Live Blog: Day six at the WJCC

If today is anything to by, tomorrow cannot be missed. Join us for play-off Friday as we bring you the following games:

Women’s semi-finals (14:00)

Switzerland v Japan

Norway v Scotland

Men’s semi-finals (19:00)

Germany v Norway

Scotland v China

All times are CET (Central European Time) which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +1 hour.

The image within the graphic says it all…

Here it is 📢📢📢

The men’s final round-robin standings from Fuessen

The top 4 teams qualified for the play-offs, the bottom 4 teams are relegated to the World Junior-B Championships#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/KBelIR6AhK

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Norway will be looking to win a maiden men’s world junior title when they arrive for the play-offs tomorrow. Can they do it?

Many congratulations to Norway 🇳🇴, on securing a spot in the #WJCC2023 play-offs!

Great achievement! 👏👏👏#Curling pic.twitter.com/Uzmji1jcWS

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Tremendous week so far for China – could they win their first junior world title?

Massive congratulations to China 🇨🇳, on qualifying for the semi-finals in Fuessen!#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/NdIlGm7IY8

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Pass over the oxygen mask because we need to catch our breaths back! Truly remarkable stuff on ice today.

Wow! Italy have stolen in the final end and beaten Switzerland 4-3, putting Jan Iseli’s side into sixth and out of the play-off spots. It comes to the last stone once again!

Norway, who have just shaken hands with Scotland after losing 8-5, will take the final semi-final place despite defeat. It’s the hope that kills you!

Lukas Hoestmaelingen and co’s better head-to-head record over Italy and Switzerland is enough. Such slim margins!

Miraculously, that win for Italy has meant they also reach next year’s World Junior Curling Championships with United States falling just short. Again, it is Giacomo Colli’s team’s head-to-head record that makes the difference.

Lost for words!

A take-out that Niklas Edin would be proud of…

“That’s an insane shot!” from Connor Deane 🇨🇦 to make a run quadruple takeout! 👏#WJCC2023 #curling
Watch live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/lPwoMUUd6o

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

China v Germany goes into the final end tied and Fei Xueqing’s rink have the last throw. With Norway currently losing 8-4 to Scotland, China will go through to the play-offs.

This is why we love curling!

Another terrifc shot from United States’ vice-skip…

Kevin Tuma 🇺🇸 makes a brilliant nose takeout, just getting by a guard to lie two! #WJCC2023 #curling
Watch live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/kFTnfcVQbG

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

No changes in the tentative standings with China and Switzerland winning – but it is tight in both games.

Korea have wrapped things up early and end their time in Fuessen on a high, scoring a huge six points in the seventh end to beat Türkiye 11-3. However, it won’t be enough to qualify for next year’s championship and will drop down to the World Junior-B Curling Championship.

Yesterday, Great Britain’s silver medallists from Beijing, Hammy McMillan and Grant Hardie, arrived to cheer on their cousin Robyn Munro – and they had plenty to get excited about after this afternoon’s dramatic finish.

McMillan already has a world junior gold medal to his name – can Munro add another to the family medal cabinet?

We have just five ends to go in our round-robin games, let’s take a look at the scores:

Italy 0-2 Switzerland

Türkiye 2-5 Korea

Germany 2-1 China

Norway 2-6 Scotland

United States 3-3 Canada

And with those scores, here are the tentative standings:

In case you missed it, here’s how the round-robin standings finished in the women’s. A truly remarkable session of curling.

Nice stuff from the United States…

“1,2,3 and they all go!” great shot from Coleman Thurston 🇺🇸 to leave USA lying two 👏#WJCC2023 #curling
Watch live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/E5NTbU5Shb

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

With so much at stake, it is no surprise the scores remain low at this early stage. A big end might dent any team’s chances.

The exception to the rule is the already-qualified Scotland, who took three in the second end to take a 3-1 advantage over Norway. A reminder that Lukas Hoestmaelingen-led team are in the fight for a play-off spot.

Could the draw-shot challenge come into play to decide the final play-off spots? If so, here’s a reminder of their numbers:

China – 28.90

Norway – 153.75

Switzerland – 32.35

Italy – 41.25

United States – 40.00

There’s also the situation of keeping their spots in next year’s championships. So much to cover and this is the best place to be! We will keep you up to date as best we can.

Let’s finish on a high! We’ve got the last session of round-robin games coming up with two play-off spots to play for…

The last round-robin session at the World Juniors starts at 7 pm (CET).

Men’s 9⃣th session pairings:

🇮🇹 ITA v SUI 🇨🇭
🇹🇷 TUR v KOR 🇰🇷
🇩🇪 GER v CHN 🇨🇳
🇳🇴 NOR v SCO 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
🇺🇸 USA v CAN 🇨🇦

📺https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89
✍️https://t.co/I8ZPrNX8kz

📸 WCF / @Fishersnaps#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/szv4UByRWQ

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Many congratulations, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 women, on securing a play-off spot at the World Juniors!#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/erFO8g9EKp

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Huge congratulations to Japan women who qualified for the semi-finals at the World Juniors!#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/gqGEk27u8l

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Up until the very final stone of the session, it was all to play for!

But we now have our semi-finalists for tomorrow’s games…

Switzerland v Japan

Norway v Scotland

We’re into the business end – and as you can see with the live scores. It. Is. So. Incredibly. Tight.

There is one game complete, though, with Norway beating Germany 11-8 to improve their record to 7-2 in Fuessen. Put your feet up and get ready for tomorrow, Norway!

As the tweet caption indicates, can Xenia Schwaller and co even make mistakes? They lead 7-4 over Canada as they seek a perfect round-robin record!

