Two of the four Manitoba rinks in the field qualified for the semifinals at the Players’ Championship in Toronto.
Jennifer Jones and Mike McEwen both won their quarterfinal match-ups to move into the final four.
Jones and her St. Vital rink defeated the two-time defending champion Eve Muirhead foursome from Scotland 6-5. Jones scored three in the second end to seize control of the game. Muirhead answered back with a deuce in the third end to even the score. But Jones stole single points in the sixth and seventh ends, and then held Muirhead to a single point in the final end to secure the victory.
Jones will face Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni in the semifinals on Sunday. Val Sweeting will meet Anna Hasselborg in the other women’s semifinal.
McEwen earned his place in the semifinals with a 4-2 win over his Manitoba counterpart Reid Carruthers. Carruthers won back to back tiebreaker games just to get in the playoffs, but they surrendered a deuce in the second end and never had a lead in getting eliminated.
McEwen will take on reigning Brier and World champion Brad Gushue in Sunday’s semifinals. Kyle Smith is up against Niklas Edin in the other men’s semifinal match-up.
The other Manitoba team skipped by Michelle Englot failed to qualify for the playoff round.
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