News Masters

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Reigning world champion Niklas Edin of Sweden needed a win Friday afternoon at the Masters to stay alive and scored big with an 8-2 victory over Calgary’s Kevin Koe during the final round-robin draw.

Both teams finished with 2-2 round-robin records and will now play in the tiebreaker round.

Edin made an incredible shot in the first end to score one and avoid giving up a steal and went up 2-0 with a steal in the second when Koe’s final rock wrecked on a guard and passed through the house untouched.

After Koe settled for a single in three, Edin made an open hit for three points in the fourth to pull away in the match. The teams matched singles in five and six with Edin retaining the four-point advantage. Koe, the defending champion, attempted to rally back in the seventh, but missed his final shot to give up a steal of two.

Elsewhere, Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton (3-1) is moving straight through to the playoffs with a 6-2 win over American Tyler George (0-4).

Scotland’s David Murdoch (3-1) also advanced with a 7-1 rout in just five ends over Russia’s Andrey Drozdov (0-4). Murdoch scored his second deuce of the game in the third, stole one in the fourth and two in the fifth for early handshakes.

In women’s action, Scotland’s Eve Muirhead (2-2) advances to the tiebreaker winning 6-5 over Latvia’s Evita Regza (0-4) and South Korea’s Ji-Sun Kim (3-1) qualified right to the playoffs scoring two in the eighth to earn an 8-6 victory over American Erika Brown (0-4).