Canada's Gushue stays undefeated at Champions Cup after defeating Scotland
Jacobs, Koe secure playoff spots after wins in evening draw
Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., secured his team's playoff spot at the Champions Cup on Friday with a 5-1 win over Winnipeg's Team Carruthers, skipped by Braeden Moskowy, during the final round-robin draw of the Grand Slam of Curling event.
Jacobs advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 record and will battle Winnipeg's Mike McEwen on Saturday. Moskowy was eliminated from playoff contention with a 1-3 record.
Moskowy, who normally plays third, skipped the squad this week with Reid Carruthers away at the world mixed doubles championship.
Also, Calgary's Kevin Koe (3-1) qualified for the playoffs with a 7-3 victory in just five ends over Sweden's Niklas Edin.
Koe will take on former teammate John Morris (3-1) of Vernon, B.C., in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Toronto's John Epping defeated American John Shuster 5-3 as they both stay in the mix with 2-2 records. The teams will meet again Saturday morning in the tiebreakers alongside Edin against Saskatoon's Steve Laycock.
Brad Gushue (4-0) of St. John's, N.L., and Peter de Cruz of Switzerland await the tiebreaker winners. De Cruz (3-1) locked down the No. 2 seed.
Sinclair tops women's field
In the women's tiebreaker, American Jamie Sinclair led her rink to a 7-5 win over Winnipeg's Kerri Einarson.
Sinclair will play top seed Alina Paetz of Switzerland in quarter-finals. Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones faces Ottawa's Rachel Homan, Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland goes up against Jacqueline Harrison of Mississauga, Ont., and Edmonton's Val Sweeting meets Sweden's Anna Hasselborg in the other playoff matches.
The playoffs begin Saturday at the Grand Slam event and the finals are scheduled for Sunday.