Kirkpatrick Mens Southern

The field of 16 is set and Kindersley awaits, as the 2016 SaskTel Tankard draws near.

Playdowns wrapped up across the province on Sunday, with six new foursomes joining the previous ten qualifiers.

In Tisdale, it was Kerrobert's Brad Heidt claiming the first spot in to the Tankard with a 9-5 win over William Coutts. Heidt is a two-time provincial men's champion and has also won mixed and senior titles.

Coutts would earn a second opportunity to qualify in the 'B' side, but would once again come up short, falling 7-3 to Darren Camm out of Saskatoon Sutherland.

Falling to the 'C' side, Coutts would cash in on a third chance, earning a 7-5 win over Terry Marteniuk.

Also competing at the northern playdowns was Wadena's Scott Comfort and Lionel Holm out of Watrous.

After falling 11-1 in their opener to Camm, Comfort bounced back to finish the event with three wins and three losses. However, due to the triple knockout format, the third loss - a 7-2 setback to Tyler Travis - ultimately knocked them out of the tournament.

Holm picked up one win, securing a 9-2 win over Terry Thompson before having their third loss against Ray Sharp, falling 9-8.

Down south in Swift Current, it was 2002 champion Scott Bitz earning the first trip to Kindersley. Bitz edged Estevan's Brent Gedak 6-5 to claim the 'A' side.

Gedak wouldn't wait long to punch his ticket, taking a 9-8 win over Fox Valley's Ryan Deis to scoop up the second spot in to the Tankard.

Deis, who appeared at the 2012 Tim Horton's Brier as a second for Scott Manners would earn the third qualifying spot, taking the 'C' side with a 6-4 victory over Max Kirkpatrick.

The six qualifiers join the nine other teams who will look to knock off the top seed and two-time defending champion Steve Laycock. Along with St. Gregor's Kirk and Dallan Muyres, Laycock's foursome has risen the ranks across Canada, earning a Bronze medal at the 2015 Brier.

The Tankard will run February 3-7 in Kindersley.