Martin edges Epping to reach Players’ Championship semis
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Hold off on that retirement, Kevin Martin, there’s still more work to be done at the Players’ Championship.
The Edmonton skip, who announced he will be stepping back from the competitive scene after the season, defeated Toronto’s John Epping 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam of Curling finale.
Team Martin will take on Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen in the semifinals.
“We came out knowing it was Kevin’s last game, potentially, if we lost, and we wanted to play a good game,” said Team Martin second Dave Nedohin. “Epping played really well and we had to grind it out. It was a grinder’s game. We played the scoreboard and made some really good shots in the second half and ended up with the win, so I’m really excited about getting to the semifinals.”
Down 4-3, Martin rallied to score two in the seventh to pull ahead and sealed the win with a steal of one in eighth end when Epping was unable to grab shot rock with his last stone. It was during Martin’s final rock of the eighth when Nedohin wondered if that was it.
“When I was sitting out there on the last shot we threw today — we didn’t know if we were winning the game or not yet — and I thought to myself, ‘Am I watching Kevin Martin’s last shot come down?’” he said. “Thankfully not, we’ve got more to play.”
It’ll be the battle of the Brads in the other semifinal match with Brad Jacobs taking on Brad Gushue. Both Brads are Olympic gold medallists with Jacobs, of Sault Ste. Marie Ont., winning this past February in Sochi, Russia, while Gushue grabbed gold at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Jacobs advanced scoring two in the final frame to clip reigning Brier champion Kevin Koe of Calgary 7-6.
McEwen (5-0) and Gushue (4-1) earned byes to the semifinals as the top two seeds.
