Epping into Stu Sells Halfiax Semifinals

John Epping (Toronto, ON) reaches the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic semifinals where they will meet Whitby's Sam Mooibroek for a spot into the championship game. of the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Epping advanced through the quarterfinals with a 9-1 win over Michael Fournier (Toronto, ON). of the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Epping with Mathew Camm at third, Patrick Janssen and Jason Camm on the front end opened with two in the first end on Fournier, then got three more in the third end to lead 5-1 early. A steal of one in the fourth end and then three more in the fifth end advanced Epping in the playoff round. In the other quarterfinals match Matthew Manuel (Halifax, NS) defeated Owen Purcell (Halifax, NS) 6-3. The win improved Epping to 10 wins and 2 losses in 2 appearances at the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic, winning in 2022. With a 21-16 record on the season, Epping plays Mooibroek (23-17) in Sunday morning's semifinals action, with Montreal's Felix Asselin playing Manuel in the other semifinal. Epping push to get back into the Grand Slams will be buoyed by a strong finish this weekend, currently sitting 23rd on the WCF World Team Rankings, and 8th on the Canadian Team Ranking System, would jump Epping into the top 20 and within reach of that goal. Epping has twice before reached the semifinals this season, at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and the Insitu Players Open in Dundnas, along with a quarterfinals finish at the Saguenay Summer Series in August. Epping finished 3-1 in the 15-team qualifying round. In their opening game, Epping defeated Scott Jones (Moncton, NB) 6-4, then went on to lose 7-6 against Manuel. Epping responded with a 4-3 win over Fournier, then won 7-1 against Jayden King (Guelph, ON) to book their spot in the playoff round.