The first playoff qualifiers are in the books at the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown curling championship in Swift Current.
Italy’s Joel Retornaz and Winnipeg’s Jordon McDonald claimed A side berths in men’s draw on Friday night at the InnovationPlex, while Korea’s KyeongAe Kim and Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa are the first two teams through in the women’s draw.
The start-studded event features a total of $100,000 in prize money for the two tournaments.
Retornaz scored a pair in the eighth and then stole in the extra to defeat Martensville’s Dylan Derksen 7-6 in the semifinal before scoring one in the final end to defeat Japan’s Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi 6-5 in the A final.
McDonald had a slightly more comfortable run, getting past Ontario’s Jayden King 9-3 in the semifinal and then downing Saskatoon’s Tyler Tardi’s Green Machines foursome 6-4 to book the playoff spot.
Tardi drops down to the B side, where he’ll face Canadian curling legend Kevin Koe during the 12:30 p.m. draw Saturday.
It’ll be an all Saskatchewan showdown in one of the other three B finals, with Derksen doing battle with Regina’s Catlin Schneider.
Saskatoon’s Mike McEwen is also still alive in the draw in the C semifinal.
On the women’s side, Kim edged Japan’s Miyu Ueno 4-2 in the semifinal before taking the A side berth with a 6-4 victory over Japan’s Ikue Kitazawa.
Fujisawa took a 6-2 win over Victoria’s Kayla MacMillan to reach the A final and then qualified by scoring a pair in the eighth to take a 10-9 victory against Edmonton’s Serena Gray-Withers.
Two of the B qualifiers on Saturday afternoon will see Gray-Withers take on Korea’s EunJung Kim and MacMillan face Ueno, with those games also at 12:30 p.m.
Saskatoon’s Skylar Ackerman is the lone Saskatchewan rink remaining in the women’s draw, and they await their opponent in the C semifinal.
The three C side finals in both draws will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, with the playoffs running all day Sunday and culminating with the championship finals at 7 p.m.