No mistakes from Xenia Schwaller 🇨🇭 as she perfectly draws to the eight-foot for two!#WJCC2023 #curling
Watch live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/nTclAn3Xa0

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

What is happening?! Korea just scored five in the eighth end to take the lead from Sweden and severely hamper Moa Dryburgh’s team’s chances of reaching tomorrow’s semi-finals. That’s only the case if Japan win, however, and they are currently tied at 5-5 as they take the hammer into the ninth end. So many permutations!

Don’t forget that Germany, Korea United States and Canada are also looking to retain their places in next year’s championships. Do not adjust your TV sets! (Or would it be phones now?)

It is a big operation here in Fuessen and plenty goes on behind the scenes to bring these games to you back home.

You can watch the action on the Curling Channel, where you can also find replays from this week.

Oh wait, a spanner in the works? A fly in the ointment? Scotland were looking strong but have conceded three in the sixth end to trail United States 7-5. With Sweden and Japan ahead in their respective games, Scotland will miss out on a play-off spot.

It is tight in all five games on ice…

Like we said, it only takes an end to change things in curling. All three play-off contenders are now in tied games.

Norway 5-3 Germany

Canada 2-5 Switzerland

United States 4-4 Scotland

Korea 2-2 Sweden

Japan 3-3 Latvia

At this stage, it will be Scotland and Sweden who take the remaining play-off spots.

Scotland lead 4-1 against United States, while Sweden are beating Korea 2-1 after four ends. Japan trail Latvia 3-1.

But it’s still early days and plenty can happen.

Elsewhere, Xenia Schwaller’s Switzerland team are looking to make it a perfect nine out of nine wins in the round robin. They lead Canada 3-2 on sheet B.

Emily Deschenes 🇨🇦 brings the game back to 2-2 with a great draw to the four foot! #WJCC2023 #curling
Watch live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/5L5V2VpPHX

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Two play-off spots are up for grabs. Only three teams – Scotland, Sweden and Japan – have the chance to qualify.

If all three teams win, it will go down to the draw-shot challenge – which, if that happens, will see Scotland and Sweden through to the semi-finals.

Are you ready for the women’s last round-robin session?

Here are the match-ups:

🇳🇴 NOR v GER 🇩🇪
🇨🇦 CAN v SUI 🇨🇭
🇺🇸 USA v SCO 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
🇰🇷 KOR v SWE 🇸🇪
🇯🇵 JPN v LAT 🇱🇻

📺: https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89
✍️: https://t.co/I8ZPrNX8kz

📸 WCF / @Fishersnaps#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/201pzyLEPj

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Have a look at the men’s standings before the last round-robin session.

Two more semi-final spots are up-for-grabs, and the top six teams secure their place in the World Junior Curling Championships 2024. So there’s a lot to play for in the last round-robin session tonight.

Scotland are the second men’s team to qualify for the semi-finals!

Results | Men’s Session 8⃣#Curling #WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/0Og4u7KuJq

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Italy and China went into the tenth end tied at 6-6. China managed to capitalise on their last-stone advantage in that end and won the game by 7-6.

Germany dominated their game from start to finish against Canada, and picked up an 8-2 win in eight ends.

Germany skip Benjamin Kapp talked about their strong game after the half-time break.

“We knew that if we’re gonna keep the way we played, they’re gonna have trouble coming back from being down one.”

Talking about playing on home ice, he added, “There’s no pressure. I think it’s just nice to have family and friends around watching.”

Italy and China are tied at 5-5, playing the eighth end.

A win would be crucial for both teams, as they are sitting with four wins and three losses on joint third place on the rankings.

The first winners of the morning are Switzerland, who won over Türkiye by 9-2 in seven ends.

Remember, you can watch all the games live and all streamed games as replays, on The Curling Channel.

A really well-played sixth end by Germany results in four points for the hosts.

They are now leading the game against Canada by 6-1.

Here’s one of the key shots:

Benjamin Kapp 🇩🇪 making moving stones around the house look so easy 🤩#WJCC2023 #curling
Watch live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/SF55Sp4cx5

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Scotland 1-1 United States

Italy 3-4 China

Türkiye 1-7 Switzerland

Canada 1-2 Germany

Korea 2-3 Norway

China were leading the game by 2-0 after three ends of play, when, in the fourth, Italy put a big score of three on the board.

Now it’s the Italians who are leading, by 3-2, playing the fifth.

This is where we are at, going into session eight

Today is going to be intense!

After blanking the first end, Switzerland put a big score of three on the board in the second against Türkiye.

The Swiss are currently sitting with four wins and three losses in shared third place on the rankings.

Today’s Germany vs Canada pairing is the rematch of last year’s semi-final.

Germany won that encounter by 8-5.

All pairings kept it pretty simple in the first end.

No score on any of the sheets so far.

Welcome to the last day of round robin in Fuessen!

We’ll start in 30 minutes with the men’s 8th draw.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 SCO v USA 🇺🇸
🇮🇹 ITA v CHN 🇨🇳
🇹🇷 TUR v SUI 🇨🇭
🇨🇦 CAN v GER 🇩🇪
🇰🇷 KOR v NOR 🇳🇴

📺https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89
✍️https://t.co/3C4RDZPpwc

📸 WCF / @Fishersnaps#WJCC2023 pic.twitter.com/8kjHV43JnU

— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 2, 2023

Welcome to Day six at the World Junior Curling Championships 2023!

Today is the last day of round-robin action and all vacant semi-final spots will be taken by the end of the day.

Three semi-final places are up for grabs in two men’s sessions, and two play-off spots are to be taken in the sole women’s session of the day.