Brad Gushue beats Steve Laycock 7-5, opens Champions Cup with back-to-back wins

CALGARY — World champion Brad Gushue is off to a fine start at the Champions Cup curling competition.

Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., scored three in the final end to down Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 7-5 in Wednesday’s evening draw.

He’s 2-0 to open the tournament, alongside Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen and American John Shuster through five draws.

McEwen beat Scotland’s Tom Brewster (0-2) 9-1 while Shuster downed Greg Balsdon of Kingston, Ont., (0-2) 8-4 in the other evening draws.

Laycock (1-1) defeated Brewster in Wednesday’s early draw.

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On the women’s side, Edmonton’s Val Sweeting (1-1) cruised by Ottawa’s Rachel Homan (1-1) with an 8-3 victory. Sweeting scored six in the fourth end to blow it open and the two skips shook hands after only five ends.

Also, Scotland’s Eve Muirhead (1-1) scored a 9-4 win over Allison Flaxey of Caledon, Ont. (1-1) in six ends. Muirhead led 5-4 after five ends, but scored four in the sixth to finish the draw.

The playoffs at the Grand Slam event begin Saturday and the finals are scheduled for Sunday.

The Canadian Press