Scotland win through to final of curling’s World Mixed Doubles Championship

Scotland have won through to the final of curling’s World Mixed Doubles Championship in Aberdeen.
Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds beat Canada 7-4 to reach the final of the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Aberdeen. Picture: Celine Stucki/WCFBruce Mouat and Jen Dodds beat Canada 7-4 to reach the final of the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Aberdeen. Picture: Celine Stucki/WCF
Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds beat Canada 7-4 to reach the final of the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Aberdeen. Picture: Celine Stucki/WCF

The home team, comprising Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds, produced another powerhouse performance to get the better of Canada and they will now meet Norway in Sunday’s final.

For Mouat, it is the chance to contest a world championship gold medal match for the second time in successive months.

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The Edinburgh curler led Scotland at the Men’s World Championship in Canada where they lost to Sweden in the final.

“Let’s go one better this time,” he said Mouat, who went on to win unprecedented back to back Grand Slam events in Canada on the following two weekends. “I would love to win a gold after this season. This is hands down the best season of my life. It’s been bizarre for everyone, but really satisfying at the same time. Just to be able to curl and to compete at a World Championship is a blessing.”

It was the second time in the mixed event that Scotland and Canada – the two nations that are most closely associated with the sport – had met and just as they had in the round-robin stages, Dodds and Mouat proved too strong for the highly regarded pairing of Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue as they ran out 7-4 winners.

While the Scots claimed the upper hand with a slightly fortunate count of three at the third end, at which Mouat acknowledged that neither team had produced their best, his perfectly executed run back at the sixth to deny the Canadians any chance of a big end proved crucial.

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“It was a big shot and to be honest the whole game I seemed to be hitting it an inch high, but that was exactly what I needed to do with that, so I just felt I was going to make it from the hack already,” he explained.

“It’s good to make a shot like that in a semi-final and if that was a shot to get us to a final then I’m really happy it came off.”

Edinburgh’s Dodds was once again statistically the best player on the ice and while she remained self-critical as she assessed their performance, she was thrilled to be in a final at her first World Mixed Doubles Championship.

“That was a great game,” she said. “Probably not one of our best performances, but it was enough to win, so that’s the main thing.”

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She reckoned the key had been the way they maintained their concentration as they played the scoreboard in taking advantage of surging into that 4-1 lead at the third end.

“You need to keep your composure after you draw that three, but we knew they were going to come back fighting,” said Dodds.

Scotland have lost only one match all week and Dodds said the focus would now be on maintaining the form that has taken them to the final.

“What we’ve been saying all week is to just keep doing the exact same, keep doing what we’re doing, play our game,” she said.

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“The Norwegians are a really good mixed doubles team. They beat Sweden today, so we’ll need another good performance in the final.”

The final takes place at 3pm.

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