By Canadian Press

Canada’s Gushue opens with win over Czechs at world men’s curling championship

Apr 2, 2022 | 5:23 PM

LAS VEGAS — Canada’s Brad Gushue defeated Lukas Klima of the Czech Republic 6-4 in Saturday’s round-robin opener at the world men’s curling championship.

Gushue settled for a single point in the ninth end and the Czechs conceded in the 10th after deciding they had no chance at a game-tying pair. 

Vice Mark Nichols returned to the lineup after missing the final weekend of the Canadian championship due to a positive COVID-19 test. It was also the first game for the St. John’s-based side since announcing that second Brett Gallant would be leaving the team at the end of the season.

Both teams had a few hiccups in the early going as they got used to the conditions at the four-sheet Orleans Arena. 

Gushue rolled out on an open hit for two in the first end but managed a steal in the second for a 2-0 lead.

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Klima, skipping at the worlds for the first time, made a draw against four to get the Czechs on the board but Gushue answered with an angle raise for a deuce.

The ice had plenty of curl and touches of frost in some locations. The mercury reached 31 C in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Czechs earned their first deuce in the seventh end and followed with a steal when Gushue missed a double takeout. 

The Canadians made some uncharacteristic errors in the ninth end that cost them an opportunity for a pair. Nichols threw his last rock through the house and Gushue was heavy with his final stone.

Gushue, who threw a team-low 78 per cent, was scheduled to play Norway in the evening draw. Klima shot a game-low 64 per cent.

Sweden’s Niklas Edin posted a 7-4 win over Wouter Goesgens of the Netherlands and Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell defeated South Korea’s Soo-Hyuk Kim 7-3. American Korey Dropkin dumped Tobias Thune of Denmark 8-2 in the other early game. 

The opening game was played in a front of a few hundred fans, a far cry from the near-capacity weekend crowds at the Brier in Lethbridge, Alta. Gushue, Gallant and lead Geoff Walker won three straight playoff games as a trio to win a fourth national crown in six years. 

Gushue won gold in his first appearance at the world championship, topping Edin in 2017 at Edmonton. Edin won the rematch a year later in Las Vegas and enters this year’s competition as the three-time defending champion.

Round-robin play continues through Friday. 

The top six teams will make the playoffs. Medal games are set for April 10.

Canada’s Kerri Einarson earned bronze at the women’s world championship last week in Prince George, B.C. Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni beat South Korea’s EunJung Kim for gold.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2022. 

The Canadian Press