LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Rarely in the 60 years of curling at the men's world championship have there been monumental surprises or plot twists — quite the opposite. Mainly, the predictability of the outcome has sapped any suspense or drama. The usual powerhouse curling countries have mostly risen to the top. Canada has won the title 36 out of 59 times while earning silver or bronze on another 13 occasions. The Canadians have failed to reach the podium only 10 times. Throughout, there has been a mark of consistency for Canada. In the first ten years of the event, from 1959 to 1968, Canada won the title eight times. The next decade, from 1969 to 1978, was Canada's worst stretch, with only four titles. But in every decade since, the Canadians have won the title six or seven times. In this past 10 years, Canada has claimed men's curling supremacy five times. Now, it's up to Kevin Koe's Calgary rink to put another notch on the Canadian curling belt. Part of the usual narrative at this international bonspiel has also involved Sweden and Scotland being near the top. They're the next two closest countries to Canada in terms of gold medals — and they're not all that close. Sweden sits second with eight titles; Scotland is third with five. In fact, only five countries outside of Canada have ever won a world men's curling title. The United States and Norway have won it four times and Switzerland three times. Twenty-three nations have played in the men's world curling championship over its 59 years — outside of the six countries previously mentioned, the others have usually just been happy to attend the event. But the landscape has shifted and this year's championship is a perfect example of how other countries are starting to find their footing on the pebbled ice. Playoff picture out of focus With just a couple of games remaining for each team, it's anyone's guess what six countries are going to advance into the playoff round. The top two teams get an automatic berth into the semifinals while the next four play a quarter-final game to stay alive. Usually at this point of the bonspiel the front-runners have emerged. Not this year. Sweden is the only team with just one loss. Switzerland has two losses. Behind those two teams are Canada, Japan, Italy and the United States sitting with three losses. Scotland has suffered four losses but remains alive for the playoffs with the crucial final games to be played. WATCH | Scotland sweeps away Canada: Match Wrap: Canada's Kevin Koe falls to Scotland at Men's curling worlds Sports 1:11 Scotland skip Bruce Mouat scored three in the 10th end to beat Kevin Koe's Canadian rink 8-6 at the men's curling world championships in Lethbridge, Alberta. 1:11 Only six of the seven remaining teams can advance. That's going to leave one very competitive team on the outside looking in and wondering what might have been. It's already been a historic tournament for two countries. Japan is advancing to the playoffs after its best start to a men's world curling championship. Japan's best-ever finish came three years ago, when it lost the bronze-medal game to the United States and ended up fourth. Italy is also making some history. It's already ensured its best-ever record at a men's world curling championship by reaching seven wins. And it's also ensured its best-ever finish, surpassing eighth-place finishes from 1996 and 2016. WATCH | Koe lands ridiculous in-off to beat U.S.: Koe makes shot of the tournament as Canada defeats United States Sports 1:09 Kevin Koe played the in-off double takeout to score a deuce in the ninth end, as Canada beat John Shuster's American rink 6-3. 1:09 The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, are the defending Olympic champions. They went on an improbable run one year ago in Pyeongchang to win the country's first-ever curling gold. Their historic triumph included beating Canada for the first — and second — times ever at the Olympics. The Americans are right back in the thick of it in Lethbridge. There's no question Canada is still the curling powerhouse. But for years, people have been saying the rest of the world is catching up. That's not the case anymore. The world has not only caught up — they're winning with much more regularity than what many Canadian curling fans would like. And so, the curling script is far less predictable than in the past. That only means good things for a sport that continues to grow and evolve each passing year.<doc-sep>Canada lead Ben Hebert came off the ice after another dramatic win at the world men's curling championship and promptly extended both arms out. "I'm just goosebump central right now," he said. "That was special." His skip, Kevin Koe, had just delivered another clutch shot on Saturday for a second straight 6-5 victory and a berth in the gold-medal game against Sweden. Koe came through in the final end of a qualification game win over Scotland's Bruce Mouat in the morning and drew the four-foot ring in an extra-end semifinal victory over Switzerland's Peter De Cruz in the evening. "What can you say, a little bit of panic at the end ... it hung on and it was perfect," Koe said. WATCH | Koe guides Canada to final: Match Wrap: Koe's curling heroics lift Canada to men's worlds final Sports 1:37 Kevin Koe was tremendous in Saturday's semifinal to lead Canada over Switzerland 6-5 and advance to the finals of the world men's curling championship. 