 After losing their opening match, De Val/Eriksson string together seven straight wins, including a 10-4 win over Zuzanna Paulova and Tomas Paul of the Czech Republic in the final, to win the Oberstdorf International Mixed Doubles Cup title. For de Val/Eriksson, this was the first event played together as a team, though, Eriksson is still the reigning Mixed Doubles World Champion with Anna Hasselborg after the pandemic cancelled the 2020 World Championships. He ended up joining forces with de Val this season, another top young player in the Swedish program and currently playing fours with Isabella Wrana and the 18th ranked team in the world. "This was my first mixed doubles tournament, so it is a bit of a change," said de Val. "We've approached the game with bigger margins and playing a bit safer shots, compared to the four player game. For me, it's also being more in the house and sweeping less." Paulova/Paul opened scoring a single in the first end, with de Val/Eriksson scoring two in the second end. Paulova/Paul scored one in the third end to tie the game, then stole another point in the fourth end to take a 3-2 lead. "We played an even first half of the game, and then we got a few opportunities that helped us score some big points," said de Val following the win. "They made some misses, and after that, we were able to stay in control of the game," added Eriksson. From there, the Swedes broke open the game, scoring four in the fifth end, and then, after holding the Czechs to a single in the sixth end, added four more in the seventh end to seal the 10-4 win. "We tried to play on the side of the sheet where we had a good feel for the ice, and force the opponents to play the other side." After the opening the tournament with an 8-2 loss to countrymates Johanna Heldin and Daniel Magnusson, de Val/Eriksson did not lose again. "It's about trying to play easier shots in mixed doubles, since you're always missing either a sweeper or a skip, and trying to make the other team play the hard shots. One miss is more expensive." They won 9-6 over the Swiss/Canadian duo of Aline Fellmann and Chris Kovalchuk, then won 8-6 over Spain's Oihane Otaegi/Mikel Unanue and 9-6 over Switzerland's Jenny Perret/Martin Rios before finishing the round-robin with a 9-1 win over Nina Summerova/Jan Horacek. "It felt good on the ice," de Val said. "We have found our game together and getting better for every game." Their record qualified de Val/Eriksson for the final eight playoffs, where they faced four-player teammates Isabella and Rasmus Wrana. Getting off to a strong start, de Val/Eriksson stole the first three end to get off to a 4-0 lead, going on to win 6-3 to advance to the semifinals where they defeated Heldin/Magnusson 6-5. Heldin/Magnusson went on to win 8-7 over Emma Sjodin/Niklas Edin, also of Sweden in the bronze medal game. Paulova/Paul won 9-6 over Therese Vestman/Robin Ahlberg (Sweden) in the quarterfinals, then won 7-3 over Sjodin/Edin in the semifinals. In the other quarterfinals matches, Heldin/Magnusson won 5-4 over Denmark's Natalie and Kasper Wiksten while Sjodin/Edin defeated Marie Turmann/Harri Lill of Estonia 6-3. |
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Matt Dunstone (Photo: Curling Canada) and his Winnipeg-based squad begin play at the CO-OP Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alta.
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