Toronto man curls into Million Dollar Button semifinals
Last Updated: Sunday, October 25, 2009 | 6:58 PM ET
CBC Sports
Clay Graves of Toronto earned the first semifinal spot in the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest by winning Sunday's qualifier during the final of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling in Mississauga, Ont.
Graves, 64, put his rock five feet, three inches from the button to emerge from a pool of six randomly selected contestants at the Hershey Centre.
"One shot, one time, no sweeper, no broom — that's a big challenge," said Graves. "I've been watching the games here so I knew there was a lot of swing in the ice and I knew it was fairly fast."
In the semifinals, Graves will face five additional qualifiers from the next two Grand Slam events — the National in Guelph, Ont., and the BDO Classic Canadian Open in Winnipeg — as well as three online entrants.
Fans can register online or on-site during the opening days of those two tournaments.
The semifinalist whose delivery comes closest to the button will win the opportunity to attempt to cover the button for $1 million live on CBC Television during the fourth-end break of the championship game at the BDO Classic Canadian Open on Jan. 24.
