Schaffhausen, Switzerland — CanadaBrad Gushue clinched a spot in the playoffs with a 7-4 win over Magnus Rumsville of Norway At the World Men's Curling Championship on Thursday.
Canada led 4-2 after four ends, thanks to ties in both the second and fourth, then added singles in the sixth, seventh and ninth ends.
Gushue and the St. Louis team improved. John's, NL lineup of Mark Nichols, EJ Harnden, and Geoff Walker went 8-1 to remain in second place in the 13-team tour standings.
Six-time champion Nick Eden Sweden They sit in first place with a perfect 9-0 record after defeating the United States 6-4 (5-5) in Thursday's morning draw.
Canada was scheduled to face Sweden later on Thursday.
Gushue's side achieved 93 percent shooting accuracy against Norway (4-6), one of the best efforts of the week, but the skip believes there is still a higher level to achieve.
“It was better than last night but not as sharp as it could have been,” Gushue said. “We still have some mistakes and sloppy shots, which we might not get away with against a team like Nicklas tonight or another top team.”
In the other 15 draw matches on Thursday, Scotland recorded a 7-2 victory over the Scottish national team 5-3. Holland (2-7) f Italy (7-3) earned the win 10-4 New Zealand (0-9).
The back-and-forth play continues through Friday night.
The top six teams qualify for the playoffs, with the top two teams qualifying directly to the semi-finals. The medal matches will be held on Sunday.
“We want to get to the semifinals. You want to avoid that qualifier. We had to get through it last year, and it was a lot of pressure because you know if you're in it, you're in,” Nichols said. “We are going to face a really tough team. It would be good to take one step forward, so we still have work to do.”
Gushue won world gold in 2017 in Edmonton but has settled for silver on three occasions since, including last year in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2024.
Canadian Press
