Kevin Mitchell
Black Press
Grant Dezura of Maple Ridge took the tourist route while winning the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic.
Nine games in four days didn’t faze Dezura as he iced Brent Pierce of Kelowna 8-3 in five ends Monday night in the men’s final of the $62,000 cashspiel. He earned $7,000.
Dezura, third Kevin MacKenzie of Kelowna and front-enders Jamie Smith (Kelowna) and Kevin Recksiedler (Maple Ridge) had enough adrenaline left to count four in the fifth end to bury Pierce.
Dezura, who pocketed $2,600 in the Cloverdale Cashspiel three weeks ago, still had a strong enough voice to issue advice in the final, delayed an hour after Dezura needed an extra end to stop 22-year-old Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton 7-6 in the semis.
“We were getting a little tired, but we managed to stay sharp early there and put some pressure on them,” said the amiable Dezura, who turns 41 in two weeks.
“It was pretty much come off the ice, have a quick sandwich and get back out there so we’ve going since nine; it’s been a long day.”
The teams swapped deuces in the opening ends before Dezura took two in the third end and Pierce earned a single in four. MacKenzie, who throws skip rocks for Dezura, knocked out Pierce’s shot-rock blue stone and stuck for a four-spot in the fifth end.
“He’s been throwing ‘em great all weekend and we knew that spot on the ice and with that kind of weight,” said Dezura, of MacKenzie. “It was only about a two-foot runback so it was easy; he put it right on the nose.”
Dezura was forced to the C event after losing to Vernon’s Jim Cotter Friday night. Dezura, who runs two insurance companies, edged Ken McArdle of of Vancouver 5-4 in the quarterfinals Monday morning.
Dezura will try for a threepeat at the $40,000 Kamloops Crown of Curling, Oct. 17-20.
Pierce, a former world champion alongside Greg McAulay, pocketed $5,000.
There was a field of 16 men’s rinks with Cotter and Bottcher each bagging $4,000.