Mike McEwen, right, defeated Jeff Stoughton in Sunday’s all-Manitoba final at the BDO Canadian Open in Kingston, Ont. (Anil Mungal/Capital One)
If Mike McEwen keeps playing like this, Jeff Stoughton’s days as the king of Manitoba curling could be numbered.
McEwen, the ascendant 31-year-old skip from Winnipeg by way of Brandon, defeated the veteran Winnipegger Stoughton 5-2 on Sunday afternoon to successfully defend his BDO Canadian Open title at the K-Rock Centre.
Stoughton’s rink carried its uneven play from Saturday’s hold-on-for-dear-life semifinal win over Glenn Howard into the championship match, coming up short on a second-end draw that set McEwen up to draw for a deuce and a 2-0 lead he would never relinquish.
After McEwen stole one in the seventh to go up 5-2, Stoughton used the new “five-rock rule” being introduced here this week to his advantage in the final end. In an effort to generate offence, teams are forbidden from removing an opponent’s stone that is resting in the free guard zone until the sixth stone of each end.
Stoughton was able to get rocks in play on McEwen, who said earlier this week that the new rule was giving him “a headache” while trying to protect late leads. You could almost seeing him reaching for the aspirin as he prepared to throw his final rock with Stoughton sitting three and McEwen needing a double takeout to seal it.
McEwen took a deep breath and calmly nailed the shot, rendering Stoughton’s hammer useless.
“You’re always one shot away from disaster,” is how McEwen described life as a leader under the five-rock rule.
McEwen’s clutch final throw earned him his third career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling trophy. It also completed a perfect 8-0 week and burnished the reputation as a closer he’s been building since winning each of his first two finals appearances last season.
Stoughton, the reigning world champion, hasn’t won a Slam since capturing this event in 2006, and he’s still looking for his first victory of the season.
“Average at best,” is how Stoughton described his campaign so far. “We haven’t won a bonspiel.”