The defending world champion British men’s curling team advanced to Saturday’s Olympic gold medal game after a dramatic 8-5 semifinal victory over Switzerland on Thursday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Team Britain secured their win by scoring two crucial points in the final end, setting up a championship showdown against Canada at the Winter Olympics.
The Swiss team controlled the early portions of the match, but the turning point arrived in the seventh end when British skip Bruce Mouat executed a spectacular takeout shot that removed four stones from play. This forced Switzerland to give up the hammer advantage while scoring only a single point.
Following that pivotal moment, the British squad effectively limited Switzerland’s scoring opportunities. Despite having the final stone of the match, Swiss player Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel couldn’t make the shot he needed to change the outcome.
The loss was particularly disappointing for Switzerland, who had become the first men’s curling team since Canada’s Kevin Martin squad in 2010 to complete the round-robin phase without a defeat. The Swiss team had an outstanding week before falling short in the semifinals.
This marked the second consecutive year these teams met in a major final, with Britain’s Team Mouat capturing a 5-4 victory in last year’s world championship final.
“We weren’t having our best in the first five ends and then really flipped it around in the last five. So just really proud of us for sticking together, supporting each other and believing in each other,” Mouat said.
In the other semifinal match, Canada’s Brad Jacobs guided his squad to a 5-4 victory over Norway in a defensive struggle that required an extra end to decide the winner.
Jacobs, who captured Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, saw his team advance after the contest went to overtime. Canada had missed an opportunity to win in regulation when Jacobs’ attempted double takeout removed only one stone instead of two. However, when Norway scored two points but surrendered the hammer, Canada easily secured the victory in the extra end.
The Norwegian and Canadian teams had faced each other earlier that same day in their final round-robin meeting, with Magnus Ramsfjell’s Norway winning 8-6. However, Canada didn’t field their complete lineup for that earlier game, resting player Ben Hebert.
“They were tough all day. Magnus made a ton of great shots, starting in that first game. Those guys were virtually lights out,” Jacobs said.
“They gave us everything we could handle. I was just grateful that we had hammer in that game, and we got off to a good start. We were able to manage the scoreboard, because they were not going away easy.
“They played awesome. Just happy to be able to get through them in that semi-final.”
The British and Canadian teams will compete for the gold medal on Saturday, while Switzerland and Norway will battle for the bronze medal on Friday.
