Jones, Einarson and Kovaleva punch final tickets to Masters playoffs
OAKVILLE, Ont. — Team Jennifer Jones weathered the storm through the C side of the Masters triple knockout stage.
After losing their first two games, Jones and her Winnipeg-based club were victorious in three consecutive must-win games to stave off elimination and qualify for the playoffs.
The nine-time Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title winner Jones booked her spot in the quarterfinals by scoring two in the eighth end to oust Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå 6-5 during Draw 17 Saturday morning at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
Jones will now take on Team Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland during the afternoon women’s quarterfinals draw at 4 p.m. ET (Watch on Sportsnet ONE). Tirinzoni posted a perfect 3-0 record through the A side to take the top seed.
Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., and Team Alina Kovaleva from Russia also advanced out of the morning C-qualifiers with 3-2 records.
Einarson edged Edmonton’s Team Kelsey Rocque 6-5 and Kovaleva dispatched Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg 7-3.
Kovaleva collides with Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan (3-0) and Einarson plays Team Tracy Fleury (3-1) of East St. Paul, Man., in the quarterfinals.
Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States and Team Eun-Jung Kim of South Korea both went 3-1 through the B brackets and will square off as well.
Masters: Live Scores and Standings | Draw Schedule | Broadcast Schedule
UP NEXT
The men’s quarterfinals begin at Noon ET with around-the-rings coverage of the men’s quarterfinals. Watch on Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
Team Bruce Mouat (3-0) and Team Ross Whyte (3-2) meet in an all-Scottish matchup, Team Brad Gushue (3-0) from St. John’s, N.L., goes up against Japan’s Team Yuta Matsumura (3-2), Brad Jacobs (3-1) from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., clashes with Calgary’s Kevin Koe (3-2) and Team Niklas Edin from Sweden plays Edmonton’s Team Brendan Bottcher (both 3-1).
TRIPLE KNOCKOUT EXPLAINED
The triple knockout consists of three brackets: A, B and C. Teams must win three games in order to qualify for the playoffs. Each loss drops a team to a lower bracket until they lose three games and are out of the tournament. Two A teams (3-0 records), three B teams (3-1 records) and three C teams (3-2 records) advance to the quarterfinals.
NO TICK ZONE
Teams cannot tick guards off of the centre line while the five-rock, free guard zone is in effect during the eighth and extra ends only.
NOTES
The Masters is the first of five events on the 2021-22 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule 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 prize purse is up for grabs with the winning teams earning $33,000 plus berths into the season-ending KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup. … The semifinals are in the evening with both finals set for Sunday. … Tickets are available at masters.goigniter.com.
