TORONTO — Canada’s Kevin Koe squeezed past Sweden’s Niklas Edin 6-5 Friday and into the playoffs at the Princess Auto Players’ Championship.
Koe just had to make an open tap with the last shot of the game for the winning single and qualified for the quarterfinals with a 4-1 record.
The Calgary club looks to end their 2022-23 campaign on a high note here as they did not qualify for the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup season finale. It’ll end a streak of 80 consecutive Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournaments for Team Koe.
This is also their last event with second Brad Thiessen, who is stepping back from competitive curling to spend more time with his family. Jacques Gauthier, who is cousins with Team Koe third Tyler Tardi, will come on board next season.
Edin (3-2) will stick around for one more game at the very least although whether it’s in the tiebreakers or the quarterfinals will be determined after the next draw.
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Elsewhere, Italy’s Joël Retornaz (4-1) clinched a playoff spot plus a bye to the semifinals with a 5-3 win over Canada’s Matt Dunstone (3-2). Retornaz earned the No. 1 seed thanks to a strong draw-to-the-button shootout score.
Canada’s Brad Gushue, who ended his group schedule during the previous draw, is the No. 2 seed and is through to the semis at 4-1 and with a great draw shot tally.
In women’s play, Tabitha Peterson from the United States edged reigning champion Anna Hasselborg of Sweden 7-6 in an extra end. Peterson (3-2) is still in contention while Hasselborg (1-4) was eliminated.
South Korea’s Eun-Ji Gim grabbed a bye to the semifinals with a 7-4 win over Canada’s Clancy Grandy. Gim and Sweden’s Isabella Wranå finished as the top two seeds with 4-1 records. Grandy is guaranteed another game at 3-2.
UP NEXT
Round-robin play wraps up at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT with broadcast coverage on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet NOW.
The best six teams overall qualify for Saturday’s playoffs with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. Both finals are scheduled for Sunday.
NOTES: The Princess Auto Players’ Championship features 12 of the top men’s teams and 12 of the top women’s teams from around the world based on the World Curling Federation’s year-to-date world team rankings. … The Pinty’s Cup will also be awarded to the season champions in the series during the event.
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