Team Jacobs falls in Players Championship quarters

For Brad Jacobs, the only two losses suffered at the WestJet Players Championship this weekend at the Mattamy Athletic Centre were to the same opposition, the second of which came in the quarter-final of the event on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday, the Jacobs rink dropped a 7-6 decision to Scotland’s Kyle Smith in one of four quarter-final matchups, ending the Sault Ste. Marie rinks bid for its second Grand Slam of Curling title of the season.

After scoring one with the hammer in the opening end, the Jacobs rink fell behind after Smith scored three in the second end.

The teams would trade points in each subsequent end before Smith scored one in the eighth end to pick up the win.

Jacobs’ lone loss in the round robin was a 5-4 setback to Smith on Friday morning.

The Players Championship is the fourth and final major event on the Grand Slam of Curling schedule and features 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams. The teams are split up into pools of six teams each for the round robin.

The tournament champions earn invitations to the Champions Cup, the final event of the season. The event features the winners from each of curling’s major events during the season.

The Jacobs rink, which includes third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden has qualified for the event thanks to a win at the Boost National, held locally at the Essar Centre in December.