Defending champion Kevin Koe booked a place in the Dominion All-Star Curling Skins final after defeating Jeff Stoughton on Saturday afternoon.
Edmonton’s Koe, playing alongside B.J. Neufeld, Brent Laing, and Ben Hebert, held the final rock and won the 14 thousand dollar skin in the eighth end to secure his spot in Sunday’s 42 thousand dollar final.
Koe will take on Glenn Howard of Coldwater in the championship game after the current world champion collected $14,500 in prize money in the other semifinal to defeat four-time Brier champion Kevin Martin of Edmonton.
Koe took the lead early in the draw, stealing the first two skins for a total of $2,000 and picking up another skin in the fourth end for an additional $1,500.
Winnipeg’s Stoughton won his first skin in the third end, good for $1,500, then took the fifth skin for $2,000 to even up the game.
Two carry-overs in the sixth and seventh ends set up the dramatic final end.
Stoughton, playing with Pat Simmons, Marc Kennedy, and Nolan Thiessen, won two skins for $3,500 in prize money.
That brings Stoughton’s career skins game winnings to $38,000.
Koe also won the draw to the button challenge earlier Saturday morning for an additional $1,000, bringing his total for the day to $18,500.
Playing with an all-star team featuring John Morris, Carter Rycroft and Steve Gould, Howard stole the skin in the first end of the other semifinal for $1,000.
He won additional skins in the second, fourth, and sixth ends — giving him a game total of $8,000.
Martin, playing with Jon Mead, Reid Carruthers and Craig Savill, came back in the second half of the draw, picking up skins in the fifth and seventh ends for a total of $6,500.