News National

PICTOU COUNTY, N.S. — Niklas Edin and his squad from Sweden secured a spot in the KIOTI National quarterfinals with a 6-5 victory over John Shuster’s American team Friday morning at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.

Edin advanced to the playoffs with a 3-1 round-robin record.

Team Shuster played as three this week without second Matt Hamilton and finished winless at 0-4.

Elsewhere, Ross Whyte (3-1) lifted his Scottish side into the quarterfinals after scoring three in the final frame to cool Brendan Bottcher’s Calgary-based club 4-2. It was the first loss for Bottcher (3-1), who had made the cut for the weekend.

Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., downed Team Aaron Sluchinski of Airdrie, Alta., 7-2 as both teams finished pool play at 2-2.

Matt Dunstone and his Winnipeg-based team also levelled their record to 2-2 with a 9-4 win over Owen Purcell’s crew from Halifax. Purcell was eliminated at 1-3.

Gushue, Sluchinski and Dunstone all await the results from the final men’s round-robin draw in the late afternoon as shootout scores will determine their fates. Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat (2-1), Team Korey Dropkin (2-1) of the United States, Scotland’s Team James Craik (1-2) and Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe (1-2) are all still in the mix as well for the final three spots.

Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz and Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller are both already in at 3-0.

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KIOTI National: Scores | Shootout Standings | Draw Schedule | Broadcast Schedule

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UP NEXT

The KIOTI National continues with Draw 14 at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT on Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ (Canada) and GSOClive.com (international).

NOTES

The KIOTI National is the second event of the 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. … Each team plays four round-robin games with the top eight advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals. … The semifinals are also on tap Saturday with both finals scheduled for Sunday.