Bottcher holds off Hoesli in extra end to win first game at WFG Masters
OAKVILLE, Ont. — Team Brendan Bottcher needed an extra end to fend off Team Marco Hoesli 6-5 during Draw 4 of the WFG Masters on Tuesday night at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
Bottcher and his Calgary-based club were up 5-2 without the hammer in the eighth end and time was ticking down for Team Hoesli. With one second left on the clock, Philipp Hoesli, who throws fourth stones for the Swiss squad, managed to beat the buzzer with his shooter hitting off of his own guard and rolling into the house to eliminate both of Bottcher’s rocks and score the equalizing three points.
Luck wasn’t on Team Hoesli’s side in overtime, however, as Bottcher was able to unlock the frozen counter and score the winning point.
The victory snapped a five-game losing skid in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling series for Team Bottcher.
Elsewhere in Draw 4, Team Ross Whyte from Scotland scored two in the sixth and stole two in the seventh to defeat Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe 7-3.
Team Joël Retornaz from Italy scored four in the fifth and stole single points in consecutive ends during a 7-2 victory over Saskatoon’s Team Colton Flasch.
Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin, with Oskar Eriksson skipping, thumped Switzerland’s Team Michael Brunner 7-1 in six ends. Team Edin broke a 1-1 tie with a deuce in the fourth and stole back-to-back pairs of points in the fifth and sixth to bring out the early handshakes.
Edin sustained a lower-body injury prior to the HearingLife Tour Challenge semifinals in October with Eriksson taking the reins and guiding the squad to their fourth career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title.
UP NEXT
The WFG Masters resumes Wednesday with Draw 5 at 8 a.m. ET. Tickets are available at the door or online at masters.goigniter.com.
Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet, Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
NOTES
The WFG Masters is the third event of the 2022-23 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday as teams play four games against opponents outside of their pools. … The top eight teams overall advance to Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Saturday evening with both finals on tap for Sunday.
