(Nov 13, 2008) -- Defending Champion Glenn Howard falls to 2-1 at the season’s first Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event
WATERLOO, ONT., November 13, 2008 – Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.), Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) and Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) sit atop of the leaderboard with perfect records of 3-0 following the first five draws of the Masters of Curling, the first leg of the men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Aiming for his third consecutive Masters of Curling championship, Howard suffered his first setback of the tournament this evening after dropping an 8-5 decision to Ferbey.
Trailing 1-0 after the opening end, Ferbey’s squad capitalized on an errant shot by Howard to score three points. Leading 3-2 after three ends, Ferbey executed an open draw in the fourth to score another three-point end and take a commanding lead.
Early in the day, Ferbey posted a convincing 8-1 win over American Craig Brown (Madison, Wisconsin). After scoring three points in the opening end, Ferbey notched a pair of points in both the second and third ends to pull away.
“We played as well as we have in years today,” said Ferbey. “We’re very pleased with the way we are playing. Today we were in a groove but the trick is to be in that groove tomorrow and the day after and the day after.”
Overall, Ferbey’s squad has outscored its opponents 24-8 through its first three games.
Martin picked up a pair of victories today to move to the top of the standings. After defeating Thomas Ulsrud (Oslo, Norway) 6-3 earlier in the afternoon, the reigning World Champion edged past Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.) 5-2 to keep his perfect round robin record intact.
“In all three games, we’ve defended the lead very well,” said Martin. “Tonight’s game against Bob was the first time that we’ve given up a deuce. The offence has been the same as usual, but the defence has been a little better than usual.”
Gushue’s team was the most successful on Day 2 of the Masters of Curling, winning all three games on their schedule including a tight 3-2 decision over Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) to cap off the evening.
Earlier in the day Gushue, ousted Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg, Man.) 7-2 before doubling up Switzerland’s Ralph Stöckli (Ittingen, Switzerland) 8-4.
“All three games were very similar,” said Gushue. “We played well, not great, but we seemed to make the right shot at the right time. We also got a few breaks. Things went our way and we also made a lot of good shots.”
Friday’s draw times for the Masters of Curling are set for 10:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET respectively.
The top eight teams following the conclusion of round robin play qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The Masters of Curling features a total purse of $100,000. The tournament’s winning team will receive a maximum of $25,000.
Held annually since 2001-02, the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is a series of eight premier men’s and women’s events that boast Canada’s deepest and strongest curling fields.
The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is one of a select few events that are tied to the Canadian Curling Association's qualifying process for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Through their performance in the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events, rinks can earn points towards securing a berth at the 2009 Canadian Trials.
About Capital One
Located in Toronto, Ontario, Capital One has offered Canadian consumers a range of competitive MasterCard® credit cards since 1996, when the company first introduced the Platinum MasterCard® in Canada. Capital One Canada is a division of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF).
About Insight Sports Ltd.
Insight Sports Ltd. is a leading North American sports media and entertainment company which owns, creates, aggregates and distributes sports and entertainment content across multiple platforms, including broadcast television, events, on-line, mobile, in-arena and video on-demand. Among its event assets, Insight Sports owns and operates the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling (www.worldcurlingtour.com), a series of eight high-profile men’s and women’s events that feature Canada’s deepest and strongest curling fields. |
