News Masters

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Toronto’s Team John Epping escaped with a tight 4-2 victory over Team John Shuster of the United States during Thursday’s afternoon action in the Masters at Memorial Gardens.

It was the defending champion Epping’s first win of the tournament to bring his record level to 1-1 while Shuster slipped to 0-2.

“It was kind of a must-win for our team,” Team Epping third Ryan Fry said. “This is a tough field and you don’t want to drop to two losses after two games.”

The scoreboard resembled binary code as the conservative affair only saw single points or blanks.

The back-and-forth tilt swung to Epping’s side in the seventh. Tied 2-2, Shuster held the hammer but faced two counters and could only eliminate one to concede a steal and the lead.

Shuster still held the hammer coming home and attempted an in-off double to possibly score two. However, Shuster was unable to eliminate Epping’s shot rock and tacked another on the board for Epping.

“We played a relatively good game,” Fry said. “We got a bit lucky there that John missed his last one but we’ll take it.”

Elsewhere, Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., scored four points in the seventh to top Winnipeg’s Team Mike McEwen 8-3. Gushue jumped to a 2-1 record while McEwen fell to 1-2.

Edmonton’s Team Brendan Bottcher (2-1) bounced back into the win column with a 4-3 victory over Team Niklas Edin. The double defending world champions from Sweden are at 0-3.

Reigning Olympic gold medallists Team Anna Hasselborg of Sweden moved up to 2-0 with a 7-2 victory over Winnipeg’s Team Theresa Cannon (0-3).

Team Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge climbed to a 2-1 record downing Edmonton’s Team Kelsey Rocque 7-2. Regina’s Amber Holland is subbing at skip for Scheidegger, who is expecting her second baby. Rocque dropped to 0-3.

The Masters features 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world. Both divisions are split into three pools of five for round-robin play with the top eight overall qualifying for the weekend playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.

The action continues at 4 p.m. ET with broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and streaming online at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

NOTES: The Masters is the first of six Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events on the season and one of four majors in the series. … The total prize purse is $300,000 and is split evenly between the men’s and women’s divisions. Winners receive $35,000 plus berths towards the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup taking place April 29 to May 3, 2020, in Olds, Alta. … Also up for grabs at the Masters are Pinty’s Cup bonus points. The leaders following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April will capture the Pinty’s Cup with additional prize money awarded.