Canada’s Jacobs and United States’ Shuster lead Pan Continental field

The men’s A-Division teams at the US Steel Pan Continental Curling Championships completed four of their seven round-robin sessions of play on Wednesday evening.

At this stage, Canada and hosts United States sit tied at the top of the rankings, both unbeaten on four wins.

Canada followed up their 14–6 morning win over Korea with a 7–1 victory against New Zealand in the evening draw. The morning game was level at 5–5 after five ends, but in the sixth end Canadian skip Brad Jacobs played an open draw to score four and take a 9–5 lead, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.

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Speaking afterward, Jacobs said, “There was some real patience from our team in that game, especially when Korea got three back on us.”

The United States also collected two wins on Wednesday, 9–2 over the Philippines and 13–2 against Australia. In the game versus Australia, the Americans broke things open with a six in the fifth end after building a strong position in the house and converting with a clean take-out.

After the session, US skip John Shuster said, “Our team is playing some very good curling. We haven’t gotten ourselves into too much trouble and we’ve just kept things going our way. We’ve really had an incredible season coming in here. We’re hoping things continue to go our way.”

China also earned two wins on the day, beating Australia 9–3 before defeating Korea 10–3. In the seventh end of their game against Australia, China skip Xu Xiaoming played a gentle hit to score two and extend the lead to 7–3, on the way to closing out the game 9–3.

These results moved China into joint third, and while satisfied with their start, Xu noted, “We’re prepared for some tough games ahead now.”

China now share third place with Japan on three wins and one loss. The Japanese also recorded two victories on Wednesday, defeating New Zealand 7–3 and then the Philippines 7–4. In the ninth end against New Zealand, fourth player Yanagisawa Riku attempted to draw for two, but after a measure Japan scored just one for a 7–3 lead, prompting New Zealand to concede.

Japan skip Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi reflected, “We had a good performance in that game. We read the ice well. Sometimes we didn’t play a good shot, but we recovered well and stayed focused.”

Behind the top four, all other teams recorded two losses on Wednesday. Korea and the Philippines now sit on one win each, while Australia and New Zealand are still looking for their first victories of the event.

Women’s competition

United States and China emerged as early pace-setters, both remaining unbeaten with three wins.

United States continued their strong start on home ice, following up Tuesday’s 8–5 win over Korea with a dominant 7–1 victory against New Zealand. By the seventh end, the hosts had built a commanding 7–0 lead. In that end, New Zealand skip Bridget Becker had a chance to draw for two, but her stone ran through the house and she was only able to score one. New Zealand then conceded, leaving the US tied at the top of the standings while they continue their search for a first win.

China also maintained their perfect record with a narrow 5–4 triumph over Japan. In a tight game, Japan held a 4–3 lead playing the tenth end, before China skip Wang Rui drew her final stone to the four-foot to score two and seal the win.

Speaking after the game, Wang said, “We’re very, very happy with that [three wins]. I’m pleased with how we’re playing together as a team.”

Behind the joint leaders, Canada and Japan now sit on two wins and one loss each.

Defending champions Canada bounced back from their opening loss to Japan with a confident 9–3 victory over Mexico. Leading 4–2 after four ends, Canada capitalised in the fifth when skip Rachel Homan played a precise draw to score three and extend the lead to 7–2. Mexico were unable to recover, and the Canadians closed out the game in the eighth end.

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Reflecting on the performance, Homan said, “That was our first time on that sheet, so we were trying to learn the rocks and the ice and make every shot the best we can. The conditions were surprising us a couple of times.”

Mexico remain winless but will look to regroup in the coming sessions.

Korea returned to winning ways after their loss to the hosts, claiming an 11–2 victory over Australia in just six ends. Leading 5–2 in the fifth, skip Gim Eunji drew for three to stretch the advantage to 8–2, and Korea added another three in the sixth to close out the game early.

“Today we wanted to focus on our shots and get the feel for them,” Eunji said. “We’ve always been slow starters, but I think we will come on now.”

How to watch the US Steel Pan Continental Curling Championships.

All A-Division games will be broadcast on the Curling Channel, however, there may be restrictions due to broadcast partner agreements.

Follow the live scores and results here.

All times are Central Daylight Time which is UTC-5.

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