This scenario has unfolded repeatedly for Canada’s men’s curling team since their last world championship victory.
They reach the final but lose to Niklas Edin.
On Sunday, Edin claimed his seventh world title, setting a record for a skip, by guiding Sweden to a narrow 6-5 win over Brad Gushue and his team from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the final of this year’s world men’s curling championship.
“It feels indescribable, and it feels so good after this week,” Edin said, reflecting on his 11-1 round-robin record and playoff wins. “We played so well the whole week; we knew the final would be tough.”
Canada’s last world title came in 2017 when Gushue defeated Edin 4-2 in Edmonton.
Since then, Edin has won five of the last six world championships, with no tournament held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four of his victories have been against Canadian skips, three of which were over Gushue, and one over Kevin Koe in 2019.
Gushue has now finished with silver in four of the six tournaments since his 2017 victory, including the last three. Besides his three losses to Edin, he was defeated 9-3 by Scotland’s Bruce Mouat in last year’s final in Ottawa.
“For the fourth time, silver sucks,” Gushue commented. “To be second in the world, we have to be proud of what we did, but it’s just disappointing.”
