CALGARY — Kirk Muyres and Laura Walker defeated the duo of Corey Chester and Stephanie Jackson-Baier 8-3 at the Home Hardware Canadian mixed doubles curling championship on Sunday.

Both teams were tied at two after two ends, but the Muyres-Walker team took the lead for good in the third end after scoring two more points. After their opponent would add one more score in the fourth end, Muyres-Walker scored four more points through their final three ends of play.

The Muyres-Walker tandem are undefeated at 4-0 after Sunday night's win. They hold a share of the lead atop Pool C with Tyrel Griffith and Nancy Martin, who defeated the duo of Kyler Kleibrink and Chaelynn Kitz 9-2 Sunday.

Earlier Sunday night, the duo of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant defeated Alex Robichaud and Melissa Adams 11-3 in Draw 19 action

Peterman and Gallant scored five in their first end and never trailed against Adams-Robichaud. Their opponent scored two points in the second end, but that was as close as they got to keeping pace.

The Peterman-Gallant duo are now tied atop Pool A with a 3-1 record alongside the Colton Lott-Kadriana Sahadiak team and the Aaron Sluchinski and Brittany Tran team.

Also on Sunday, Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue defeated Robert and Emilie Desjardins 7-3 in Draw 18 action.

Einarson and Gushue found themselves down 2-1 after the second end. But the Einarson-Gushue combination would lead for the rest of the way after that. They scored the next four points before the Desjardins could respond.

Einarson and Gushue now boast a 4-1 record and are in second place behind the partnership of Jennifer Jones and Brett Laing who remain undefeated.

Finally, a back injury forced Darren Moulding and Joanne Courtney to withdraw from the championship.

Moulding suffered back spasms overnight and was unable to play in the early draw at the Markin MacPhail Centre. The Moulding/Courtney duo decided to pull out of the event later in the day, Curling Canada said in a release.

"This was not an easy decision because Joanne and I were doing very well together and I felt like we could accomplish something special,” said Moulding. "But Joanne could not have been more supportive and understanding."

Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott were awarded a 1-0 victory for the forfeit win.

Moulding, who won a Canadian men's team title earlier this month, is hopeful that his back will respond to physiotherapy treatment. His Alberta-based team will represent Canada at the world men's curling championship in less than two weeks.

"The world men’s championship is extremely important for Olympic qualifying for Canada and I’ll be working hard and getting all of the necessary treatments to make sure my back is healthy in time for our opening game on April 2," Moulding said.

There are 35 pairings entered in the mixed doubles competition. The top 12 teams will advance to the playoffs starting Tuesday.

"Playing with Darren in mixed doubles was an absolute joy and I know how hard this hit him to have to withdraw, but I totally support our decision," said Courtney. "We had a great time together and I hope we can team up again in the future.

"I’ll be cheering for Darren and Team Canada at the world championship next month."

The mixed doubles final is set for Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2021.