Jacobs lands early win over Howard at triple-knockout Canadian Open
Northern Ontario skip seeking 3rd straight Grand Slam of Curling men's title
Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., beat Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., 7-5 in the marquee matchup of the opening draw of the Canadian Open on Tuesday, the fourth event and third major on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit.
The Canadian Open has a unique structure on the tour with triple knockout for preliminary play.
That means teams must win three games before losing three games in order to qualify for the weekend playoffs. Each loss drops teams to a lower bracket until they are eliminated.
Two A-qualifiers (3-0 records), three B-qualifiers (3-1 records) and three C-qualifiers (3-2 records) advance to the quarter-finals in both divisions.
Jacobs is seeking a third consecutive Grand Slam of Curling men's title after winning the Tour Challenge and the National.
Elsewhere in Draw 1, Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., downed Winnipeg's Jason Gunnlaugson 6-2, Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller topped Winnipeg's Mike McEwen 6-2, Edmonton's Brendan Bottcher fell 7-5 to Scotland's Ross Paterson 7-5 and Toronto's John Epping edged Saskatoon's Kirk Muyres 5-4.