It’s CAN vs SUI, naturally
Canada will battle Switzerland in the world women’s curling fours championship final for the second year in a row.
Rachel Homan’s Ottawa crew will attempt to become the first Canadian team to repeat as world champions since Sandra Schmirler’s Saskatchewan foursome team in 1993 and 1994.
The Swiss, led by Silvana Tirinzoni, will attempt to avoid their loss in the 2024 final and score their fifth world title in the last six years.
The semifinals at Uijeongbu Arena saw Canada edge home team Korea’s Un-Chi Gim 6-5 in an extra end, while the Swiss held off a stubborn Chinese squad skipped by Rui Wang by a 4-2 count.
The Canadians needed all 10 ends to defeat the Gim crew. After a back-and-forth battle and with hammer in the extra frame, Homan didn’t need to throw her final stone as Gim overcurled on an attempted double takeout, leaving the winning point in play and sealing the victory for Canada.
The gold-medal game is scheduled for Sunday at 3:00 a.m. ET.
Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes had earlier thrashed Scotland’s Sophie Jackson 10-4 in their first playoff matchup, while the Chinese made a fantastic triple takeout on last stone to upset Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg in their playoff game.
“Win or lose, we fought out there,” said Homan. “We left it all out there and I'm just so proud of the girls. So excited for us to be in another final.
“It’s great for Canada,” Homan continued. “We can’t wait to stress out family members out as I’m sure they're going to watch it from end one, so it’s not going to be fun watching. But I think they’re going to be super pumped when they wake up.”
Homan needed a tough double-takeout on her last stone of the 10th end just to force Gim to one and the extra end.
“I was pretty emotional after that,” said Homan. “It was huge for us and huge for Canada. We wanted to make that, and I didn’t know if (the stone) was going to stop falling. Thankfully, it did, and it was just a huge moment to keep our chances alive.”
China forced Switzerland to a single in the ninth end and appeared poised for the win in the final end, until the Swiss executed a double and roll to freeze, setting up a game-winning steal.
South Korea and China will play for the bronze medal on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The final will mark another chapter in the history between the Homan and Tirinzoni teams. The squads recently grew closer off the ice after a series of friendly apparel exchanges at Grand Slam tournaments, where each squad appeared to support the other.
In head-to-head matchups dating back to 2005, Tirinzoni has beaten Homan nine times while the Canadians have scored 28 victories.
One particular Homan victory at a Slam in January of 2024 provided fans with plenty of strategic math as a discussion point.