CurlingZone: Canada, Switzerland clinch first Olympic playoff spots

The first two playoff spots in the men's event have been determined.

By: Cameron Sallaj

Tuesday's Draw 10 in Cortina saw the first two men's teams qualify for the playoff round. While Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller continued to roll with their undefeated record, Canada's Brad Jacobs took down the number one team in the world to secure their spot.

Facing Great Britain's Bruce Mouat (4-3), the Canadian side got off to a good start with two in the first end when Mouat jammed a hit on his first rock. Canada then forced Team GB to one in the second before taking one of their own in the third, leading 3-1.

A hit and roll away on Jacobs' last in four allowed Mouat to draw for two to even the score. The British team then took their first lead of the game when after forcing Canada to one in five, they drew the eight-foot for two to pull ahead 5-4. These would be the last points they scored in the game, however.

For the rest of the match, Team Jacobs dominated Team Mouat, taking three in the seventh before stealing back-to-back ends in eight and nine. Great Britain conceded following the ninth end with a final score of 9-5.

With their sixth win of the tournament in seven games played, Canada clinched a spot in the playoff round alongside Switzerland, who improved to 7-0 with an 8-4 win over Germany. Two more spots remain up for grabs in the medal round with four teams still mathematically alive.

Tied for third at 4-3, Italy's Joel Retornaz and Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell are in position to clinch the last two spots. However, both teams will play Canada and Switzerland in their final two games with a loss in either being potentially enough to eliminate them from contention.

Right behind them are Great Britain's Mouat and the United States' Daniel Casper at 4-4. These two teams will face off in their final round robin game. The loser will be eliminated while the winner will have to wait and see if things break their way to have a chance at the playoffs.

Olympic Men's Standings - Draw 10

Q Switzerland (Schwaller): 7-0
Q Canada (Jacobs): 6-1
Norway (Ramsfjell): 4-3
Italy (Retornaz): 4-3
Great Britain (Mouat): 4-4
The United States (Casper): 4-4
Germany (Muskatewitz): 3-5
China (Xu): 2-5
Sweden (Edin): 2-6
Czechia (Klima): 1-6

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