Canada’s Brad Gushue advanced to 3-0 after an 8-4 victory over defending champion Bruce Mouat of Scotland at the world men’s curling championship on Sunday.
The match was a repeat of the 2023 gold-medal final. Canada's win on Sunday puts them ahead of Scotland in potential tiebreakers.
“I know it’s early in the week, but those are the things you think about when you play some of the top teams,” Gushue commented.
“They’re going to be around at the end of the week, and hopefully, we are as well.”
Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., took a 4-1 lead after five ends before Mouat made a comeback.
The Scottish team narrowed the score to 6-4 in the eighth end. A couple of missed shots from Canada vice-skip Mark Nichols and Gushue allowed Mouat to score up to three but settled for two.
“Fortunately we got a miss from Bruce that only allowed it to be two,” Gushue remarked. “Other than that, I thought we controlled the game.
“There were no ends that were really scary, and I think that shows how well (lead) Geoff (Walker) and (second) E.J. (Harnden) set us up, which is crucial against a team like Bruce’s.”
However, Gushue managed to respond with two points of his own in the ninth before Mouat conceded the game.
Canada now leads the standings, with Sweden’s Niklas Edin also at 3-0.
Gushue next competes against the top-ranked team in the world in Italy’s Joel Retornaz on Monday.
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Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP
