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Players Championship Final Four Women

- Article by Brad Norman

Last year's women's final four feature some surprising names, with all the tournament favorites being eliminated early. This year, however, the women's semi-final is again filled with the usual cast. Jones, Kleibrink, Bernard, and Scott all the only teams left standing in the World Curling Tour's final event of the 2008-09 season.

Kleibrink continued to roll, as her team won their fourth game of the event. The Kleirbink team has yet to lose a game at this year's Players' Championship.

With the 5-3 victory, Kleibrink ends the remarkable debut season of Rachel Homan. Homan, just 20-years old, was recently honoured with the World Curling Tour's rookie of the year award.

Kleibrink will now move on to the semi-final and continue her hunt for her very first Players' Championship title.

British Columbia's Kelly Scott also advances. She was up against Ontario's Krista McCarville. With the game tied up 3-3 after seven ends, Scott took advantage of a big missed opportunity by McCarville. The miss allowed Scott to score three points and take a commanding 6-3 lead with just one end remaining. Scott then ran McCarville out of stones, claiming victory and moving ahead to the semi-final for a chance at her first Players' Championship title.

McCarville, last year's runner up, is now eliminated from the tournament.

Another tight match in the quarter-final round featured Cheryl Bernard and Heather Rankin. Thanks to a steal of one point in the second end, Bernard was able to maintain a two-point lead throughout the game and into the eighth and final end. With Ranking having hammer in that last end, Bernard forced her to take a single. This game Bernard the 4-3 win.

Bernard is still alive in the event, looking for her first Players' Championship win.

The only blow-out of the quarter-final round came courtesy of Jennifer Jones. The three-time Players' Championship winner, former world champ, and three-time Tournament of Hearts champion pounded Sherry Middaugh in this one.

Jones opened with a deuce and followed it up with a steal of one to take a 3-0 lead early in the game. After holding Middaugh to a single, Jones struck again, scoring three more points in the fourth. The pattern continued, and after only six ends, Jones walked away with a 9-2 victory. This gives Jones a chance to win her fourth career Players' Championship.