Keystone
The Swiss curlers around Skip Yannick Schwaller have to be content with the game for bronze at the World Championships in Ottawa.
After winning all of the last eight round robin games, they lose the semifinals to Canada 5-7.
Pablo Lachat, Sven Michel, Yannick Schwaller and Benoît Schwarz from CC Geneva had defeated the Canadians from Newfoundland, led by the 2006 Olympic champion and 2017 world champion, 8:3 at the beginning of the round robin. The semifinals, however, were hard fought from the start. A zero end was decisive, which the Canadians were able to record in the 9th end at a score of 5:5. As a result, they only needed one point to win in the 10th end with the advantage of the last stone.
In the game for third place, Geneva will play against Italy around Skip Joël Retornaz on Easter Sunday at 5 p.m. Swiss time – against the team against which they suffered their only defeat in the twelve-game round robin. The Italians lost their semi-final against the three-time European champions from Scotland around Skip Bruce Mouat 8:9 after an additional end.
Just in the semifinals, the Swiss didn’t reach the strength that had characterized them in most round robin games. They let themselves be noted a rate of 84 percent of successful stones. It was too little compared to the Canadians, who put in a world-class performance with their 93 percent. In fourth position, Benoît Schwarz lost the duel with the veteran Brad Gushue with 80:95 percent.
The Geneva quartet could have reached a World Cup final as the first Swiss men’s team in 20 years. In 2003 in Winnipeg, St. Gallen, led by Skip Ralph Stöckli, lost the gold match against Canada (Randy Ferbey).
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