The original 32-team field has been chopped to just four at the Viterra Championship in Winkler.
Even without their skip, the back-to-back provincial champion Team Mike McEwen continues to pile up the victories. With McEwen still battling chicken pox, his other three teammates defeated two-time defending provincial junior champ JT Ryan 5-3 in a playoff round game on Saturday.
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That sets up a showdown with 2015 champion Reid Carruthers in Saturday night’s 1-vs-1 Page Playoff game. Carruthers handed Travis Bale of the Fort Rouge Curling Club an 8-4 loss to advance to the championship round.
Carruthers will take on McEwen at 6:00 p.m. for the right to go straight to Sunday’s championship game.
Brandon’s Steve Irwin also secured a spot in the four-team championship round with a victory over Bale. Trailing 5-1 after the sixth end, Irwin stole three points in the eighth end and two more in the ninth en route to an 8-5 win.
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Irwin will meet Ryan in the other Page Playoff game after Ryan defeated Daniel Birchard of the Pembina Curling Club 7-5.
The winner of Irwin/Ryan will take on the loser of McEwen/Carruthers in Sunday morning’s semifinal.
The championship game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Winkler Arena.