GUELPH, ONT., January 9, 2010 – Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) will aim to win his fourth career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event title while Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) will look to capture his first tomorrow when they meet in the final of The Swiss Chalet National at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont.
Ferbey improved to 6-1 and advanced to the championship game after sliding past Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) 9-5. With the win, Ferbey’s squad qualified for its second final in the past three Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events. Last season, Ferbey won his third career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling title when he captured the 2009 Grey Power Players’ Championship.
“It’s nice to get back to a Grand Slam final,” said Ferbey. “You never know when you’re going to be there again because they are very, very difficult to get to.”
Gushue advanced to the finals of The Swiss Chalet National for the second consecutive season after squeezing past Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) 6-5. The squad, which lost to Wayne Middaugh in last year’s championship game, is 0-2 in their previous Capital One Grand Slam of Curling final appearances.
“The best teams in the world play here and you’re playing on the best ice,” said Gushue. “Anytime you can win, nobody can ever take it away because all the best teams were here. It’s something that we don’t have and it’d be a nice notch in the belt.”
The final of The Swiss Chalet National will take place on Sunday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be shown live on CBC Television and CBCSports.ca.During the championship game, CBC will air the second on-site playoff of the Capital One Million Dollar Buttoncontest.
Facing off against Koe and tied at 5-5 after six ends, Ferbey soared ahead in the seventh after making a down weight takeout to score four points. The loss was Koe’s first of the tournament after opening with six straight victories.
In the evening’s other semi-final, Gushue staved off a furious rally by Howard, to pick up their fifth win in seven games.
With Gushue ahead 5-2 in the seventh, Howard executed a dramatic cross-face double takeout to square the game at 5-5 heading into the final frame.
Gushue held on in the eighth frame and secured the winning point after Howard failed to tap the shot stone off the button on his final shot.
In the afternoon’s quarterfinal draw, Ferbey scored three points in the seventh end to post a 7-5 comeback victory over Middaugh while Gushue doubled up Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) 6-3.
In other quarterfinal action, Koe advanced to the semi-finals with a 5-3 win over David Murdoch (Lockerbie, Scotland), Great Britain’s 2010 Olympic representative.
Howard earned a spot in the tournament’s final four with a 6-4 victory over previously unbeaten Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.). Trailing Stoughton 4-3 after six ends, Howard change the game’s momentum in the seventh after executing a razor thin double takeout to score three points.
In the morning’s tie-breaker games, Howard advanced to the playoff round with a 9-4 victory over Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.) while Murdoch qualified for his first career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event quarterfinal after upending Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.) 7-5.
The Swiss Chalet National features a $100,000 (CDN) purse. The tournament’s champion will earn $22,500 (CDN) plus an additional $500 for each round robin victory.
Throughout The Swiss Chalet National, members of the media can access live scoring, schedule and statistical information of each draw by visiting the official Capital One Grand Slam of Curling website at www.grandslamofcurling.com.
Held annually since 2001-02, the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling features the world’s best players in one series.
Related posts:
- Redemption for Gushue at The Swiss Chalet National
- Howard and Stoughton Sweep Past Competition to Open The Swiss Chalet National
- Quarterfinal Field Nearly Set at The Swiss Chalet National
- Stoughton and Burtnyk Get a Leg Up at The Swiss Chalet National
- The National Curling Event Renamed The Swiss Chalet National
Tags: capital one grand slam of curling, the swiss chalet national