Brad Gushue thrilled a near-capacity hometown crowd Wednesday afternoon by posting a 6-3 victory over Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers at the Kioti National in St. John's.

The teams shook hands after Carruthers made a draw for a single in the seventh end.

Gushue improved to 2-0 in round-robin play at the Mary Brown's Centre. It's the first major curling event in the city since 2017, when Gushue won the&nbsp;national men's championship for the first time in his career.

Earlier, Winnipeg's Kaitlyn Lawes made a game-winning draw to the button for a 5-4 victory over Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni. It's Lawes' first competition since she returned from maternity leave.

Gushue Girls ready to rock home ice advantage at national curling tournament in St. John's

When Team Gushue takes to the ice for the Kioti National curling tournament in St. John's this week, they'll be cheered on by thousands of hometown fans. But one group of superfans, who have been making a household name for themselves, will stand out.

Six women wearing pink shirts, each other a letter that spells out the name Gushue. They are sitting in the stands of an arena and are standing up and waving Newfoundland and Labrador flags.

The "Gushue Girls" cheer for their hero during the 2017 Brier in St. John's, Nfld.

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Sweden's Anna Hasselborg defeated South Korea's Eun-Ji Gim 6-2 and Japan's Momoha Tabata beat Xenia Schwaller 6-4. Satsuki Fujisawa topped Sayaka Yoshimura 6-3 in an all-Japanese matchup.

Winnipeg's Mike McEwen defeated Switzerland's Marco Hoesli 5-2 and Ottawa's Rachel Homan beat Christina Black of Halifax 6-3.

Germany's Marc Muskatewitz outscored Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller 8-6 and Scotland's Ross Whyte dumped Switzerland's Michael Brunner 7-2.

Winnipeg skip Carruthers opens St. John's curling event beating 3-man Swiss rink

Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers stole a single in the eighth end for a 7-5 win over Yannick Schwaller's Swiss side at the Kioti National on Tuesday in St. John’s.

Manitoba curler Reid Carruthers calls out to the sweepers after delivering a rock while playing Team Canada during the Brier playoffs in Regina on March 8, 2024.

Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers, pictured, scored two in the seventh end and secured a 7-5 win over Switzerland when an opposing tap attempt was light during Tuesday's opening draw at a Grand Slam of Curling event in St. John's.

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In the evening session, John Shuster of the U.S. beat Scotland's Bruce Mouat 6-3 with three points in the eighth end and Sweden's Niklas Edin handed Winnipeg's Matt Dunstone an 8-4 loss.

Scotland's James Craik edged Italy's Joel Retornaz 4-3 and Calgary's Brad Jacobs came back and defeated Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell 5-4 to wrap up the four-draw day.

Competition at the Grand Slam of Curling event continues through Sunday.

N.L. skip Brad Gushue, seen at the Pointsbet Invitational in September, earned a 6-3 win over Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers at the Kioti National on Wednesday.

Hometown favourite Gushue beats Carruthers at Grand Slam's Kioti National in St. John's

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