He took the long road, but top seed and defending champion Reid Carruthers has qualified for the playoffs at the Viterra Championship in Virden, Man.
After losing on Thursday, Team Carruthers reeled off three straight victories to qualify for the eight-team playoff round. Carruthers avenged his earlier loss to Brandon’s Terry McNamee by winning the rematch 6-3 in a B-side qualifying game on Friday afternoon. Carruthers scored deuces in the third and eighth ends en route to his team’s third straight victory.
Earlier in the day, in Draw 10, Carruthers shut out Ty Dilello from the Fort Rouge Curling Club 10-0. Carruthers had steals of three and four points as his team defeated Dilello in just five ends.
Carruthers will now face Tanner Lott (Winnipeg Beach) to start the playoff round.
READ MORE: Top seed Reid Carruthers finds back against the wall after early loss at Viterra Championship
Four of the top five seeds made the playoffs. Joining Carruthers in the elite eight are second seed Jason Gunnlaugson (Morris), third seed Braden Calvert (Assiniboine) and fourth seed Lott.
Fifth seed Dennis Bohn (Assiniboine) was the only top seed who failed to qualify for the next stage. Bohn lost an A-side qualifier to Lott and then dropped a second straight game to Steen Sigurdson (Gimli) to get eliminated.
READ MORE: Manitoba’s top seeds safely through opening day of 2019 Viterra Championship
Also qualifying for the playoff round were Sigurdson, William Lyburn (Granite), Corey Chambers (Lorette) and David Bohn (Assiniboine).
Eight more teams were knocked out of contention on Friday. Dilello, McNamee, Dennis Bohn, Steve Irwin (Brandon), Daniel Birchard (Pembina), Riley Smith (Fort Rouge), Trevor Loreth (Granite) and Ryan Thomson (Morden) all saw their bonspiel come to an end.
READ MORE: Reid Carruthers chosen as top seed for Viterra Championship
The playoff round starts Friday night, while the four surviving teams will advance to the championship round, which begins on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The provincial men’s final is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m., with the winner to represent Manitoba at the Brier in Brandon next month.
Playoff Round — Draw 12
Jason Gunnlaugson vs. William Lyburn
Tanner Lott vs. Reid Carruthers
Braden Calvert vs. David Bohn
Corey Chambers vs. Steen Sigurdson
WATCH: Highlights Reid Carruthers vs. Terry McNamee — Thursday
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