Canada’s Brad Jacobs secured a spot in the semifinals of the Pan Continental Curling Championships with a dominant 8-2 victory over Australia’s Hugh Millikin. The win ensured a place for a Canadian team at the upcoming world men’s curling championship in Ogden, Utah from March 27 to April 4.
Jacobs and his team from Calgary took an early lead by scoring two points in the first and third ends, establishing a 4-1 advantage. They further extended their lead by stealing one point in the fourth end and adding three more in the fifth. The Australian team conceded after scoring a single point in the sixth end.
Remaining undefeated at 5-0, Jacobs will conclude the round-robin stage on Friday with matches against Japan’s Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (4-1) and John Shuster of the United States (5-0).
In women’s competition earlier in the day, Canada’s Rachel Homan staged a comeback to defeat South Korea’s Eunji Gim 11-9. Gim initially took a 4-1 lead by scoring four points in the second end, but Homan’s team from Ottawa responded strongly, outscoring their opponents 6-1 in the following ends. With a steal of two in the sixth end, Homan took the lead and secured the victory.
However, Homan later suffered a narrow 7-6 loss to China’s Rui Wang, causing Canada’s record to drop to 3-2, while China maintained a perfect 5-0 record.
Both men’s and women’s round-robin matches will continue on Friday as the competition progresses.