(by Jonathan Brazeau)
SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — Reigning world champ Kevin Koe of Calgary cruised to a 9-2 victory after clashing with Peter de Cruz of Switzerland during Draw 5 action Wednesday night at the Humpty’s Champions Cup.
Kevin Koe at the 2016 Humpty’s Champions Cup in Sherwood Park, Alta. (Photo: Anil Mungal)
Koe got on the scoreboard first stealing two in the second and maintained control adding three in the fourth and a four-ender in the sixth to bring out early handshakes. De Cruz was held to singles in three and five.
Team Koe climb to a 2-0 record in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season finale while Team de Cruz are level at 1-1 during round-robin play.
“We got a nice steal of two in the second end that kind of set the tone of the game,” Team Koe third Marc Kennedy said. “Then Kevin made a couple good shots. We got a few breaks, got some misses, just riding some good momentum lately.”
Teams had to win a high-profile tour event over the course of the season in order to qualify for the Humpty’s Champions Cup. The Edmonton native Kennedy has had his mind on this event since September when his team became the first to earn a berth by capturing the Pinty’s GSOC season opening Tour Challenge Tier 1.
“I don’t get to play in my own backyard very often so I’ve been looking forward to this event all year,” he said. “The crowds are great, the energy is good. We’re excited to have earned our spot here and we’re starting to play pretty good so I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”
Elsewhere, Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., also moved up to a 2-0 record with a 5-2 win over American John Shuster, who dropped to 0-2.
Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock improved to a 1-1 record rolling to a 9-1 victory in just five ends over Edmonton’s Mick Lizmore (1-2). Laycock scored three in the first and stole four in the third for an early seven-point advantage. Lizmore was limited to a single in four and shook hands after Laycock added a deuce in five.
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In the women’s division, it was a good day at the office for the Japanese teams skipped by Satsuki Fujisawa and Ayumi Ogasawara as they picked up pairs of wins Wednesday.
The world silver medallist Fujisawa prevailed over Ottawa’s Rachel Homan in the evening draw with a 7-6 extra end victory.
Fujisawa led 5-0 at the break scoring one in the second, stealing a point in the third and three in the fourth. Homan, who won three consecutive Pinty’s GSOC majors this season, bounced back with a deuce in six.
The two rinks alternated singles in six and seven and Homan forced the decisive extra end by scoring three in the eighth. Fujisawa made a hit and roll to split the rings with her first skip stone in the extra and didn’t need to throw her last as Homan was unable to get the right freeze on her final shot.
Team Fujisawa also scored a 4-2 win over Jacqueline Harrison of Mississauga, Ont., during the noon draw.
Meanwhile, Ogasawara defeated Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque 6-4 in the evening after edging Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland 4-3 during the noon draw.
NOTES: The Humpty’s Champions Cup is the seventh and final event of the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season and runs through to Sunday at the Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre. … TV coverage begins Thursday on Sportsnet. … The event is the second of two new tournaments added to the schedule this year along with the Tour Challenge, which kicked off the season in September. … The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling returns for the 2016-17 season starting with the Masters, Oct. 25-30, in Okotoks, Alta.