John Epping kicked off the PointsBet Invitational curling tournament with two victories on Thursday. In Draw 3, Epping triumphed over Brad Gushue with a score of 10-9, and later in Draw 4, he secured a 9-3 win against Kevin Koe from Calgary.
Gushue’s team managed to score two points in the 10th end, but Epping sealed the game with a crucial point in the extra end. Gushue, who declared this season as his final one, now stands at 1-1. In the match against Koe (1-1), Epping’s team dominated by scoring two points in the eighth end and four in the ninth, claiming a six-point lead. Epping currently leads Pool A with a perfect 2-0 record.
In Draw 4, Matt Dunstone from Winnipeg and Mike McEwen from Saskatoon also maintained their unbeaten streak at 2-0. Dunstone defeated Sam Mooibroek from Whitby, Ont., with a score of 9-6, while McEwen secured an 8-4 victory over Jordon McDonald from Winnipeg. McDonald had previously beaten Ryan Kleiter from Saskatoon 8-3 in Draw 3.
Brad Jacobs from Calgary improved to 1-1 after a dominant 12-0 win over Calan MacIsaac in Draw 4.
On the women’s side, Rachel Homan, the reigning national and world champion, achieved an 8-3 victory over Kaitlyn Lawes from Winnipeg, moving her team to a 2-0 record. In other matches, Kerri Einarson bested Kate Cameron 8-3, Selena Sturmay defeated Kayla Skrlik 7-6, and Myla Plett overcame Christina Black 8-5. Einarson, Cameron, Sturmay, and Plett all hold a 1-1 record, while Black dropped to 0-2.
The tournament includes 10 teams each for men and women, divided into two pools. The top team from each pool will compete in the championship games for a prize purse of $300,000.
