Jacobs stays perfect heading into Kioti National playoffs

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Team Brad Jacobs is all dialled in for the Kioti National playoffs.

The Calgary-based club already had a spot locked up and will now take an unblemished 4-0 record into the quarterfinals after defeating Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz 6-4 in Draw 14 Friday afternoon at the Mary Brown’s Centre.

"That was our plan going into the game," Team Jacobs third Marc Kennedy said. "I think we’ve been 3-0 going into the last round-robin game a couple of times this year, maybe took our foot off the gas and kind of ruined our momentum going into the playoffs. 

"The goal was to keep it going today, play well and try to get some good vibes going into the quarterfinals tomorrow and mission accomplished."  

Kennedy has had heartbreaking and jubilant moments over the years at the Mary Brown's Centre. He lost the 2017 Brier final to hometown hero Brad Gushue while playing with skip Kevin Koe and captured his first career Grand Slam title at the 2004 Players' Championship with skip John Morris.

Kennedy, who now has 17 Grand Slam championships to his name, said it's still an amazing venue two decades later with great fans.

"They’ve been wonderful to all the teams this week," Kennedy said. "They’re so respectful and obviously cheering for their man Brad (Gushue) but one of the best Slams we’ve ever had for sure."

Tied 1-1 in the fourth end, Retornaz’s last rock was left open just enough for Jacobs to take advantage and knock it out for a critical score of four.

The defending champ Retornaz bounced back with a double takeout for two points in the sixth to cut the deficit in half and a single steal in the seventh closed the gap to one.

Still, Jacobs retained the hammer coming home and a short angle raise was all he needed to tack another point on the board and secure the victory.

Retornaz dropped to a 2-2 record with his team’s fate to be determined following Friday evening’s round-robin finale.

"I don’t think you see Joël play that way very often," Kennedy said. "We kind of caught him on a bit of an off day. I think he got stuck on a couple of tricky paths, struggled a bit with draw weight. Even in the first end, we got away with a steal there on a shot that he makes for two quite often. We definitely got a few breaks but capitalized and managed to hang on to the lead."

Elsewhere, Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat earned a playoff berth following a 10-2 rout over Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin.

Mouat, who advanced with a 3-1 record, is seeking a third straight Grand Slam title after sweeping through the HearingLife Tour Challenge and Co-op Canadian Open.

Edin, who lost to Retornaz in last year's Kioti National final, was eliminated at 1-3.

In women’s play, Halifax’s Team Christina Black scored its second straight win after edging Team Stefania Constantini of Italy 8-7.

Black (2-2) stays in the playoff picture while Constantini heads home winless at 0-4.

South Korea’s Team Seung-youn Ha (2-2) also remains in the chase after stealing two in the eighth end to win 6-4 over Winnipeg’s Team Chelsea Carey (0-4).

UP NEXT

Two round-robin draws remain with action continuing at 4 p.m. p.m. NT / 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch live on Sportsnet East, Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+.

NOTES

The Kioti National is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots. … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.