Yannick Schwaller from Geneva, Switzerland, secured his spot in the final of the HearingLife Canadian Open in Saskatoon by defeating John Shuster from Duluth, Minnesota, with a score of 7-5 on Saturday night. Earlier in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Schwaller had a convincing 7-1 victory over Marc Muskatewitz from Germany.
In the match against Shuster, Schwaller took an early lead by scoring three points in the first end. Despite Shuster’s efforts, Schwaller maintained his advantage, going up 4-1 in the third end. Shuster managed to close the gap by scoring two points in the fourth end and stealing one in the fifth, tying the game 4-4 after five ends. However, Schwaller regained control by scoring two points in the sixth end, limiting Shuster to one point in the seventh, and securing another point in the eighth to clinch the win at Merlis Belsher Place.
Schwaller is set to face Ross Whyte in the final after Whyte defeated Bruce Mouat 6-4 in an all-Scotland semifinal match. Whyte was trailing 4-2 after six ends but managed to level the score at 4-4 with a two-point end in the seventh and then secured a victory by stealing two points in the eighth.
In the women’s competition, Satsuki Fujisawa from Japan advanced to the final after a 7-5 victory over her compatriot Momoha Tabata. Despite trailing 4-1 after four ends, Fujisawa made a strong comeback by scoring three points in the fifth end and taking the lead at 6-4 with a steal of two points in the sixth end. The game ended with the teams exchanging single points in the final two ends.
Fujisawa is set to compete against Silvana Tirinzoni from Switzerland in the final after Tirinzoni narrowly defeated Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan with a score of 5-4 in the semifinal. Yoshimura had tied the game 4-4 with a two-point end in the seventh, but Tirinzoni secured the win by scoring one point with the hammer.
Yoshimura had previously defeated Kerri Einarson from Gimli, Manitoba, with a score of 9-6 in the quarterfinals on Saturday.