Japan's Yusuke Morozumi wins Stu Sells Tankard

The Stu Sells Tankard men's final was over in a flash Monday night at the Barrie Curling Club. Japan's Yusuke Morozumi scored five in the opening end and cruised to an 8-2 victory over South Korea's ByeongJin Jeong. "We concentrated on every shot to make sure we had a good situation when it came to our rocks," Morozumi said. "We left ourselves in a good situation each time." Morozumi was part of a big weekend for Asian teams on the Canadian circuit. South Korea's EunJung Lee topped Japan's Sayaka Yoshimura in the women's final and South Korea's Eun ji Gim defeated Japan's Miori Nakamura 8-3 in the final of the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary. "There are few events in Japan to play and to improve our level," Morozumi said. "So we have to come to Canada to compete against top teams." Morozumi, third Yuta Matsumura, second Ryotaro Shukuya and lead Kosuke Morozumi beat Glenn Howard of Tiny, Ont., American Daniel Casper and Toronto's Alex Champ en route to the playoffs. The team's only loss of the week was to Jayden King of Guelph, Ont. WATCH: Yusuke Morozumi vs. Glenn Howard: Many of the Asian teams are in mid-season form since they started playing games in August. Many Canadian teams, meanwhile, wait until September to hit the bonspiel circuit and sometimes practice ice is not accessible until early fall. Funding setups are also different in many countries, allowing some teams to concentrate on curling full-time. It has helped many international teams make their mark over the last few quadrennials and this year appears to be no exception. Morozumi has already compiled a 30-16 record this season. In the opening end, he took advantage of a Jeong hit-and-roll attempt that did not get under cover. A basic hit gave his side a big early lead. Jeong followed with a takeout for a deuce in the second end but a three-ender in the third sealed the victory. It was the third playoff game of the day for both teams so early handshakes were welcome. "The sweepers were amazing and helped out," Morozumi said. "The ice was very good, the sweepers did well and we made some good shots." Morozumi, who finished eighth at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea, evened his head-to-head record against Jeong at 2-2 with the victory. "To win this one is our proudest moment (this season)," Morozumi said. After posting wins earlier in the day over Switzerland's Marco Hoesli and Toronto's Michael Fournier, Morozumi said he wanted to be aggressive and get more rocks in play. The main goals for Morozumi's side this season are to win the Japanese championship and qualify for the world playdowns in Schaffhausen, Switzerland starting March 30. A Stu Sells Junior Tankard ran concurrently with the men's and women's competitions. Americans Wesley Wendling beat Kibo Mulima of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., in the junior men's competition and Mia Toner of Sudbury, Ont., edged Toronto's Julia Markle 5-4 in the junior women's event.