Alberta skip Kevin Koe advanced to the Dominion All-Star Curling Skins final after defeating Jeff Stoughton on Saturday afternoon in Rama, Ont. (file photo).JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
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 $14,000 skin in the eighth end to secure his spot in Sunday's $42,000 final.
Koe will take on Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., in the championship game after the current world champion collected $14,500 in prize money in the other semi-final 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.
A carry-over in the eighth end resulted in a draw to the button finish, which saw Howard win the $6,500 skin and advance to the final.