Knapp advances to final of SaskTel Tankard

Regina’s Kelly Knapp is headed to the final of the Saskatchewan men’s curling championship.

Knapp and his Regina Highland team beat Steve Laycock’s Swift Current rink 9-4 in the SaskTel Tankard’s 1-2 Page playoff game Saturday evening in Estevan, giving Knapp a spot in the championship final.

His opposition will be determined Sunday morning, when Laycock and Saskatoon Nutana’s Jason Jacobson will meet in the semifinal.

Jacobson advanced with an 8-3 victory over Kody Hartung of the Saskatoon Sutherland in the 3-4 game.

The semifinal is to be played at 10 a.m. The final is set for 3 p.m.

The champion will represent Saskatchewan at the Tim Hortons Brier, March 3-12 in London, Ont.

In the 1-2 game, Laycock — the B Event winner — stole one in the first end. But Knapp and his A Event-winning rink responded with a deuce in the second and then stole two more in the third.

After Laycock scored one in the fourth, Knapp put up a three in the fifth and stole one in the sixth to go up 8-2. Laycock added a deuce in the seventh, but Knapp scored one in the eighth and the teams shook hands.

In the 3-4 contest, Jacobson used last rock in the first end to count three before the teams traded singles in the second and third ends.

A steal of two in the fourth gave Jacobson a 6-1 lead before Hartung scored one point in each of the fifth and sixth ends to make it 6-3.

After a blank in the seventh, Jacobson recorded a deuce in the eighth end and Hartung conceded.