Manitoba skip Jordon McDonald stole a 5-4 win from Ontario’s Scott Howard in the Friday morning semifinal to qualify for the 2025 Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials final, which will be a best-of-three series against top round-robin finisher Braden Calvert.

Howard faced a tricky double-takout and stick for the win, but as one of McDonald’s stones jammed for a 12-foot biter, Howard could only watch as his shooter slowly, agonizingly spun out of the rings.

The all-Winnipeg clash between youthful skips – McDonald is 22 while Calvert is 30 – starts Friday night (TSN, 6:00 p.m. ET). 

The second game goes Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET. If a third and deciding game is necessary, it gets underway Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The winner will earn the final men’s fours spot in next month’s Canadian Olympic Trials.

McDonald has welcomed Jacques Gauthier at third stone this season. The former B.C. Brier skip was dropped from Kevin Koe’s Alberta squad a year ago, and made a surprise run to a Manitoba men’s title with a ramshackle crew back in January.

The women’s final series will see Alberta’s Selena Sturmay against the winner of the semifinal, now underway between B.C.’s Kayla MacMillan and Saskatchewan’s Ashley Thevenot.

The women’s final series starts Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. ET with game two slotted for 7:00 p.m.

Game three, if necessary, gets underway Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET.