Team Jacobs tops Team Gushue in tight battle

“I can’t even remember what happened,” Jacobs joked after the game. “I guess force, deuce, force, deuce, and we were able to have the hammer tied up coming home and that was a good situation for us.”

Jacobs said the quality of the ice has made a big difference for his team.

“It’s very consistent. It’s quick. It’s very readable,” he said. “As players, you like to be able to put the broom down and pretty well know what’s going to happen when you throw the rock and I think we’re really comfortable with that right now.”

.@TeamBradJacobs with a huge 5-4 win over @TeamGushue at Meridian Canadian Open @grandslamcurl.
Here's how it ended pic.twitter.com/THkIdzQHTj

— Nathan Kanter (@NathanKanter11) January 5, 2017

The triple knockout format is not that common, even in the Grand Slam events, but Jacobs said the format has nothing to do with his 2-0 start.

“It is what it is,” he said. “You know what to expect. You know that you can’t lose three games.

“That’s all we’re really trying to do.”

Jacobs will now play Kevin Koe in the ‘A’ bracket with a playoff spot on the line, after Koe defeated Greg Balsdon from Kingston 8-2 on Wednesday evening.

The other big news from Wednesday evening was the first Grand Slam win for certain members of Team Korte, who curl of Saskatoon. They were invited to the tournament as the sponsor’s exemption, but they showed they belong thanks to their 9-5 win over Scotland’s Kyle Smith.

Twenty-eight year-old twins Daniel and Kevin Marsh, who are second and third on Team Korte respectively, both said the win meant a lot.

“It’s amazing, really,” Daniel said. “We kind of wanted to come here and show everyone that we kind of deserved to be here [because] we got the last spot. So getting that first win kind of gets the monkey off the back.”

“It’s been a great experience,” Kevin added. “We definitely prepared a lot for this and we’re just really happy the way we’ve played these last two games.”

Team Korte has had a busy season, as this is their eighth event already.

They’ve been to Edmonton, Portage, Morris, Saskatoon, Humboldt and more.

But nothing is like a Grand Slam.

“All the teams are just that much better,” Kevin said. “Any small mistake – these guys are going to capitalize on any of those mistakes. You just can’t get away with much here.”

As the elder statesman of the team, skip Bruce has had a huge influence on his younger team.

“He’s kind of like a coach on the ice almost,” Daniel said. “Getting that veteran guy – he’s been to three briers, he played in the slams originally – he just gives us that extra bit of confidence before a game.”

Team Korte, now 1-1 so far, will take on Edmonton’s Charley Thomas, also 1-1, at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday morning in the ‘B’ bracket, after Thomas picked up a 6-5 win over defending Meridian Canadian Open champion John Epping of Toronto.

Epping will take on Team Smith in the ‘C’ bracket on Thursday.

Elsewhere on Wednesday evening, Sweden’s Niklas Edin stayed perfect with a 7-5 win over Winnipeg’s Mike McEwan.

Edin will now take on Minnesota’s John Shuster in the ‘A’ bracket at 11:30 a.m. with a playoff spot on the line.

Nathan Kanter is a reporter for battlefordsNOW and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Team Jacobs tops Team Gushue in tight battle

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