TORONTO — Glenn Howard and Mike McEwen will clash in the final of the Players’ Championship on Sunday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Howard edged Brier champion Brad Jacobs 6-4 while McEwen defeated Jeff Stoughton 5-2 in the semifinals.
Watch the Players’ Championship men’s final Sunday at 1 p.m. / 10 a.m. PT on CBC.
The loss for Jacobs also meant Toronto’s John Epping clinched the final direct spot for the Canadian Olympic trials.
Howard, from Coldwater, Ont., scored deuces in the first and third ends to grab an early 4-1 lead.
Jacobs trailed 5-2 in the sixth but closed the gap counting two of his own.
Howard settled for a single in the seventh and led 6-4. Jacobs held the hammer in the final end but the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., rink couldn’t get another deuce to tie it and shook hands to end the match.
McEwen led by one in the seventh against Stoughton in the all-Winnipeg rink semifinal and a key deuce gave McEwen a three-point advantage.
Stoughton faced problems early in the match as his final shot of the first end didn’t go as planned and he was forced to give up a steal of one to open the scoring.
The two teams alternated singles before Stoughton blanked the fourth and retained the hammer for the fifth but overcurled his final rock and gave up another steal of one.
