CurlingZone: Epping wins ATB Banff Classic

John Epping (Photo: Anil Mungal/GSOC) wins ATB Banff Classic with a convincing win over Team Kevin Koe in the final.

By: Cameron Sallaj

In Sunday's final at the ATB Banff Classic, John Epping's Toronto based rink took on Kevin Koe's Calgary team in a rematch of Friday night's A-Qualifier, which Epping won 6-2 in five ends.

Epping got off to a fast start in the final, taking a four-baller in the opening end. Kevin Koe tried to play a thin double on his first rock of the end but flashed by everything, leaving three Epping stones in the rings. Koe hit and rolled out on his last rock, leaving the Ontario rink a free draw to the paint to take the early advantage.

Koe bounced back in the second with a deuce to get within two of the Epping rink. Ryan Fry wrecked on a guard on a difficult takeout shot late in the end, allowing Koe to split the rings and set of for their two.

John Epping showed why he was the team to beat this weekend with his final rock of the third end, making a nose hit runback to score two and regain his four-point lead. Koe attempted a double to negate a multiple point score on his final stone, but only managed to remove one blue counter, leaving John the shot for two.

In a sea of blue rocks in the fourth end, Koe managed to pick up a deuce to trail 6-4 at the break. The opportunity arose when Ryan Fry ticked a yellow stone, he was attempting to remove but didn't get it out of the house.

Koe got within one the following end with a steal of one. Epping attempted a raise double on his final stone to score a big end but was only able to catch one yellow counter. John Epping made a double on his final stone of the sixth end to count one and take a 7-5 lead into the seventh.

Epping secured the event title in the seventh end with a steal of two, resulting in a final 9-5 score. Kevin Koe tried a tricky tap on his final stone but wrecked on a guard which led to immediate handshakes. Koe finished runner-up at the event once again after losing in the final to the Jeremy Harty rink in 2020.

This is Team Epping's first event title of the 2021-22 season, as before this they had only qualified in three of their six events. Their previous best finish was a semifinal appearance at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard. John Epping is backed up by third Ryan Fry, second Mat Camm and lead Brent Laing.

For their win, Epping will take home $9,000 of the $23,000 total purse while Koe will earn $6,000. Teams Mike McEwen and Ryan Deis earned $4,000 for their semifinal finishes.

Rewatch the final of the ATB Banff Classic on Banff Curling Club's YouTube channel:

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