Bruce Mouat and Team Scotland are two-time world men’s curling champions.
Scotland downed Switzerland 5-4 in the BKT World Men’s Curling Championship final on Sunday afternoon at the Temple Gardens Centre.
The team consisted of Mouat, third Grant Hardie, second Bobby Lammie, lead Hammy McMillan and alternate Kyle Waddell.
Mouat won his first title in 2023, also on Canadian soil, in Ottawa.
It was a trying week for the Scottish rink. Going into the championship as the top-ranked team, they finished the round robin 8-4 and had to go through the qualification round in the playoffs.
“We had some really bad games throughout the week, and we just had to really have a good discussion within the team, a good debrief, and figure out what we were actually wanting to do,” Mouat said after the win.
Switzerland’s vice-skip Benoit Schwarz-Van Berkel, throwing fourth stones, drew for one point in the first end. Scotland kept the second end fairly open to get the blank and keep the hammer for the third end.
With his first rock of the third end, Mouat made a raise double takeout to lay two. Schwarz-Van Berkel doubled out the two Scottish rocks with his last to force a blank end.
Mouat grabbed another blank in the fourth end, taking out a partially buried Swiss rock.
With rocks all around the back of the button, Schwaller made a perfect freeze behind a guard. Scotland third Grant Hardie countered with an angle takeout to move the Swiss stone off the button. Schwaller repeated his draw with his last third stone to put pressure on the Scots.
Hardie made a double run back but rolled across the face of the Swiss shot rock, leaving Switzerland laying one. Schwarz-Van Berkel played a hit and roll on top of his own rock with his first rock to lay two for Switzerland. Mouat played a short run back that got both Swiss rocks moving but left Switzerland still laying one.
Schwarz-Van Berkel, with his last rock, tried to draw behind cover but came up a bit heavy, leaving Mouat a double to score two and go ahead 2-1 at the fifth-end break.
Mouat, facing three Swiss rocks in the house in the sixth, made an angle double with his first rock and narrowly missed the triple takeout. Schwarz-Van Berkel drew around cover with his first to lay two. Mouat made an open hit with his last, leaving Schwarz-Van Berkel an open hit for two and a 3-2 lead.
Hardie, with his last rock of the seventh end, made a run back that resulted in Scotland laying three. Schwarz-Van Berkel made a freeze to a Scottish rock at the top of the button to narrow the scoring area. Mouat, with his first, made a corner freeze to Schwarz-Van Berkel’s first rock. Mouat played a quiet tap back to get two and take the lead 4-3.
In the eighth, Schwarz-Van Berkel had a draw against five with his last rock, and he put it on the button to tie the game.
Mouat, with the last rock in the ninth end, cleared the house to get the blank and keep the hammer tied 4-4 heading into the final end.
With the final rock of the game, Mouat drew to the four-foot for the win to make the final 5-4.
“Growing up, drawing the four-foot to win a world men’s championship is what you dream about and you practice it 100 times in practice every day. To have that opportunity and to make that shot, it’s like the cherry on top for a skip,” Mouat said.
Norway third Martin Sesaker was presented with the Colin Campbell Memorial Trophy for the most sportsmanlike player in the tournament.