2018 Olympic Curling Mixed Doubles Round-Robin Qualifying Saturday Late Results
Mixed doubles curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics is down to just five teams with the round robin concluding Saturday night in the U.S. (Sunday morning in Pyeongchang, South Korea).
Canada earned a 7-3 win over South Korea in the seventh session to go 6-1 for the tournament, good enough for the top seed in the semifinals. Switzerland (5-2) and the Olympic Athletes from Russia (4-3) also earned spots in the playoff round after four days of action at Gangneung Curling Centre.
However, Norway and China will need to battle Sunday in a tiebreaker for the final spot.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
The remaining four squads will then try to earn the first-ever Olympic gold medals in mixed doubles curling.
Final Round-Robin Standings
1. Canada (6-1)
2. Switzerland (5-2)
3. Olympic Athletes from Russia (4-3)
4. China (4-3)
4. Norway (4-3)
6. South Korea (2-5)
7. United States (2-5)
8. Finland (1-6)
Full results courtesy of Olympic.org.
Session 7 Results
China 9, Norway 3
China needed to win to stay alive, and it did just that with a big victory over Norway.
The duo of Dexin Ba and Rui Wang trailed 2-1 through three ends, but they came through with some huge scores with the last rock. China scored three in the fourth and then five in the sixth end, going up 9-3 and forcing Norway to concede.
Norway would have been in the semifinals with a victory, but the team struggled with some of the worst accuracy we have seen all tournament. Kristin Skaslien shot just 58 percent, with Magnus Nedregotten only slightly better while hitting 63 percent, and the missed shots cost them dearly.
With Russia earning the tiebreaker over both teams, China and Norway will now need to battle again in the tiebreaker for the final spot in the semifinals.
Finland 7, United States 5
This was the only match in this session that didn't have playoff implications, as both teams entered with losing records.
Fortunately for Finland, it was a chance to end the week on a high note after earning its first win over the United States.
This battle arguably came down to one end, with Finland grabbing four points in the seventh. The American duo of Matt and Becca Hamilton hadn't been able to produce these types of numbers all tournament, but it helped the underdogs pull away in this one.
Although the United States won its first match against a quality Russian contingent, the team won only one of its last six competitions on its way to a disappointing finish in South Korea.
Switzerland 9, Olympic Athletes of Russia 8
The Olympic Athletes of Russia had qualified for the playoff round before this match began by virtue of their wins over Norway and China, but this was an important battle for seeding.
Because of Switzerland's win, however, these teams will now just compete once again as the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the semifinals.
Russia had the advantage early on up 7-2, but the Swiss grabbed a two-point steal in the sixth end to turn things around. Down two in the eighth, Jenny Perret and Martin Rios stepped up with a three-point frame to earn the 9-8 victory.
The squad has been clutch in the last few ends all tournament long, and that continued with the victory Saturday.
Canada 7, South Korea 3
A win was enough to clinch first place in the tournament for Canada, and the favorites came through with ease, as Devin Heroux of CBC noted:
The Canadians were in control throughout the match, stealing points without the last rock twice to build a nearly insurmountable lead.
After Canada was up 7-3 heading into the eighth end, South Korea tried to give its home fans one more thing to cheer for but conceded after falling behind.
John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes got off to a slow start in this tournament but are clearly the favorites to bring home gold going into the playoff round.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
