Sweden’s Niklas Edin aiming for another Grand Slam of Curling championship

CRANBROOK, B.C. – Sweden’s Niklas Edin will try and make it two for two on this season’s Grand Slam of Curling calendar.

Edin beat Matt Nichols and Team Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., 6-4 on Saturday in the Tour Challenge men’s semifinal.

Nichols, skipping in place of Brad Gushue while he recovers from hip surgery, led 4-3 through seven ends after scoring a single, but Edin responded with three points in the eighth to pull off the victory.

Edin will go for his second title of the season on Sunday when he faces Scotland’s Kyle Smith in the championship draw.

Smith needed an extra end to defeat Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 6-5 in the other men’s semi.

Edin won the first stop on the Grand Slam tour in October, beating Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., at the Masters.

The women’s final will see Edmonton’s Val Sweeting against Winnipeg’s Michelle Englot.

Sweeting earned her spot in the women’s championship draw with a 9-2 drubbing of Allison Flaxey of Caldeon, Ont., while Englot used an extra end to beat Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg 6-5.

Sweeting dropped her first round-robin draw but has won five straight en route to the final. Meanwhile, Englot needed a tiebreaker just to reach the quarter-finals.