Alberta’s Kevin Martin will meet Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pinty’s final at 11 a.m. on TSN, Sunday (Jan. 12), with $57,000 up for grabs.
On Saturday (Jan. 11), Martin, the all-time Skins Game money winner, won a semifinal over Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs $11,500 to $9,500 at the Fenlands rec centre in Banff.
Martin, whose rink includes Ryan Fry, Carter Rycroft and Mark Nichols, chosen during an all-star team draw Friday (Jan. 10), jumped out to a $7,000 to 0 lead, based largely on stellar runback shots by Fry.
Jacobs and his rink, third Jon Mead, second Marc Kennedy and lead Craig Savill, battled back to make it $7,000 to $3,000, but Martin won $4,500 with a draw to the four-foot in the seventh end to total $11,500 to seal victory.
In the final end, though, with $6,500 available, Jacobs, who struggled with the ice and had a couple of rocks pick during the game, made a double takeout with his last shot to earn the $9,500 total.
After the game Fry, known for his up weight hits and runbacks, told TSN host Vic Rauter that his hitting game was due to hard work over the years. “This was one of those games where you hit in the right spot and things work out.”
With the win, Martin’s Skins Game winnings total $436,850 over the years, while the event was Jacobs’ first Skins spiel. Jacobs and his Soo squad (with Fry and the Harnden brothers, E.J. and Ryan) will represent Canada at the Sochi Olympics.
Martin will now face two-time world champion Stoughton in the Sunday final. Stoughton’s hand-picked rink includes Dave Nedohin, second Brent Laing and lead Ryan Harnden. In the final, $42,000 are available, with a $15,000 bonus to the winner.
