Brendan Bottcher won his third consecutive Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event with a 6-5 extra-end win over Kevin Koe in the Champions Cup men’s final Sunday in Saskatoon.
Koe forced the extra end with a steal the eighth after drawing to the button for a freeze with his last shot. Bottcher had the hammer and a chance for the win, but his hard shot jammed on Koe’s stone.
WATCH | Bottcher defeats Koe in Players’ Championship final:
Saskatoon treated them equally well. Bottcher won seven consecutive games at Merlis Belsher Place en route to the $40,000 first-place prize.
Delicate tap back
After giving up a steal on the first end, Bottcher came back with three on the second end and never yielded control. He had the draw for the three after Koe’s shooter went under the two shot rocks on a double attempt.
Bottcher made a delicate tap back for two in the fifth end to take a 5-3 lead. Had his rock curled another fraction of an inch it would have been for three.
Koe tied the game with a single on the sixth end, one of the most openly played ends of the game. That cut Bottcher’s lead to 5-4 heading to the seventh, which the Edmonton skip blanked.
The women’s final between Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., and
Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland was scheduled for later Sunday.