Bottcher escapes with win over Whyte in KIOTI National men’s quarterfinals
PICTOU COUNTY, N.S. — Canada’s Team Brendan Bottcher needed an extra end plus a steal to solve Scotland’s Team Ross Whyte 5-4 Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the KIOTI National at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
Whyte scored a deuce in the sixth and stole one in the seventh to grab a late 4-3 lead in their quarterfinal matchup and fired a pair of perfect shots in the eighth to limit Bottcher to just an equalizing single.
That gave Whyte the hammer in overtime, however, his slash attempt to double out Bottcher missed the back counter completely to concede the stolen winning point.
Bottcher will now face Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz in the semifinals and a rematch of last month’s HearingLife Tour Challenge men’s final.
Retornaz, who edged Bottcher in their earlier encounter to capture his second career Grand Slam of Curling title, continues to cruise winning his fifth consecutive game in the tournament with a 10-3 victory over Team Korey Dropkin of the United States.
The other side of the bracket sees Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin take on Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller.
Edin, who is dealing with a nerve issue in his right wrist, ousted Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat 5-4 and Schwaller eliminated Scotland’s Team James Craik 6-5.
UP NEXT
The women’s quarterfinals featuring Team Rachel Homan vs. Team Kerri Einarson in an all-Canadian clash, Team Anna Hasselborg vs. Team Isabella Wranå in a matchup of Swedish squads, South Korea’s Team Eun-Ji Gim vs. Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini and Canada’s Team Jennifer Jones vs. Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni.
Watch at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT on Sportsnet. The men’s and women’s semifinals are also on tap Saturday evening at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet 360.
Stream the playoffs online at Sportsnet+ (Canada) or GSOClive.com (international).
