SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Olympic gold medallist Brad Jacobs has advanced to the semifinals with a 6-3 win over Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers Saturday afternoon at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling National.
Jacobs broke a 3-3 tie by scoring two in the fifth end and stealing one in seven. Carruthers settled for a single in the first and stole one in the second before Jacobs jumped on the board with a three-ender in the third. Jacobs held Carruthers to one in the fourth that knotted it up.
Carruthers cruised through the round robin with an undefeated 5-0 record.
The Jacobs team will now face Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher, who moved on with a 7-1 win in six ends over Calgary’s John Morris.
Bottcher bounced back from a 9-2 loss to Carruthers in his final round robin game and jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over Morris with a three-ender in the first followed by single steals in three consecutive ends.
Watch the semifinals live on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Pinty’s GSOC National: Latest scores & stats
Elsewhere, Heath McCormick scored two in the final end to lift his U.S. rink over Glenn Howard, from Penetanguishene, Ont., 6-5 and upsetting the defending champion.
McCormick meets Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, who nailed an open hit to stick for a point in the final end and edge Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 5-4. McEwen pulled ahead with a deuce in the fourth and stole one in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead but Laycock knotted it up scoring two in seven.