St. John’s, N.L., skip Brad Gushue defeated Niklas Edin 8-4 to win the curling Masters event in Llyodminster, Sask., on Sunday.
Gushue, the reigning world champion and former Olympic champion, broke the match open with a triple in the fifth end to go up 6-2.
Sweden’s Edin, who was going for back-to-back titles at the Masters, closed the gap to 6-4 in the sixth, but the sides shook hands after the seventh end when Gushue tacked on a pair.
A stumble by Edin in the fifth end gave Gushue and his rink a chance to make a big play.
“The miss from Niklas in the fifth end was the key one to get that three,” Gushue told CBC Sports.
“…To get three there kind of put the game in our control and we felt pretty comfortable from that point on.”
Gushue said there are some technical aspects that need to be sorted out heading into the Olympic trials in December, but overall he was happy with the way his team was able to get the win.
“What I like about what we did this week is that we found ways to win. The first three or four games we weren’t real sharp, but definitely the last two [semis, final] were probably a couple of our best games of the year which is a good sign.”
Jennifer Jones and Kerry Einarson will play for the women’s final later Sunday.