1:37 Koe's win set up a Canada-Sweden final for the third straight year. Defending champion Niklas Edin beat Japan's Yuta Matsumura 8-2 in the afternoon semifinal. Clutch Koe Koe has been curling his best in high-pressure situations this season. With just five seconds left on the clock against Scotland, Koe delivered a perfect tap that froze and left Scotland with little chance of pulling even with a deuce. Mouat could only score one with his final throw. "Our skip is starting to fire," said Canada lead Ben Hebert. "When he starts going like that, he's ridiculous." Koe was at it again in the nightcap. The Calgary skip made the shot of the competition with a stunning quadruple takeout in the third end. WATCH | Koe nails quadruple takeout in win over Swiss: Canada's Kevin Koe escapes trouble with ridiculous quadruple takeout Sports 1:41 In the 3rd end of Canada's semifinal vs. Switzerland, Koe managed the shot of the tournament as he cleared four Swiss stones with an incredible quad takeout. 1:41 The packed house at the Enmax Centre erupted when four Swiss stones rolled out and two Canadian rocks remained. "To have the barn sold out like this, it feels like we're in a hockey game," Hebert said. "When Kevin made that quad, I couldn't hear myself think." Koe's teammates emphatically pumped their fists after the shot. The usually stoic skip briefly raised his broom in the air and even cracked a smile. "No one else in the world can make a quad like that," Hebert said. "It's gross. And a game-saver. To give up a four-banger like that, take the momentum away, we're in some big trouble. "That was huge and got us going back in the right direction." The shot prevented a big Swiss end and the force kept the host side in control. Koe came through again in the seventh with a razor-thin double takeout that made the crowd pop once more. The plucky Swiss side took a 4-3 lead in the eighth with a hit and stick for two before Koe drew for a pair in the ninth. Swiss fourth Benoit Schwarz forced an extra end with a draw for one. Rematch Japan and Switzerland will play for bronze in the early game Sunday. Matsumura edged American John Shuster 7-6 in the other morning qualification game, sealing the win by drawing to the button in an extra end. Edin, a three-time world champion, beat Canada's Brad Gushue last year in Las Vegas to avenge a loss to the St. John's, N.L., skip in the 2017 final at Edmonton. Koe seems to maintain his composure no matter what the situation. He delivered on a game-winning shot for the national title last month and is making a habit of taking his time even when the clock is winding down. "I just remind myself to throw it good and the result will take care of itself," Koe said. "It's worked this year, that's for sure." Koe won world titles in 2010 and 2016 with different teams. His Calgary-based rink of third B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Flasch and Hebert is the top-ranked team in the world. "It's great to be back in the final," Hebert said. "We're taking home some hardware. We don't know what colour it is yet, but we're pretty thrilled with that." In the nightcap, Canada scored a deuce in the second and forced Switzerland to one in the third. Koe gave up a steal of one in the fifth before throwing a tap for one in the sixth end for a 3-2 lead. Canada settled for the third seed after posting a 9-3 record in round-robin play. Sweden (11-1 in round-robin play) and Switzerland (9-3) earned byes to the semifinals. Japan (9-3) took the fourth seed ahead of the United States (8-4) and Scotland (8-4).<doc-sep>Share this Story: World men’s curling championship: Anti-climactic finish was the only blemish World men’s curling championship: Anti-climactic finish was the only blemish Article content LETHBRIDGE, Alta — After a week of spectacular shots and dramatic moments, it was a shame that Sunday’s world men’s curling championship final — between two of the greatest skips the game has ever known — ended in such anti-climactic fashion. It looked like the epic battle between Canada’s Kevin Koe and Sweden’s Niklas Edin was going to come down to one shot for all the marbles in the 10th end or even an extra. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or World men’s curling championship: Anti-climactic finish was the only blemish Back to video It almost seemed inevitable and you could feel the tension coursing though the Enmax Centre crowd. And then, in a flash, it was over. One terribly timed miss by sharpshooter Koe in the eighth end was all Edin needed to win his record-tying fourth world men’s curling gold medal. The light draw by Koe that resulted in a steal of two gave Sweden a 4-2 lead and forced Canada to take some risks in the ninth, knowing there’d be little or no chance to win if they scored just one and trailed, without the hammer, coming home against Edin. