![]() Manitoba's Matt Dunstone (Photo: Curling Canada) defeated Alberta's Brad Jacobs 6-4 to win the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary, Alberta. By Connor Simms, #4 World-Ranked Matt Dunstone with Colton Lott at third, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden on the front end, are on a roll this season. After missing the playoffs in Cornwall, Ontario, at the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, Dunstone went 6-1 at the AMJ Masters in London, Ontario, grabbing the title and their first Slam win as a team. This week, they are at the PointsBet Invitational. Dunstone went 3-1 in the round robin. In their opening game, Dunstone defeated Rylan Kleiter (Saskatoon, SK) 5-3, then won 9-6 against Sam Mooibroek (Whitby, ON). Dunstone went on to lose 10-5 against Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg, MB). Dunstone responded with a 9-3 win over Mike McEwen (Saskatoon, SK) in their final qualifying round match. The event rules stated that the top team in each pool would advance to the final. With McEwen and McDonald both finishing 3-1, the tiebreaker was the last stone draw, which Dunstone won. This set up a match with Alberta's Brad Jacobs in the final. Jacobs' squad consists of Marc Kennedy at third, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert on the front end. They also went 3-1 through the round robin. In their opening game, Jacobs lost 6-5 to Kevin Koe, then responded with a 12-0 win over Calan MacIsaac (Truro, NS). Jacobs won 8-5 against Brad Gushue (St. John's, NL), then won 8-5 against John Epping (Sudbury, NO) in their final qualifying round match. Jacobs won the opening draw to the button for the hammer. After blanks in the first two ends, Jacobs opened the scoring, drawing to the eight-foot for a single point. Dunstone got the first deuce in the fourth end with a lightweight takeout. Jacobs was a bit heavy on the pin with their draw attempt, settling for a single point. In the sixth end, Dunstone was forced to a single, making an open hit and stick. After a blank in the seventh end, Jacobs made a tap for a single point against three Dunstone counters. Dunstone opened the ninth end, making a light takeout on an over-buried stone for three points. Ultimately, Dunstone ran Jacobs out of rocks for a 6-4 victory. This marks their first PointsBet Invitational title. Dunstone lost the final in the first two years of this event to Manitoba's Reid Carruthers both times. They will take home the $ 45,000 prize winnings, as well as $ 7,500 from their round-robin wins. Their next event will be at the Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alberta, from October 14-19. |