 Sweden's Anna Hasselborg (Photo: Anil Mungal/GSOC) put themselves in prime position to lock up the final playoff spot at the 2024 Players' Championship following a much-needed win against the Italians. By: Cameron Sallaj With five women's teams already qualified for the playoffs at the 2024 Players' Championship in Toronto, only one spot remains for the rest of the seven teams in the field. In Friday mornings Draw 12, Anna Hasselborg and Stefania Constantini squared off in a crucial game with both teams sitting at 1-2. A win for either side would allow them to put their fate in their own hands as they entered their final round robin game later in the day. The Swedish champions of Hasselborg, Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer and Sofia Mabergs got off to a hot start in the match and never looked back, taking three in the opening end for a big head start. They then surrendered singles to Constantini in both two and three, making the score 3-2. A single by the Swedes stopped the bleeding in four, giving them a two-point edge. After a blank in five, the Hasselborg rink stole a single point to regain their three-point advantage, leading 5-2 with two ends remaining. The Italian team could only generate a single in the seventh end with Hasselborg continuing to lead with hammer in eight. There, despite a steal of one for Constantini, it wasn't enough as Hasselborg held on for the 5-4 win. With the other six non-qualified teams at three losses or worse, Team Hasselborg is in prime position to take the last women's playoff spot and join the top six. Currently sitting 2-2, a win against Jennifer Jones in their final round robin game would ensure their spot while a loss would leave their fate up to tiebreakers. In other Draw 12 action, Mike McEwen (4-0; Saskatoon, SK) continued to roll in Toronto, downing James Craik (1-3; Forfar, SCO) by an 8-3 score. The other two games of the draw came down to the wire. Trailing 5-4 in the eighth, both Gimli's Kerri Einarson (1-3) and Sweden's Niklas Edin (2-2) were able to count two to upend Winnipeg's Kaitlyn Lawes (0-4) and Calgary's Kevin Koe (1-3) respectively, 6-5 the final score. The Princess Auto Players' Championship continues Friday with the first televised game of the day at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. Sportsnet's featured matchup sees Brad Gushue battle Brendan Bottcher in an all-Canadian affair. |
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World number three ranked Gyeonggi Province's Gim Eun-ji (Photo: Curling1spoon) defend their national title in a thrilling extra end final Monday in Uijeongbu.
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