It was a full day of guessing ice at the AMJ Masters in London, Ontario.
Whether it was the weather outside or it being the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the year, many of the curlers struggled to find their groove. However, the world’s best still delivered some great moments on Day 1 at the AMJ Masters.
Best match
Brad Gushue’s Farewell Tour didn’t start the way he hoped, losing to Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz 6-2. So, you're probably wondering why a game where the score wasn't close at the end earned match-of-the-day honours.
Well, that’s because up until the final rock in the eighth end, the game was tight and showcased some of the best team shots of the day.
A great game doesn’t always need to be high scoring, and this one certainly wasn’t. Both teams scored just six points through seven ends, but it was the timely shots that made this game.
Best shot
China’s Team Xiao Ming Xu was put to the test early, by both the time of day and by the challenge of their game. Playing the 8:00 a.m. draw, Xu found himself in a first-end jam with the hammer against Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller, where it looked like he would surrender at least a steal of one.
With Xu’s only chance at getting shot rock being a double angle raise takeout on the button, he made the call to go for it and then executed it to perfection, somehow escaping the end with two points.
Biggest momentum swing
Just looking at the scoreboard it’s easy to think Scotland’s Team Ross Whyte controlled the whole game during their 6-2 win against Canada’s Team John Epping, but the ends actually came down to just one moment where the game completely swung.
Epping had a chance at a deuce in the third end against the defending champs, just needing to hit and stick. Instead of taking full advantage, however, he went on to overthrow the hit and spill out the back, settling for just one point.
From there it felt like Epping had lost his confidence as he wrecked on a guard out front the following end, and left Whyte with a draw for three that he easily made as the Scottish squad rolled to victory.
Best sweep
With Korea’s Team Eun-Jung Kim sitting shot rock on the button after throwing her last shot of the fourth end, it looked as if they would steal as Canada’s Team Christina Black had no easy way to get to it. Black responded with the only possible shot, an inside-out hit-and-roll.
But from the second Black let go of the rock, she needed every brush stroke possible out of Jenn Baxter to keep it on line.
Baxter did just that, landing the hit-and-roll, scoring one to give Team Black back the lead. Black’s squad would go on to win 7-5.
Top player
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the top player from Day 1 must be none other than Scotland’s Bruce Mouat.
Other than his miss during the fourth end which opened the door for Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin to have a chance at three points with a double takeout that he didn’t convert, Mouat showed off the shots that has his team ranked at the top as he cruised to a 8-3 win.
While Mouat didn’t need pizzazz, he was efficient. Just look at his final shot in the third end where he played a soft weight tap-back, scoring three and broke the game open.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's big matchups
Day 2 of round-robin play of the AMJ Masters is highlighted by following matches:
Tirinzoni vs. Tabata at 11:30 a.m.
Homan vs. Wrana at 3:30 p.m.
Jacobs vs. Epping at 7:30 p.m.
Mouat vs. Hoesli at 7:30 p.m.
All draws can be found on Sportsnet+ until Thursday when Draw 10 at 11:30 a.m. ET and the following matches will be available on both Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
