Playoff round finalized at Viterra Championship

The elite 8 has been acceptable astatine the Viterra Championship for the 100th variation of the Manitoba men’s curling playdowns.

All of the apical 5 seeds qualified for the eight-team playoff circular connected Friday astatine Stride Place successful Portage la Prairie.

Top effect and defending champion Reid Carruthers (Granite) stayed unbeaten with a 3rd consecutive triumph implicit Jeff Stewart (Gladstone) successful an A-Event qualifying crippled successful Friday’s greeting draw. With the crippled tied, Carruthers scored a four-ender successful the eighth for a 10-7 triumph to nail down a playoff spot.

But 2nd effect Jordon McDonald (Assiniboine Memorial) saw his undefeated tally travel to an extremity arsenic they were upset by Steve Irwin (Brandon) 9-3.

The third-seeded Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge) foursome punched their summons to the playoffs with 4 abstracted steals successful an 8-3 triumph implicit Sean Grassie (Deer Lodge).

And the fifth-ranked Brett Walter (Assiniboine Memorial) rink picked up the 4th and last playoff spot from the A-Side with an 8-5 upset of 4th effect Jacques Gauthier (West St. Paul).

But McDonald, Gauthier, Grassie and Stewart each bounced backmost from losses to triumph their B-Event qualifiers successful the evening to finalize the playoff round. Gauthier stole a azygous constituent successful an other extremity to oust Justin Richter (Beausejour).

Teams skipped by Kelly Marnoch (Carberry), Daniel Birchard (Pembina), Jace Freeman (Virden), and Edward Barr (Carberry), Devon Wiebe (Charleswood), Marcus Titchkosky (Morden), and Jordan Peters (Fort Rouge) were besides eliminated from the archetypal 32-team field.

The playoff circular starts aboriginal connected Friday with Carruthers to look Gauthier, Calvert takes connected McDonald, Walter is matched up against Stewart and it’s Irwin versus Grassie successful the different contest.

Four teams volition beforehand from the playoffs to the title round. It’ll beryllium a Page Playoff format which begins connected Saturday astatine 6 p.m. The last is scheduled for 3 p.m. connected Sunday.