Teams Einarson, Gushue advance at Grand Slam of Curling Masters

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Kerri Einarson and her team needed an extra end to advance on the opening day of the Grand Slam of Curling Masters in Oakville, Ont., Tuesday.

Sweden’s Isabella Wrana and her team evened the score in the eighth end, but the Einarson squad from Gimli, Man., went up 6-5 in the ninth to capture a narrow victory in the first draw of the women’s triple knockout round.

Ottawa’s Rachel Homan, Tracey Fleury of East St. Paul, Man., American Tabitha Peterson, Japan’s Tori Koana and Satsuki Fujisawa, South Korea’s Eun-Jung Kim and Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland also advanced.

On the men’s side, seven Canadian teams moved on following the opening round, including Matt Dunstone of Wadena, Sask., Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher, Jason Gunnlaugson of Morris, Man., Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., Toronto’s John Epping, Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Calgary’s Kevin Koe. Scotland’s Bruce Mouat also advanced, beating American Rich Ruohonen 7-3.

Featuring 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams from around the world, the Masters kicks off the 2021-22 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season.

The knockout round continues Wednesday. Playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, with the finals on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2021.