round. Tiebreaker’s are included for any ties for the final playoff positions.
The Masters champions earn invites to the Champions Cup, the final event of the season, which includes tournament winners from all of the major events of the season.