Morris’s team representing Vernon and Kelowna — third Jim Cotter (who throws last rocks), second Tyrel Griffith, lead Rick Sawatsky and coach Pat Ryan — knocked off Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., 8-3 on Thursday night at the Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ont., in the men’s A-Event final at the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Pre-Trials, presented by Monsanto.

It was battle of skips who’ve claimed the last two Olympic gold medals; Gushue won in 2006 at Turin, Italy, throwing last rocks for a team skipped by Russ Howard, while Morris won in 2010 at Vancouver throwing third rocks for Kevin Martin.

The more recent Olympian prevailed on Thursday, thanks to an eighth-end gamble that saw him go hard for the steal while leading 5-3. Looking at two Morris stones in the four-foot, Gushue also decided to gamble, attempting a 15-foot angle-raise double takeout to score. He was just wide, giving the stolen deuce and, in essence the victory to Morris.

The victory means Morris will have first-end hammer and choice of rock colour throughout the playoffs, and two cracks at a berth into the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Monsanto, Dec. 1-8 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg — the event that will decide Canada’s representatives for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Written by the Canadian Curling Association