Homan advances to semis at Players' Championship with 6-5 win over Fujisawa

Homan advances to semis at Players’ Championship with 6-5 win over Fujisawa

TORONTO — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan locked up top spot in the women’s standings and a berth in the semifinals at the Grand Slam of Curling Players’ Championship with a 6-5 win over Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa in Friday’s second draw.

Homan finished the round robin at the season-ending tournament a perfect 5-0, but needed an extra end to beat Fujisawa (1-4).

The Japanese skip entered the match already eliminated from playoff contention, but gave the reigning women’s world champion a tough match.

She took a 4-3 lead with three points in the sixth, and sent the game to an extra end with one in the eighth after Homan went up 5-4 with two in the seventh.

Sweden’s Isabella Wrana took the other direct berth into the semifinal with a 5-4 win over Italy’s Stefania Constantini in Friday’s third draw.

Wrana, Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni and South Korea’s Gim Eun-ji all finished the round robin at 4-1, but the Swedish skip had the tiebreaker with the superior shootout score.

A team’s cumulative shootout score comes from pre-game draws to the button to determine which team gets hammer.

Tirinzoni had a chance to lock up a top-two finish and earn a semifinal spot but lost 11-9 to Gim in her final game.

The top six teams in each competition qualify for the playoffs.

In other results from the third draw, Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., scored a point in an extra end to defeat South Korea’s Kim Eunjung 7-6.

Kim still advanced to the playoffs with a 6-2 record, while Einarson (2-3) had to wait for the results of the final round-robin draw Friday evening to learn her fate.

In men’s competition, Scotland’s Bruce Mouat earned a direct berth into the semifinals with a 5-4 win over Calgary’s Kevin Koe (1-4).

Winnipeg’s Matt Dunstone (2-3) posted a 6-3 win over Scotland’s James Craik (1-4). Neither team qualified for the playoffs.

In other results from Friday’s second draw, Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher finished the round-robin at 2-3 with a convincing 8-2 win over world men’s silver medallist Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L. (3-2). Gushue locked up a playoff spot despite the loss.

Italy’s Joel Retornaz edged Scotland’s Ross Whyte 8-7. Both teams finished with 3-2 records and qualified for the playoffs.

In Friday’s early draw, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen (4-0) remained the lone unbeaten team in the men’s competition with an 8-3 win over Craik.

The victory assured McEwen of a top-two finish in the men’s standings and a bye to the semifinals.

Einarson of Gimli, Man., scored two in the final end for a 6-5 win over Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes (0-4), and men’s world champion Niklas Edin (2-2) also scored a deuce in the final end in a 6-5 win over Koe.

Curling legend Jennifer Jones (1-3), in potentially her final women’s curling match, was scheduled to face Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg (2-2) in Friday’s final draw.

Jones, who was a longshot to make the playoffs, says she is retiring from four-player curling after this season but will continue to compete in mixed doubles.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press