Gushue tops defending champ Mouat 8-4 at men’s curling worlds

Canada’s Brad Gushue improved to 3-0 following an 8-4 win over defending champion Bruce Mouat of Scotland at the world men’s curling championship on Sunday.

The game was a rematch of the 2023 gold-medal final. Sunday’s victory now allows Canada to be ahead of Scotland in any head-to-head tiebreakers.

“I know it’s early in the week, but those are the things you think about when you play some of the top teams,” Gushue said.

“They’re going to be around at the end of the week, and hopefully, we are as well.”

Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., jumped out to a 4-1 edge through five ends before Mouat made a push.

The Scottish rink made it a 6-4 game in the eighth end. A few missed shots from Canada vice-skip Mark Nichols and Gushue allowed Mouat to score as many as three but settled for two.

“Fortunately we got a miss from Bruce that only allowed it to be two,” Gushue said. “Other than that, I thought we controlled the game.

“There were no ends that were really scary, and I think that shows how well (lead) Geoff (Walker) and (second) E.J. (Harnden) set us up, which is crucial against a team like Bruce’s.”

However, Gushue was able to reply with two of his own in the ninth before Mouat conceded the game.

Canada now sits atop the standings, with Sweden’s Niklas Edin also at 3-0.

Gushue next plays the top-ranked team in the world in Italy’s Joel Retornaz on Monday.