THE CANADIAN PRESS
ORILLIA, Ont. — Kevin Martin and Wayne Middaugh will renew their rivalry at the $100,000 TSN Skins curling tournament after winning their semifinal matches Saturday at Casino Rama.
Defending champion Martin and Middaugh will meet in Sunday’s final, facing off for the title for a third time. Martin defeated Middaugh in the 1998 final in St. John’s, N.L., while Middaugh got revenge the following year in Whitehorse, Yukon.
A seven-time TSN Skins champion, Middaugh is already the all-time leader on the event’s money list, while Martin won the most recent Skins event in 2004 in Bathurst, N.B.
Edmonton’s Martin won only two skins in his match against 2006 Olympic champion Brad Gushue of St. John’s, but he made the shot that counted. With $14,000 at stake in the eighth and final end, Martin drew to the button on his last rock to force a tie-breaking draw. In the shootout, Martin’s stone hit the button while Gushue’s rock came up short.
Martin took home $15,000, while Gushue pocketed $6,000.
Earlier Saturday, Toronto’s Middaugh won four Skins for a total of $17,000, defeating reigning Brier and World champion Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont.
The game came down to the final rock of the eighth and final end. Howard tried an angle-raise double-tap to remove a Middaugh stone and score two. The result was one Middaugh stone and one Howard stone in the four-foot, requiring a measure. The Middaugh stone was closer, and Middaugh picked up the final skin to clinch the win.
Howard won three skins for $4,000.