News Tour Challenge

CRANBROOK, B.C. — Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud reached the Tour Challenge Tier 1 men’s semifinals with a 6-3 victory over Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen during Saturday’s quarterfinals. 

Ulsrud pulled into the lead with a three-ender in the fourth and stole one in five to grab a four-point advantage. McEwen took two in the sixth end to narrow the gap and Ulsrud tacked on another point in seven. 

There will be at least one European men’s team in the final as Ulsrud faces Scotland’s Kyle Smith, who picked up a 7-5 win over Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers.  

Sweden’s Niklas Edin advanced to the other semifinal matchup downing John Morris of Vernon, B.C., 9-1. Trailing by a point, Edin put doughnuts on the board in the second and third ends and his patience paid off as he made a beauty angle raise to score three for the lead. 

Morris blanked the fifth, but fell into deep trouble in six with Edin sitting six counters and fourth Jim Cotter’s last crashed on a guard and rolled out for the big steal. 

Morris was the top seed going 4-0 through round-robin play while Edin needed a 6-3 win in a tiebreaker earlier Saturday over Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., after going 2-2 in his pool.

Edin will tackle Team Gushue, skipped by Mark Nichols, of St. John’s, N.L., who took down Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 9-3. Nichols is skipping in his seventh consecutive event to start the season with Brad Gushue out due to a left hip/groin injury. Adam Spencer of Guelph, Ont., is filling in at third.

Both men’s and women’s semifinals are at 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW.

NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the second of seven events on the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule. … All Tier 1 games will be played at Western Financial Place. Tier 2 division games are now underway at Memorial Arena. … The Tour Challenge runs through to Sunday at Western Financial Place (all Tier 1 games and Tier 2 finals) and Memorial Arena (Tier 2 games from round-robin play to semifinals).