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Sweden wound up stealing three more and Canada shook hands right there, trailing 7-2. It was certainly not the moment everyone was anticipating and it took some of the shine off what had been a wonderful world championship up to that point. Koe had the crowd on its feet multiple times during the event, making in-offs and quadruple kills that were so good they went head-to-head in TSN’s nightly 1-v-1 segment. It just seemed like another highlight-reel shot was coming to produce another magical moment, one that would give the two-time world champion his first title on Canadian soil. Instead, the drama fizzled out like Koe’s last rock in the frost in that fateful eighth end. That brings us to perhaps the most disappointing thing about how it all went down — with an equipment failure seeming to have played a role. “We can’t put the whole game on that one thing,” Canadian third B.J. Neufeld said, finding some perspective in the most difficult of moments. “We didn’t generate as much offence as we would have liked throughout the game. There’s no doubt that it’s not an ideal situation for a final. You can’t blame it on that but it may have had a part in it, for sure.” What happened was this: The handle on Edin’s final rock of the eighth end came loose and he asked an ice technician to tighten it. That didn’t work and the technician had to go and get a replacement handle. The whole exercise took seven minutes, left the curlers in an unusual delay and allowed enough time for a bit of frost to build up on the unused ice. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “You’ve got the long wait with the handle there and that side of the sheet was maybe a little bit frosty,” Neufeld said. “He threw it the way he wanted, the guys liked it out of his hand and they just couldn’t quite get it there.” People miss draws all the time because of ice changes. Think about what happened to Rachel Homan twice in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts final this year. But while there’s no way of knowing for sure that Koe would have made the shot in ideal conditions, it’s too bad that something like that happened at such a critical juncture of a world curling championship. Edin said the delay made him nervous, though he still executed a double with his last rock to set up the key steal. Drawing was a different story, as Koe found out, but Edin wasn’t of the opinion that the ice changed all that much. “That side was slower the whole game because we didn’t play as much on that side,” Edin said. “Both teams knew that wasn’t a draw you wanted to make because it was tricky. I don’t think I would have done a better try than him on that draw.” That fact is, Canada played a lousy end and Koe was in a position where he needed to bail the team out again. “Just some bad angles after (second Colton) Flasch’s first rock and it looked like we were gonna be in trouble for most of the end,” Neufeld said. “We tried to get out of it but just couldn’t quite do it.” In the end, the right team won. The Swedes were the best team all week and were fully deserving of gold medals. They are one of the most successful international teams in curling history and they were the favourites to win from the get-go. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content It just would have been nice to see what kind of memorable moment might have developed had the situation been ideal. It was really the only bad thing that happened in an otherwise outstanding world championship. Despite loss, Canadians look back at time in Lethbridge with great memories As much as it stung to settle for silver medals, B.J. Neufeld will never forget his magical experience at his first world curling championship. Neufeld’s Team Canada had just lost 7-2 to Sweden in the gold medal game Sunday, when he took time to reflect on some of the positives of the nine-day tournament in southern Alberta. “I definitely will look back with great memories,” he said. “It was a great week with the guys, we played our hearts out in front of a great crowd.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Switzerland’s Peter De Cruz defeated Japan’s Yuta Matsumura 8-4 on Sunday afternoon to win the bronze medal at the world men’s curling championship. De Cruz took the lead with four points in the seventh and stole singles in the next two ends for the victory. Both teams lost semifinals a day earlier to fall into the third-place game at the Enmax Centre. Canada’s Kevin Koe was scheduled to play defending champion Niklas Edin of Sweden for the gold medal later Sunday. READ MORE: Canada’s Kevin Koe beats Scotland and Switzerland to get to gold medal game at worlds Watch below: (From March 29, 2019) Curling fans are getting ready for the world championships which start on Saturday in Lethbridge. Calgary’s Kevin Koe will be leading Team Canada against the best teams in the world, hoping to add to his trophy case. Kyle Benning has more. 1:26 Team Koe preparing for world curling championships in Lethbridge Team Koe preparing for world curling championships in Lethbridge – Mar 29, 2019 The Calgary skip won world titles in 