PICTOU COUNTY, N.S. — South Korea’s Team Eun-Ji Gim and Canada’s Team Jennifer Jones were the first to punch their playoff tickets in the KIOTI National.

Both clubs climbed to the top of the women’s division table with 3-0 records following Thursday’s morning draw at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.

Gim, who just captured gold in the Pan Continental Championships last weekend, maintained the momentum with a 4-1 victory over Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini.

Although Constantini (1-2) opened with the hammer, Gim rolled out to a 2-0 lead by stealing singles in the first and fourth ends. Constantini settled for one in the fifth and Gim, holding the hammer for the first (and only) time in the sixth, matched with another point to reclaim the two-count advantage.

Gim made it a three-point lead thanks to another steal in the seventh and ran Constantini out of rocks in the eighth.

Jones, who won last month's HearingLife Tour Challenge to capture her 10th title in the Grand Slam of Curling series, jumped to 3-0 with an 8-5 victory over Team Delaney Strouse of the United States.

Strouse, who is playing in her first Grand Slam major tournament, dropped to 0-3 and has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Elsewhere, Japan's Team Satsuki Fujisawa improved to a 2-1 record with an 8-6 extra-end win over Canada's Team Clancy Grandy (1-2).

Switzerland's Team Silvana Tirinzoni moved up to 2-1 after defeating Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States 7-5 in an extra end as well. Peterson is out of the mix at 0-3.

UP NEXT

The KIOTI National continues with Draw 9 at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ (Canada).

NOTES

The KIOTI National is the second event of the Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 16 of the top men's teams and 16 of the top women's teams from around the world. ... Each team plays four round-robin games with the top eight advancing to Saturday's quarterfinals. ... The semifinals are also on tap Saturday with both finals scheduled for Sunday.

Gim, Jones first to qualify for playoffs in KIOTI National

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