Gushue clinches Rogers Grand Slam Cup reaching Players’ semis
TORONTO — Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., claimed the Rogers Grand Slam Cup after defeating Sweden’s Niklas Edin 7-3 during the Players’ Championship men’s quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.
Gushue had to reach the semifinals of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling major tournament in order to clinch the season championship and earn a $75,000 bonus.
“The money is obviously a really nice bonus but more meaningful to us is the fact that we were able to win the cup and it shows the consistency we’ve had all year against the best teams in the world and that’s something I think our team takes pride in,” said Gushue, who has won the National and Elite 10 titles this season. “Our performance in the last number of years at the Slams has been really good and to get rewarded with the Rogers Grand Slam Cup is really nice.”
Gushue said locking up the Rogers Grand Slam Cup early absolutely helps his team now focus on the Players’ Championship itself, which has eluded him over his career as he looks to become just the fifth skip to complete a career Grand Slam.
“It makes tomorrow a little less stressful,” Gushue said. “It’s going to be a matter of turning the page. Tonight we’re going to enjoy it and go out and have a nice supper and celebrate this win a little bit. Then tomorrow it gets back to winning the Players’ and hopefully completing the Grand Slam, which is another goal that we had coming in this week.”
Gushue settled for a single in the first and stole a pair of points in the third to grab a 3-0 lead. The two-time world champion Edin took two in the fourth end to close the gap, but Gushue replied with a three-ender in the fifth to make it 6-2. Edin avoided disaster in the sixth making an unbelievable angle raise quad for a single. Gushue put the finishing touches on the match with a single in the seventh to extend his team’s winning streak in the series to 12 games.
Gushue now meets Scotland’s David Murdoch, who advanced to the semifinals of a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event for the first time in his career with a convincing 8-2 victory over Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont.
“The quarters have always been the stumbling block at the Slams,” Murdoch said. “It’s been a goal for us to make the semifinals. We’ve had plenty of opportunities in the quarterfinals this year and never quite took them. Today we brought a good game out there. Just pleased. You know you’re doing something right if you’re making semis at the Players’ Championship.”
Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen took down recently crowned world champ Kevin Koe of Calgary 8-5. The six-time Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title winner McEwen will meet defending champion Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who curled a perfect 100 percent in a 6-2 win over Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 6-2.
It’s a rematch of last year’s final where Jacobs edged McEwen to earn his first career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title and the Rogers Grand Slam Cup.
The women’s semifinals see defending champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland take on Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland and Jennifer Jones and Kerri Einarson meet in an all-Winnipeg matchup.
The men’s and women’s semifinals are Sunday at 10 a.m. ET (watch on Sportsnet ONE) followed by the finals.
