KINGSTON, ON, December 17, 2011 – The championship final at the BDO Canadian Open features an all-Manitoba match-up between the world #1-ranked Mike McEwen and reigning World champion Jeff Stoughton. Along with the title of champion at the second Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event of the season on the line, tomorrow’s winner will take home at least $24,000 and 40 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points.
McEwen is the defending champion at the BDO Canadian Open and has yet to lose a game so far this week. Stoughton’s last Grand Slam win came at this very event in 2006. Both teams play out of Winnipeg, MB and are no doubt thinking about local bragging rights along with another victory tomorrow.
To reach the championship final, Stoughton had to get past former World champion Glenn Howard – the only team Stoughton had lost to so far this week. In a rematch of this year’s Brier final, Stoughton once again came out on top with a hard-fought 8-6 victory. Despite jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the first end, Stoughton was still in danger of letting the win slip away due in part to the new five-rock rule that is in effect for the first time in competition at the BDO Canadian Open. The rule allows a team to come from behind by keeping more rocks in play and therefore more opportunities for big numbers. Howard was able to climb back into the game and came into the eighth end with the hammer and trailing by two. Stoughton, however, was able to hold off the Howard comeback by running him out of stones with a double takeout with his last shot.
In tonight’s second semifinal, McEwen took on Sweden’s Niklas Edin, the #6-ranked team in the world whose only previous loss this week was to McEwen in the final round-robin draw last night. The game was close through the first five ends with both teams managing to keep each other close. McEwen entered the sixth end with the hammer and a 4-2 lead and was able to put the game out of reach when he was able to remove Edin’s only stone in the house to score four points and secure an 8-2 victory and a place in tomorrow’s championship final.
Tomorrow’s championship final begins at 1 p.m. ET at Kingston, ON’s K-Rock Centre and can be seen live on CBC and
cbcsports.ca.