Koe climbs back into win column at Princess Auto Players’ Championship
TORONTO — Kevin Koe is back on track at the Princess Auto Players’ Championship.
Koe and his Calgary-based club climbed to a 2-1 round-robin record with a 9-5 victory over Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell on Thursday morning at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The five-time Grand Slam champion Koe opened with a 6-5 extra end win over Calgary’s Brendan Bottcher on Tuesday but fell 7-3 to Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., on Wednesday.
Koe settled for a single in the sixth end to tie it 5-5 but stole away the victory swiping two points in the seventh end plus another pair in the eighth.
Team Ramsfjell hold a 1-2 record.
Elsewhere in the draw, Italy’s Joël Retornaz defeated Scotland’s Ross Whyte 5-3. Both teams are at 2-1.
In women’s play, Tabitha Peterson (2-1) from the United States scored five points in the seventh to finish a 9-2 victory over Canada’s Clancy Grandy (2-1).
Canada’s Rachel Homan (2-1) scored a 7-4 decision against Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa (1-2). Rachel Brown is subbing for Team Homan lead Sarah Wilkes, who is expecting a baby.
UP NEXT
Round-robin play continues at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT with broadcast coverage on Sportsnet, Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
Tickets are available at the box office and online at Ticketmaster.ca.
NOTES: The Princess Auto Players’ Championship features 12 of the top men’s teams and 12 of the top women’s teams from around the world based on the World Curling Federation’s year-to-date world team rankings. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday. The best six teams overall qualify for Saturday’s playoffs with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. Both finals are scheduled for Sunday. … The Pinty’s Cup will also be awarded to the season champions in the series during the event.
