(by Jonathan Brazeau)
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Kevin Martin will finish his career with a chance to win the Players’ Championship after defeating Mike McEwen 6-5 in the extra end of their semifinal match on Saturday.
Martin held the hammer in the extra and had to squeeze his final shot into the house and on the button.
The Edmonton skip announced on Friday night he will retire following the season-ending Grand Slam of Curling event.
It will be a battle between the past two Olympic gold medallists as Martin will face Brad Jacobs, who defeated Brad Gushue 6-4 in the other semifinal match. Jacobs scored the game-winning triple in the sixth end as Gushue blanked the seventh to retain the hammer but ran out of rocks in the eighth.
In the women’s division, Rachel Homan and Jennifer Jones punched their tickets to the final with extra end victories.
Homan beat Silvana Tirinzoni 4-3 while Jones edged Margaretha Sigfridsson 8-7 in a rematch of the Sochi Olympics gold-medal game.
As Masters champions, Homan’s rink has a chance to earn a $100,000 bonus if they also capture the Players’ title.