Gushue tops Carruthers in opening draw at Grand Slam of Curling's Co-op Canadian Open

NISKU, Alta. — Brad Gushue defeated Reid Carruthers 6-1 on Tuesday morning in a matchup of Canadian skips at the Co-op Canadian Open.

Gushue, from St. John's, N.L., scored three in the sixth end for the win over his Winnipeg-based opponent.

In other games, Italy's Joel Retornaz dumped Calgary's Kevin Koe 8-3, Sweden's Niklas Edin topped Scotland's James Craik 8-3 and Scotland's Ross Whyte defeated Switzerland's Michael Brunner 7-4.

In the opening women's draw later Tuesday, Italy's Stefania Constantini scored three in the fourth end en route to a 7-3 win over Winnipeg's Kaitlyn Lawes.

In other results, Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa edged Switzerland's Xenia Schwaller 4-3, Eun-ji Gim defeated Seung-youn Ha in an all-South Korean matchup and Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni defeated Japan's Ikue Kitazawa 6-4.

In the third draw of the day Brad Jacobs of Calgary scored a deuce in the seventh end and held on to beat Matt Dunstone 4-2 of Winnipeg, while Mike McEwen of Saskatoon, Sask., scored back-to-back deuces in the fifth and sixth ends to roll pat John Shuster of Duluth, Minn., 9-3 at the Silent Ice Centre.

Isabella Wrana of Sundbyberg, Sweden, scored a deuce in the sixth end and stole singles in the seventh and eighth ends to edge Mi-Yeong Kim of South Korea 7-5 in the late draw, while Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two ends and then coasted to a 9-3 win over Selenay Sturmay of Edmonton.

There are 16 teams in both the men's and women's fields. A round-robin format is used for each four-team pool along with one crossover game for each squad based on seeding.

The top eight teams in each draw will advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday. The finals are scheduled for Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.