CURLING: Swiss claim Women’s Worlds in Silkeborg on final shot of the tournament

Smiles for Switzerland, winners of the WCF Women's World title! (Photo: WCF/Richard Gray)

Switzerland returned to the top of women’s curling for the first time in three seasons with a hard-fought, 8-7, victory over Olympic champion Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish side in the final of the Women’s World Championship in Silkeborg (DEN).

Fielding an experienced squad led by skip Silvana Tirinzoni and including Alina Paetz, skip of the 2015 World Champions, the Swiss rebounded from 0-1, 1-2, 3-4 and 4-6 deficits to score two points in the eighth end to tie the game and then take a 7-6 lead in the ninth end.

But the Swedes tied it in the 10th end and the title required an extra end to decide the winner. Paetz skated the stone into the house on the final shot of the match to score the deciding point for the (now) seven-time champions.

Korea earned its first-ever women’s World Championship medal by finishing third via a 7-5 win over Japan.

Six teams out of 13 made the playoffs, with Sweden leading the round-robin play with an 11-1 record, followed by Korea and Russia at 9-3. The Swiss were 8-4, with China at 7-5 and Japan at 6-6. The U.S., skipped by Jamie Sinclair, just missed the playoff round, also with a 6-6 record.

Canada, skipped by Chelsea Carey, finished 6-6 and missed the playoff round for the first time since 1999. Summaries:

WCF Women’s World Championship
Silkeborg (DEN) ~ 16-24 March 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings: 1. Switzerland (Silvana Tirinzoni); 2. Sweden (Anna Hasselborg); 3. Korea (Minji Kim); 4. Japan (Seina Nakajima); 5. Russia (Alina Kovaleva); 6. China (Jie Mei). Also: 7. United States (Jamie Sinclair). Playoff qualification: Japan 11, Russia 3; Switzerland 7, China 6. Semis: Sweden 6, Japan 3; Switzerland 5, Korea 3. Third: Korea 7, Japan 5. Final: Switzerland 8, Sweden 7.