ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Calgary's Team Brad Jacobs advanced to the semifinals of the KIOTI National after ousting Team Brad Gushue on home turf 6-5 during a wild and rowdy Saturday afternoon quarterfinal draw at the Mary Brown's Centre.
The Battle of the Brads — or the Braddle if you prefer — is always a thrilling contest, but the latest chapter turned the dial on the amp up to 11 with a sold-out capacity crowd on hand cheering for the local heroes.
Jacobs led 5-4 in the seventh and faced two Gushue stones in the house on his last shot when things turned hostile. The skip from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., opted to concede a point to tie it up but retain the hammer for the eighth end, and the crowd did not like it at all. Not one bit.
The boos came down hard like the pouring rain that has hit St. John's all week and fans continued to jeer every time Team Jacobs threw a rock during the final frame.
It all went according to plan for Jacobs, on the ice anyway, although he appeared to relish the opportunity to play the heel and egged them on for more noise. An open hit and stick on his final rock of the game sealed a spot in the semifinals.
Gushue believes the sport needs more of that crowd reaction.
"I know there’s going to be some people out there that are probably not going to like it. Personally, I love it," he said. "I’ve been on the other end of that when we played in Italy at the Olympics. I thought it was great. I think we need more excitement. We need the fans to get into it.
"I thought Brad handled it really well. You know what? He’s the right person for that because that probably motivates him, but I think he understood it. I think he wants that energy from the crowd, and I think the crowd was amazing this week.
"I think anybody that talks against it, I’d tell them to grow up and move on. It’s the way sport is and it’s the way curling needs to go. We’ve had this ritual of that’s not appropriate, but it’s done in every sport. If you support a team, support them and I certainly appreciate the way the fans supported us this week."
Gushue, who finished runner-up in the first two Grand Slam events of the season, walked off the ice along with his teammates to a standing ovation.
"It was pretty awesome," Gushue said while reflecting on the week. "Each pre-game introduction, I was finding myself getting emotional. At the end when we were finished, I found myself getting emotional. I don’t know if it’s my age or what, but it was a cool experience. I’m just disappointed we never played our best and gave them more to cheer about.
"I just felt a little bit off all week and I think our team was. We just weren’t being as precise as we normally are. I don’t if we wanted it too bad or if it was just one of those weeks, but I’m disappointed that we did get a little bit further, but we got to the playoffs, I guess. It’s some positive. I’m trying to look at the bright side."
Jacobs will play Team Ross Whyte in the semifinals after the Scottish side scored a 6-4 decision to eliminate defending champion Team Joël Retornaz of Italy.
The other semifinal sees Scotland's Team Bruce Mouat go up against Canada's Team Mike McEwen.
Mouat scored four in the opening end and brushed aside Team John Shuster of the United States 7-2 while McEwen scored a single in the extra end to hold off Germany's Team Marc Muskatewitz 6-5.
Earlier Saturday, Muskatewitz bounced Switzerland's Team Marco Hösli 5-3 in the morning tiebreakers to secure the eighth and final playoff spot.
Canada's Team Kerri Einarson ousted Japan's Team Satsuki Fujisawa 12-3, Sweden's Team Anna Hasselborg edged Halifax's Team Christina Black 7-6 in an extra end, Canada's Team Rachel Homan stole a point in an extra end to escape with a 7-6 win over Japan's Team Sayaka Yoshimura and Team Eun-jung Kim dispatched Team Seung-youn Ha 6-3 in a clash of South Korean clubs during the women's quarterfinals.
UP NEXT
The men's and women's semifinals get underway at 8 p.m. NT / 6:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+.
Both finals are set for Sunday.
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