The playoff picture at the latest Grand Slam of Curling event is relatively clear following round robin action and it will feature a battle of Olympic champs on Saturday.
Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs, who won gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics, will face the reigning Olympic champ in quarterfinal action.
Team Jacobs, which includes third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden, will face American John Shuster Saturday after both teams posted 3-1 round robin records at the Tour Challenge in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Jacobs wrapped up round robin action on Friday night with a 3-1 loss to Calgary’s Kevin Koe.
The win allowed Koe to get into the playoff round as well with a 2-2 record.
Koe will face Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz on Saturday. Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton (3-1) will face American Rich Ruohonen (3-1) in another quarterfinal. Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Nfld. qualified for the playoff round with a perfect 4-0 record and awaits his quarterfinal opponent, which will be determined by a tiebreaker between Matt Dunstone of Regina, Sask. and Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont. on Saturday morning.
The Tour Challenge features two tiers with 15 men’s and 15 women’s rinks competing in the top tier. The teams are split into pools of five teams each and include the top 15 teams according to the World Curling Tour’s Order of Merit.
The second tier includes the next 10 teams on the Order of Merit along with five teams each from the Thunder Bay region.
Semifinal action on the men’s side is set for 8 p.m.
The men’s final is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday.