CHARLOTTETOWN — Saskatoon’s Team Mike McEwen put on a show to secure a playoff spot in the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
McEwen defeated Team Niklas Edin of Sweden 8-3 Friday in a B-qualifier and “Magic Mike” capped the entertaining win with a triple takeout to score three in the seventh end.
The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season features triple knockout — with A, B and C Event brackets — where teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the quarterfinals.
McEwen entered the event riding a 13-game winning streak and capturing three titles on tour. The streak was snapped during his team’s opening game of the tournament against Winnipeg’s Team Matt Dunstone to drop into the B Event early, but McEwen is on fire again with three straight wins.
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Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller and Scotland’s Team Ross Whyte also advanced from the B-qualifiers. Schwaller defeated Dunstone 8-3 and Whyte beat Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe 6-4.
Edin, Dunstone and Koe fell to the C-qualifiers for one final shot to reach the playoffs.
Edin meets Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., in another rematch of the world championship final after facing once already this week in the A Event. Dunstone takes on Team John Shuster of the United States and Koe clashes with Team James Craik of Scotland.
Craik bounced Switzerland’s Team Michael Brunner 7-2 in a C-semifinal matchup during Draw 15.
Calgary’s Team Brad Jacobs and Team Bruce Mouat of Scotland advanced through the A Event undefeated at 3-0 Thursday and have the day off.
UP NEXT
Triple knockout play continues with the women’s C-qualifiers at 8 p.m. AT / 7 p.m. ET at the Bell Aliant Centre. Watch live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
NOTES
The HearingLife Tour Challenge features 64 of the best men’s and women’s teams from around the world split into two tiers. … Tier 2 winners receive invitations to the WFG Masters in January. … Eight teams in each division qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.
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