ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Team Brad Jacobs is all dialled in for the KIOTI National playoffs.
The Calgary-based club already had a spot locked up and will now take an unblemished 4-0 record into the quarterfinals after defeating Italy's Team Joël Retornaz 6-4 in Draw 14 Friday afternoon at the Mary Brown's Centre.
Tied 1-1 in the fourth end, Retornaz's last rock was left open just enough for Jacobs to take advantage and knock it out for a critical score of four.
The defending champ Retornaz bounced back with a double takeout for two points in the sixth to cut the deficit in half and a single steal in the seventh closed the gap to one.
Still, Jacobs retained the hammer coming home and a short angle raise was all he needed to tack another point on the board and secure the victory.
Retornaz dropped to a 2-2 record with his team's fate to be determined following Friday evening's round-robin finale.
Elsewhere, Scotland's Team Bruce Mouat earned a playoff berth following a 10-2 rout over Sweden's Team Niklas Edin.
Mouat, who advanced with a 3-1 record, is seeking a third straight Grand Slam title after sweeping through the HearingLife Tour Challenge and Co-op Canadian Open.
Edin, who lost to Retornaz in last year's Kioti National final, was eliminated at 1-3.
In women's play, Halifax's Team Christina Black scored its second straight win after edging Team Stefania Constantini of Italy 8-7.
Black (2-2) stays in the playoff picture while Constantini heads home winless at 0-4.
South Korea's Team Seung-youn Ha (2-2) also remains in the chase after stealing two in the eighth end to win 5-4 over Winnipeg's Team Chelsea Carey (0-4).
UP NEXT
Two round-robin draws remain with action continuing at 4 p.m. NT / 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch live on Sportsnet East, Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+.
Live streaming of every game is available on free preview via HomeTeam.
NOTES
The KIOTI National is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots. … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with b
