Things seem bleak for Manitoba curling legend Jeff Stoughton. Three losses in the first four matches make qualifying for the playoffs at the Olympic curling trials unlikely. But based on the draw, it’s not impossible.
Here’s where things stand heading into Wednesday’s lone draw for the men (Top 3 teams make the playoffs; tied teams will go to tiebreaker games):
Stoughton is two wins behind the John Morris team, which occupies the final playoff spot. But the Morris team could quickly fall back to the pack.
Morris still has games against Kevin Martin and Brad Jacobs. Two losses to the Top 2 teams so far, and all of sudden Stoughton’s three losses wouldn’t look so bad.
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Stoughton pretty much needs to win out and have Morris lose two of his three games. Winning out would require beating McEwen and that would put McEwen on three losses. Should that all happen, Stoughton would get into a tiebreaker for the Olympic spot.
(Results in red have happened, lowercase in black are hypothetical)
In fact, based on results so far, it’s possible that four-loss teams could be in a tiebreaker scenario. It would require Stoughton beating McEwen Thursday night, and Jacobs and Martin not slipping up.
Stoughton and company don’t want to be in the position that they’re in, because it puts a lot of pressure on them through Friday’s final draw. But hope is not lost. And that’s a good thing for what may very well be a curling legend’s last chance at qualifying for the Olympics.
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