Brad Gushue defeats defending champ to take curling Masters title
Jennifer Jones wins 8th career Grand Slam, beats Kerri Einarson in women's final
St. John's, N.L., skip Brad Gushue defeated Niklas Edin 8-4 to win the curling Masters event in Lloydminster, Sask., on Sunday.
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Gushue, the reigning world champion and former Olympic champion, broke the match open with a triple in the fifth end to go up 6-2.
Sweden's Edin, who was going for back-to-back titles at the Masters, closed the gap to 6-4 in the sixth, but the sides shook hands after the seventh end when Gushue tacked on a pair.
A stumble by Edin in the fifth end gave Gushue and his rink a chance to make a big play.
"The miss from Niklas in the fifth end was the key one to get that three," Gushue told CBC Sports.
"...To get three there kind of put the game in our control and we felt pretty comfortable from that point on."
Gushue said there are some technical aspects that need to be sorted out heading into the Olympic trials in December, but overall he was happy with the way his team was able to get the win.
"What I like about what we did this week is that we found ways to win. The first three or four games we weren't real sharp, but definitely the last two [semis, final] were probably a couple of our best games of the year which is a good sign."
Jennifer Jones takes women's final
Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones defeated Kerri Einarson 6-5 to win the Masters women's championship and her eighth career Grand Slam title.
In an all-Manitoba final, Jones scored three in a key fifth end. After Einarson missed a double takeout, the Olympic champion capitalized on the very next rock to take a 5-3 lead.
With the win, Jones swept through the tournament with a 7-0 perfect record. Jones continues her strong start to the season, claiming her second Grand Slam of Curling event this season.
"It feels amazing. We just love playing in the Slams and felt we had a really great event, so it was nice to get the win," Jones told the Canadian Press. "The events are so hard so I was really happy with how we performed."
Her crew of third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen take home $30,000 for the win.
Einarson, from East St. Paul, Man., came in with an impressive six-game winning streak. She started strong, jumping out to a 3-2 lead in the fourth end after stealing one with a well-placed come-around shot.
Trailing 6-3 after the sixth end, Einarson continued to chip away scoring one in the seventh to cut the deficit to 6-4. However, she let a key opportunity to score two slip away, missing her draw to the side.
In the eighth end, Einarson was lying three but Jones held the hammer and was able to put the match out of reach by giving up one.
With files from the Canadian Press