EDMONTON — Canada’s Brad Gushue defeated China’s Rui Liu 9-4 on Tuesday afternoon at the Ford World Men’s Curling Championship.
The St. John’s skip is undefeated in round-robin play at 6-0.
Gushue made a rare miss in the first end when his stone rubbed a guard. China drew for a pair to open the scoring but Gushue pulled even in the second and added another point in the third end on a steal.
Liu was forced to a single in the fourth and Gushue pulled away in the fifth when an open draw for three gave him a 6-3 lead.
The teams exchanged singles before a Gushue deuce sealed the win in eight ends. Canada will play Germany’s Alexander Baumann in the evening draw at Northlands Coliseum.
This is Gushue’s first career appearance at the world men’s playdowns. He won the Tim Hortons Brier last month by defeating 2016 world champion Kevin Koe in the final.
Round-robin play continues through Thursday night. The Page playoffs begin Friday and the medal games are scheduled for Sunday.