The 32-team field has been cut in half. Sixteen teams have survived the first two days of play in the 2025 Viterra Championship and the first four qualifiers to the second round of play, the playoff round, will be determined on the morning draw Friday.
The top five seeds and one of the next three seeds are so far unbeaten. They’ll play in the Friday morning qualifying game. Sixth seed Riley Smith (East St. Paul) was eliminated on the first day of play while #8 seed Jordan Peters (Fort Rouge) lost Thursday afternoon to Jeff Stewart (Gladstone) to drop to the “B” side of the opening round. On the late draw Thursday, the Peters team bounced back to stay alive with an 8-4 win over Ryan Ostrowsky (Granite).
The eight “A” side teams playing for those first four playoff round berths are top seed Reid Carruthers (Granite) who will play Stewart’s Gladstone team Friday morning; second-seeded Jordon McDonald (Assiniboine Memorial) who will take on the seventh seed, Steve Irwin (Brandon); third-seeded Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge) who will play the veteran Sean Grassie (Deer Lodge), a former provincial finalist; and fourth seed Jacques Gauthier (West St. Paul) who will play fifth seed Brett Walter (Assiniboine Memorial) in the fourth Friday morning game.
Gauthier, playing with a three-man team comprising Derek Samagalski and Tanner Lott, came closest to tasting defeat among the eight two-game winners, trailing Justin Richter (Beausejour) 9-6 after seven ends before scoring a three and two deuces for victory.
The eight surviving teams on the “B” side of the draw, after Thursday evening’s late draw are Ed Barr and Kelly Marnoch (Carberry), Jace Freeman (Virden), Justin Richter (Beausejour), Marcus Titchkosky (Morden), Jordan Peters (Fort Rouge), Devon Wiebe (Charleswood), and Daniel Birchard (Pembina).
These eight must win two games Friday to advance to the playoff round.
