Brad Gushue beats Steve Laycock 7-5, opens Champions Cup with back-to-back wins

CALGARY – World champion Brad Gushue is off to a fine start at the Champions Cup curling competition.

Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., scored three in the final end to down Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 7-5 in Wednesday’s evening draw.

He’s 2-0 to open the tournament, alongside Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen and American John Shuster through five draws.

McEwen beat Scotland’s Tom Brewster (0-2) 9-1 while Shuster downed Greg Balsdon of Kingston, Ont., (0-2) 8-4 in the other evening draws.

Laycock (1-1) defeated Brewster in Wednesday’s early draw.

On the women’s side, Edmonton’s Val Sweeting (1-1) cruised by Ottawa’s Rachel Homan (1-1) with an 8-3 victory. Sweeting scored six in the fourth end to blow it open and the two skips shook hands after only five ends.

Also, Scotland’s Eve Muirhead (1-1) scored a 9-4 win over Allison Flaxey of Caledon, Ont. (1-1) in six ends. Muirhead led 5-4 after five ends, but scored four in the sixth to finish the draw.

The playoffs at the Grand Slam event begin Saturday and the finals are scheduled for Sunday.