KENORA, Ont. -- Brad Jacobs is going back to the Brier.
The Sault Ste. Marie skip and reigning Olympic gold medalist won his fifth Northern Ontario curling title in six years, prevailing 7-4 over former two-time world champion Al Hackner in the final at the Kenora Rec Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Jacobs and his team of third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden, captured four straight crowns from 2010 to 2013 before skipping last year’s event to compete in Sochi. The win caps an undefeated week for the rink.
The match started off close as the teams each notched a deuce with hammer, sitting even at 2-2 after four ends.
Jacobs built his lead with two in the fifth, followed by a steal of a single in the sixth to go up 5-2.
Hackner managed to get within one with a pair in the seventh but the two teams blanked the eighth and Jacobs answered right back with two in the ninth.
The 2013 Brier and world champ then ran the Hackner rink out of rocks in the 10th.
The 61-year-old Hackner, who last competed at the nationals in 2001, showed he still has game in his march to the final.
The Brier and world champion in 1982 and 1985, along with his rink of lead Gary Champagne, second Kris Leupen and third Frank Morissette, had the third best round robin record and beat the Dylan Johnston rink in the semifinal.
The 2015 Tim Horton’s Brier will be played from Feb. 28 to March 8 in Calgary.
