Norway opened Curling World Championship with a victory

Curling.Photo: wikimedia.org

Norway beat Scotland 9-6 when the team played their first game in the group stage at this year’s Curling World Championship in Canada.

It was an even match, but captain Steffen Walstad and his team gained the upper hand on the Scots and held it for the rest of the match. In the second half, the Norwegians got two points, the game’s first, and from then onward, Scotland were either behind or, at best, equal to Norway.

After eight rounds, the score stood at 7-6 to Norway. In the ninth round, no points were scored, and only when the very last stone was set in the final round, could Walstad & co. celebrate a victory.

The Scots had one stone in store, which was placed within the Norwegians’, but Norway did not really count on the last stone. They used the captain to knock out the Scots, and secure Norway two points, determining the final score at a 9-6 Norway win.

The Norwegians made a good start to a championship where they will fill the shoes, and the trousers, of Thomas Ulsrud’s team, which both athletically and aesthetically had put Norway on the World Curling map in recent years.

The World Championships are happening in Canada’s City of Edmonton, and will be concluded with a final next weekend.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today