FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., edged Calgary’s Kevin Koe in the opening draw of the Syncrude Elite 10, the all-new Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event Thursday.
Team Jacobs, the 2014 Sochi Olympics gold medallists, led 1-up with the hammer coming home. Koe’s final shot was the lone stone in the house biting the 12-foot circle and Jacobs drew to the button to seal the victory.
Syncrude Elite 10: Scores | Standings
Jacobs started the game with the hammer and took the opening end to go up and and earned a steal in the second for a two-point lead after Koe missed the tap attempt.
Koe got on the board in the third end after making an angle raise to grab a piece of the button to count two. Jacobs earned a deuce in four to regain the two-point advantage but Koe matched in five to cut the deficit back to one. The two teams kept pace exchanging points through the sixth and seventh ends.
Elsewhere, reigning National champion Mike McEwen of Winnipeg stole the fourth end and added another steal in seven to beat Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 2 & 1.
Brad Gushue, of St. John’s, N.L., defeated Toronto’s John Epping 3 & 1 to win in his opening match. Epping picked up a point stealing the second end but Gushue stole the fourth and fifth ends to pull ahead and swiped the sixth and seventh ends to bring out the handshakes.
The Syncrude Elite 10 uses match play rules. Teams compete to win the most ends by either scoring two or more points (with hammer) or steal at least one point (without hammer). If an end is blanked, the hammer switches and points do not carry over.