Gushue, Jacobs lead qualifiers into Canadian Open playoffs
Einarson, Ross secure their spot in the women's division quarter-finals
Plenty of teams booked their spots in the playoffs at the Canadian Open on Thursday.
First, Brad Gushue from St. John's, N.L., and Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., completed undefeated runs to become the first teams to qualify for Saturday's quarter-finals.
Gushue topped Calgary's Kevin Koe 8-6, while Jacobs defeated Korey Dropkin of the United States 5-3 in the A-finals during Draw 7 at the Gallagher Centre.
During that same evening session, Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., staved off elimination thanks to his 4-1 victory over Sweden's Niklas Edin.
In the women's division, Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., and American Nina Ross punched their tickets to the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Both Einarson and Roth completed 3-0 runs through the triple knockout stage.
The Canadian Open has a unique structure with triple knockout format for preliminary play.
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) reach the quarterfinals in both men's and women's divisions.