News National

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Matt Dunstone has still got the touch and the power, and now his Winnipeg-based team is riding the eye of the storm into the Boost National semifinals.

Dunstone pulled off a magnificent shot with his last rock against Calgary’s Kevin Koe, making a runback tap to score two points for the 6-5 win during the men’s quarterfinals Saturday at Memorial Gardens.

It was at the Masters nearly three years ago in this very same rink when Dunstone went on a red-hot roll to capture his first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title.

Dunstone will now face Team Edin after his Swedish squad stole one in the fourth and five in the fifth to knock out Canada’s Team Flasch 9-1.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Team Gushue advanced with a 9-6 victory over Switzerland’s Team Brunner. Gushue now takes on Team Dropkin, who edged Canada’s Team Bottcher 7-5 in an extra end.

The women’s semifinals feature Switzerland’s Team Tirinzoni vs. Canada’s Team Lawes and Japan’s Team Fujisawa vs. Canada’s Team Einarson.

Watch the semifinals starting at 8 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 360 or stream online at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

Both finals are set for Sunday.

NOTES

The Boost National is the first of six events on the 2022-23 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling calendar and features 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … A combined $300,000 purse, split equally between the men’s and women’s divisions, is on the line. The winning teams receive $35,000 and invitations to the season-ending Kioti Tractor Champions Cup. … Points are also up for grabs in the race for the Pinty’s Cup, which is awarded to the 2022-23 season champions with a $75,000 bonus for the winning teams.