“Honestly, I didn’t even know the rule about the double shootout,” Sweden’s Sofia Scharback said. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, well I can throw, I guess.’ That was a lot of fun.”
The remark came after Scharback, the lead for Team Anna Hasselborg, held her shooter to the back of the four-foot circle in a second-round draw-to-the-button shootout to beat South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim 7-6 on Thursday afternoon at the P&H Masters in Medicine Hat, Alta., The Grand Slam of Curling reported.
Scharback’s Shot Wins It After Both Skips Draw to the Button
For the first time this season in the Grand Slam of Curling presented by Molson Canadian, a draw required a second round. Once both skips hit their draws, each side had to pick a new shooter — with just a single sweeper — for the uncommon second round. Team Gim lead Ye-eun Seol drew to the top of the eight-foot circle, and Scharback’s shooter held onto the back of the four-foot circle to secure the victory.
“The first game we were not really where we wanted to be, so I feel the second game, the energy was there,” Scharback said. “We had a lot of fun out there. We played the scoreboard, and we managed to get the points where we wanted to, and I think this game was kind of the same. Obviously, very hard opponents, so to come out with a win here is super important.”
"That was a lot of fun." We've got double shootouts and more in our P&H Masters women's roundup:https://t.co/H1s9hAf1n3
Team Hasselborg, the two-time Olympic gold medallists, improved to 2-1 with five points after opening the week with a 7-5 loss to Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa on Tuesday and a 9-7 win over South Korea’s Team You-been Park on Wednesday. The Swedes are also third in the last stone draw challenge standings among teams still in contention, giving them added leverage for qualifying and seeding.
Three Teams Punch Playoff Tickets on Thursday
Because Gim (2-1, seven points) held the hammer for the shootout, her team still earned one point for the loss — enough to qualify for the playoffs. Gim ranks among three teams that have already locked in an early playoff berth, alongside Japan’s Team Ikue Kitazawa (3-0, nine points) and Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå (2-1, seven points). Kitazawa downed Canada’s Team Serena Gray-Withers 8-5 to preserve her perfect record, while Wranå triumphed 7-3 against Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa during the morning session.
Schwaller Cruises Past Nihira 10-2 With Cousin on the Bench
Xenia’s cousin Yannick Schwaller sat on the coaches’ bench during the match. “It’s really nice,” she said. “I asked him if he could come and sit on the bench to watch us a little bit. Obviously, he watches on TV, but it’s different when he’s here, and we can learn so much from him. I think at the moment he’s the best skip in the world, so it was really cool to have him on the bench.” Yannick Schwaller sits at No. 1 in the world rankings and captured his second Grand Slam men’s crown two-and-a-half weeks ago at the Co-op Invitational.
Einarson’s Clutch Takeout Forces Shootout Win Over Pätz
Kerri Einarson needed a long angle raise takeout to score the tying single against Switzerland’s Team Alina Pätz in the seventh end, trailing 4-3 but retaining the hammer coming home. Einarson nailed the runback to force a shootout, then upended Pätz to give her Canadian club a 5-4 win and its first victory of the event. Einarson stands at 1-2 with two points.
Friday’s Schedule Decides Playoff Bubble
Team Hasselborg (2-1, five points) plays Canada’s Team Selena Sturmay (2-1, five points) on Friday afternoon. Schwaller (2-1, six points) faces Canada’s Team Taylor Reese-Hansen (2-1, six points) Friday evening to wrap up the preliminary round. Nihira (1-2, three points) still holds a slim chance at qualifying and faces Team Mina Kobayashi (1-2, three points) in an all-Sapporo showdown Friday morning.
How Shootouts Determine Curling Winners
What is a double shootout in curling? When both skips draw to the button in the first round, the rules require a second round with a different shooter and only one sweeper. At the P&H Masters, Sweden’s Sofia Scharback won the second round by holding the back of the four-foot against South Korea’s Ye-eun Seol at the top of the eight-foot.
Team Hasselborg is third in the final stone draw challenge standings among teams still in play, which aids their chances for qualifying and seeding, according to The Grand Slam of Curling.