There haven’t been many surprises in the first two days of the Viterra Championship to determine the Manitoba men’s curling champ.
The match-ups are all finalized for the first set of playoff qualifying games on the A-Side, and six of the top eight seeds have advanced without a loss.
Top seed and defending champion Mike McEwen disposed of Jordan Smith of the Deer Lodge Curling Club. McEwen scored four points in the first end on their way to a lopsided 8-2 win.
They’ll meet Sean Grassie of the Deer Lodge Curling Club on Friday morning in a playoff qualifying game, but right now the three-time champion is looking unstoppable.
“We’ve got a year and a half under our belt as a foursome,” McEwen said.
“We’ve had, obviously, a lot of ups and downs, and different lineups and things like that. But right now, this unit, we’re playing our best curling we have in a long time, so trending in the right direction.”
Second seed Jason Gunnlaugson is also safely through on the A-Side. They scored a single point in the 10th end to defeat Manitoba junior champion Brett Walter 7-6.
Seventh seed JT Ryan and eighth seed Dennis Bohn were the only top eight seeds that failed to qualify for one of the eight playoff qualifier berths. If they’re to earn a playoff spot, it’ll now have to come through the B-Event.
The first four playoff teams will be determined on Friday at 8:30 a.m., with four playoff-qualifying matches at the Eric Coy Arena.
Virden’s Jay Kinnaird and Morris’ Allan Gitzel were both eliminated from the original 32-team field, leaving 26 teams left in the competition.
The final is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Playoff Qualifying Match-ups – Draw 9
Mike McEwen (West St. Paul) vs Sean Grassie (Deer Lodge)
Jason Gunnlaugson (Morris) vs Ryan Wiebe (St. Vital)
Tanner Horgan (Winnipeg Beach) vs Corey Chambers (Thistle)
Braden Calvert (Assiniboine) vs William Lyburn (Granite)