Team Brad Jacobs reaches final at Masters Grand Slam
Reigning Olympic champions will face Team Edin on Sunday
Brad Jacobs had his work cut out for him in the semis, but successfully secured a berth in the final at the Grand Slam of Curling Masters in Okotoks, Alta.
The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native and his Olympic champion rink will face Sweden's Niklas Edin on Sunday.
Jacobs took on the previously undefeated Steve Laycock in Saturday's semifinal, who had won five draws in a row to reach the final four.
Laycock, from Saskatoon, scored a double in the eighth end, but Jacobs responded with a single in the extra frame to earn his spot.
Edin downed Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers 8-3 to reach the final.
Flaxey's long route to the final
Allison Flaxey took the longest way possible into the finals at the Masters Grand Slam of Curling tournament.
Flaxey, from Caledon, Ont., won three straight draws Saturday to reach the Masters championship, capping her successful day with an 8-1 victory over Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni in semifinal action.
Tirinzoni had little chance in the semis after Flaxey scored four in the fourth end to break open the draw 7-0. The two skips traded singles and shook hands after six ends.
Flaxey started her day by winning the tiebreaker draw 6-2 against Winnipeg's Kerri Einarson to qualify for the final eight, then upset South Korea's EunJung Kim 8-2 in the afternoon quarter-finals to book her place against Tirinzoni.
Flaxey will face Ottawa's Rachel Homan in the championship draw after Homan toppled Anna Hasselborg of Sweden 7-4.
Homan, a three-time Masters champion, fell behind 3-0 after the first end and trailed 4-3 through four, but responded with a deuce in the fifth for her first lead and added two singles to close it out.