News Masters

GUELPH, Ont. — Short-handed Team Eun-jung Kim will take an undefeated 4-0 record into the WFG Masters playoffs after defeating Team Silvana Tirinzoni 7-4 Friday.

The South Korean club is playing this week without third Kyeong-ae Kim, who is away at a mixed doubles event.

Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg (4-0) is also all tuned up for the playoffs following an 8-3 victory over South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim (0-4).

Hasselborg, Kim and Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan (3-1) selected their quarterfinal opponents during a draft in the evening.

• Hasselborg selected the tiebreaker winner between Team Danielle Inglis (2-2) and Team Momoha Tabata (2-2).
• Kim selected the tiebreaker winner between Team Kaitlyn Lawes (2-2) and Team Satsuki Fujisawa (2-2).
• Homan selected Tirinzoni (2-2).

Sweden’s Team Isabella Wrana (3-1) held the No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals and will face Team Kerri Einarson (2-2) of Gimli, Man.

“It was fun and I think the idea of it even is pretty cool because it gives you the opportunity to not have to play a top-ranked team who just had an off week like let’s say Tirinzoni for example or someone like that,” Hasselborg said. “But all teams are top teams, so it’s definitely going to be a battle for the quarterfinals.

“We played Inglis (in round-robin play) and had a tough shot for the win. They played really well against us, so we’ll see. And Tabata, we played against a few weeks ago. It’s all tough teams out there.”

The tiebreaker games take place Saturday at 7:30 a.m. local time.

Tirinzoni and Einarson of Gimli, Man., advanced straight through based on draw-to-the-button shootout totals.

Inglis defeated Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 8-2 to squeeze into the tiebreakers while Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini (1-3) ended on a high note with an 8-3 win over Japan’s Team Ikue Kitazawa (2-2).

Kitazawa had the worst shootout total of the 2-2 teams and was eliminated.

Earlier, Team Wrana defeated Team Homan 7-4, Winnipeg’s Team Lawes won 7-5 over South Korea’s Team Seung-youn Ha (2-2), Calgary’s Team Kayla Skrlik (1-3) topped Japan’s Team Tabata 8-5 and Japan’s Team Fujisawa edged Team Einarson 7-4 in an extra end.

UP NEXT

One more men’s draw wraps round-robin play at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT with broadcast coverage on Sportsnet Ontario, West and Sportsnet+.

The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with both finals slated for Sunday.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.ca.

Live streaming of every game is available in free preview via HomeTeam.

NOTES

The WFG Masters is the fourth 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. … A new rule is being tested this week where teams will lose the hammer if they blank two consecutive ends.