TORONTO – Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen scored four in the sixth end and eliminated defending champion John Epping 8-2 in the quarter-finals of the Players’ Championship on Saturday.
McEwen’s final stone just missed Epping’s guard and knocked the Toronto rink’s shot rock out of the house to get four points.
Epping still has a chance to qualify for the final berth in the Canadian Olympic trials, pending Brad Jacobs’ result in the tournament.
Watch the semifinals of the Players’ Championship at 8:30 p.m. AT on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific.
McEwen scored two in the opening end after Epping tried for a double runback but could only knock out one stone. McEwen held shot rock and eased his final stone into the house for the deuce.
Epping missed an opportunity to tie it up with his last stone in the second and had to settle for a single.
A close measurement gave McEwen another double in the fourth and gave him a 4-1 lead.
Epping struggled early in the tournament dropping his first two matches but he finished 2-2 in the round-robin and knocked out seven-time champion Kevin Martin in a tiebreaker.
Howard 7, Gushue 6 (EE)
Brad Gushue couldn’t get his final shot to the button and Glenn Howard won 7-6 in extra ends.
It was the second time the Coldwater, Ont., rink was victorious over the 2006 Olympic gold medallist. Howard won 4-3 in extra ends on Thursday.
Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., needed to win in order to stay in contention for the last Canadian Olympic trial berth.
Jacobs 9, Ulsrud 5
Brier champion Brad Jacobs’ final shot in the eighth end hit and stuck to score a triple and give his Team Easy Express rink a 9-5 win over Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud.
Jacobs, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., broke a 2-2 tie with a triple in the fifth end. Ulsrud responded with a double in the sixth to close the gap.
Stoughton 5, Cotter 4 (EE)
Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton nailed his final shot in the extra end to beat Jim Cotter 5-4 and move on to the semifinals.
Stoughton opened the scoring with a single in the first and a steal in the second.
Cotter’s Kelowna/Vernon, B.C., team tied it up with a deuce in the third. Stoughton then blanked three consecutive ends before the two rinks exchanged doubles.
Semifinal matchups:
McEwen vs. Stoughton
Howard vs. Jacobs