Brooks captures Masters Super League title
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/12/2022 (701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
After losing to Murray Warren in an extra end in last December’s Westoba Credit Union Masters Super League final, Dale Brooks and his rink came out on top this year.
Brooks’ rink from the Hamiota Curling Club, which includes Randy McKean at third, Tim Weber at second and Don Williams at lead, captured the 2022 title on Thursday afternoon at the Brandon Curling Club with a 4-2 win over Morley Walker’s squad from Portage la Prairie.
“It’s nice to win … losing sucks,” Brooks said with a laugh.
Dale Brooks and his rink from Hamiota captured their first Westoba Credit Union Masters Super League title on Thursday afternoon at the Brandon Curling Club. (Lucas Punkari/The Brandon Sun)
“I don’t know if this is going to sink in until we have a pop or two.”
Neither rink gave up much of anything in the early going. They blanked the first two ends and exchanged singles in the third and fourth.
Brooks took a 2-1 lead after the fifth and got some help from his vice in the sixth as McKean made a freeze to a pair of Walker stones to sit shot and eventually set up a steal of one.
“That really turned the game around for us,” Brooks said.
Walker, who was joined on his rink by third Laurie Stewart, second Gary Single and Glen Ursel, scored a single point in the seventh after making a takeout on a stone in the eight-foot.
That gave Brooks the hammer coming home with a 3-2 advantage.
After crashing off of a guard while attempting to draw behind cover on his first rock in the eighth, Brooks found himself facing one on his last as Walker had the game-tying stone in the back of the eight-foot.
Brooks elected to play a short bump-back and the plan worked, as his stone just caught a piece of the four-foot to clinch the win.
Although Walker was unable to come away with the victory, he was pleased with being able to reach the final, especially after beating Paul Kruk in the quarterfinal and knocking off two-time defending champion Warren on Wednesday.
“The eight teams that made the playoffs were so even that any one of them could have won this,” Walker said.
Skip Dale Brooks watches on as lead Don Williams and second Tim Weber sweep a rock during Thursday’s Westoba Credit Union Masters Super League at the Brandon Curling Club. (Lucas Punkari/The Brandon Sun)
“We played pretty well all the way through but there were a couple of shots here or there that cost us today. It was a good game though and it was a great team to play against.”
Brooks reached the championship contest by defeating Lawrence Daniel and Gerry Haight.
Thursday’s win marked the start of a busy week for Brooks. He’s in a senior men’s regional bonspiel this weekend in Arden and will be back on the ice in Hamiota on Monday and Tuesday for a masters men’s regional event.
“It’s nice to go into those events on a bit of a roll,” Brooks said. “The guys are playing well and we’re all catching on to the ice right away.”
» lpunkari@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @lpunkari