King into U25 NextGen Classic Final

London's Jayden King (Photo: Rob Blanchard, Curling Canada) won 11-4 over Sam Mooibroek of Waterloo to advance to Friday's Final. by Gerry Geurts King opens the year ranked #39 on the World Curling team rankings after the breakout season in 2023/24. U25 NEXTGEN FINAL: McDonald vs King: King, with Dylan Niepage, Owen Henry and Daniel Del Conte, started with Hammer after finishing 5-0 in pool play at the top seed. Mooibroek, with Ryan Wiebe, Scott Mitchell and Nathan Steele in the lineup, opened by stealing the first end. After trading singles in the second and third ends, King got the first deuce of the game in the fourth end, then stole two more points in the fifth end to lead 5-2. Mooibroek got two points back in the sixth end to get back to within a point. King scored a single in the seventh end, followed up by stealing five after a last-ditch attempt by Mooibroek to score two went awry. King plays Jordon McDonald of Winnipeg in the Final at 1:30 pm Mountain Time. McDonald won 6-3 over Calgary's Cole Adams in the other semifinal game. Semifinal: King vs. Mooibroek: The team's biggest splash was reaching the final of the Milk Every Moment Ontario Tankard, which put them one step away from Montana's Brier. Scott Howard won that meet-up, though the experience gained from "playing under the lights" can only strengthen this team. King played mostly on the Ontario Tour circuit, winning the Capital Curling Fall Men's Open in Ottawa and also reaching the final of the Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel. The U-25 NextGen Classic allows for players with an average age of 25 to compete. This includes some teams competing in U Sports and Canadian Collegiate programs, along with other teams finding success in the years just out of juniors.  Champions receive a berth in the 2024 PointsBet Invitational (September 25-29,2024 in Calgary) and $6,000 in NextGen funding, including opportunities to work with national coaches and other experts. Runners-up take home $4,000.