Gim wins opening game of WFG Masters against Constantini
SASKATOON — Team Eun-Ji Gim grabbed a 5-4 victory Tuesday morning over Team Stefania Constantini to begin the WFG Masters at Merlis Belsher Place.
The club from South Korea picked up where they left off in the Grand Slam of Curling after going undefeated through last month’s KIOTI National in Pictou County, N.S., to capture their first title in the series.
Constantini, from Italy, opened with the hammer but flashed on a blank attempt in the first frame and allowed Gim to open the scoring with a stolen single.
It was singles back and forth through the following four ends. Constantini converted for the game’s first multi-point stanza in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead.
Gim blanked the seventh to retain the hammer for the final frame and didn’t need to throw her last rock of the game as her team already sat two stones and Constantini was unable to outcount the pair.
Meanwhile, Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., edged Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States 6-4 to kick off their title defence in the event.
Einarson claimed her fifth career Grand Slam women’s title at last year’s WFG Masters in Oakville, Ont.
Team Jennifer Jones beat Team Kate Cameron in an all-Winnipeg matchup and Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa defeated Team Delaney Strouse of the United States by identical 5-3 scores.
WFG Masters: Scores / Standings | Draw Schedule | Broadcast Schedule
UP NEXT
The WFG Masters continues with Draw 2 at 12:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. local time at Merlis Belsher Place. Tickets are available at the box office and online at mbptickets.universitytickets.com/w.
Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. local time on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ (Canada) and GSOClive.com (international).
NOTES
The WFG Masters is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. . … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening. The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, tiebreakers will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots. … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.