2010 and 2016 with different teams. Koe’s current lineup includes lead Ben Hebert, second Colton Flasch and third B.J. Neufeld. Story continues below advertisement Sweden led the round-robin standings with an 11-1 record. Canada was the third seed at (9-3) in a six-team playoff pool that also included the United States and Scotland. Koe’s medal will end a tough stretch of results for Canada’s four-player teams at major events. He did not reach the podium at the Pyeongchang Olympics last year and the Canadian women’s team skipped by Rachel Homan also did not win a medal. Canada’s Chelsea Carey missed the playoffs at last month’s world women’s championship in Silkeborg, Denmark. Edin defeated Canada’s Brad Gushue in last year’s world men’s final in Las Vegas to avenge a loss to the St. John’s, N.L., skip a year earlier in Edmonton.<doc-sep>
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA.—Canada skip Kevin Koe put on a master class of exquisite shotmaking during the men’s world curling championship, providing a bevy of highlight-reel shots that helped his team reach the final. A magical in-off. Clutch triple takeouts. Even a rare quadruple takeout. After two thrilling one-point playoff wins a day earlier, Koe couldn’t pull out another victory in the biggest game of the competition Sunday night. Sweden’s Niklas Edin kept the pressure on and didn’t stop until he had a 7-2 victory and his fourth career world title. “It sucks, we wanted to win this so badly and it’s very disappointing,” Koe said. “We’re pretty deflated. After the eighth (end) we felt terrible — a steal of two was disappointing. It’s unfortunate, but they’re a great team.” Edin stole three more points in the ninth end when Koe’s desperation quadruple-takeout attempt was slightly off the mark. “It feels amazing,” Edin said. “This was probably the sweetest win of my career. We’ve never played better than this for an event. It felt like we were dominating the whole week.” Edin beat Canada’s Brad Gushue in last year’s world final in Las Vegas to avenge a loss to the St. John’s, N.L., skip a year earlier in Edmonton. Edin’s first world crown came in 2013 and he won again in 2015. Koe won world gold in 2010 and 2016. After an opening blank, Koe had a chance for a force in the second end, but his runback took out a Swedish stone and his own rock. That allowed Edin to blank once again. Canada was in danger of giving up four points in the third end but managed to steal a single when Edin jammed on a double-takeout attempt. Koe hit a big-weight double and rolled it back under cover before following with a nice runback. He kept the pressure on in the fourth with a hit that rolled behind a corner guard. Edin was forced to draw for a single. Koe didn’t have to make a draw until he had hammer for the first time in the fifth. His first throw was slightly offline, but his second draw found the four-foot ring for a 2-1 lead. The Calgary skip made the packed house at the Enmax Centre pop in the sixth end when he hit a double takeout to sit three. Edin was forced to draw for a single to pull even. “The support has been awesome,” Koe said. “It’s just a pity that we couldn’t win it for them.” Koe made another double in the seventh end to get a blank and keep hammer. Several rocks were in play in the eighth end before play was delayed for about five minutes due to a loose handle. Edin played the repaired rock and made a double takeout to sit three. Koe was forced to draw the four-foot and came up short to give Sweden a two-point lead. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... “Obviously we kind of lost some of the control,” Koe said. “Tied up with hammer playing eight, that’s a good spot to be in and we didn’t play a good end obviously, and that’s what cost us.” Swedish third Oskar Eriksson made an excellent double takeout in the ninth end and Canada couldn’t recover. Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz defeated Japan’s Yuta Matsumura 8-4 earlier in the day to win the bronze medal. De Cruz took the lead with four points in the seventh and stole singles in the next two ends for the victory. Koe, lead Ben Hebert, second Colton Flasch and third B.J. Neufeld are in their first season together as a foursome. The silver medal ends a tough stretch of results for Canada’s four-player teams at major events. Koe did not reach the podium at the Pyeongchang Olympics last year, and the Canadian women’s team skipped by Rachel Homan also did not win a medal. Canada’s Chelsea Carey missed the playoffs at last month’s world women’s championship in Silkeborg, Denmark. Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni defeated Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg in that final. Edin earned the first seed in the round-robin standings with an 11-1 record. He beat Koe 9-4 earlier in the week. Canada was the third seed in a six-team playoff pool that also included the United States and Scotland. Italy, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, China, Norway and South Korea missed the cut. Total attendance for the nine-day event was 69,077. The Enmax Centre has a capacity of about 4,500 for curling.