Just when you thought the curling season was over, think again.
The ACE & Company World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship begins Saturday at the Centre Sportif Sous-Moulin in Geneva, Switzerland.
For a complete schedule with updated results, click here.
Here’s an overview of what you need to know for the tournament.
Tournament format
Twenty teams will compete in the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, with the field split into two groups of 10 for round-robin play.
The top-ranked team in each group receives a bye to the semifinals, while the second-ranked team will cross over to face the third-ranked team in the opposite group during the qualification stage.
All games will be available for live streaming on The Curling Channel.
Italy looks to defend title
Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner haven’t played together much, but when they do, watch out.
The 2022 Olympic gold medallists reunited for last year’s World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Fredericton, N.B., and were golden again, posting a perfect 11-0 record to win the title.
The pair represented Italy on home ice for the Olympic Winter Games this year in Milano Cortina. After losing to the United States in the semifinals, they defeated Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat 5-3 to win the bronze. Coincidentally, Constantini and Mosaner also beat Dodds and Mouat in the final of last year’s world championship.
Although the Olympic Winter Games has been their only tournament together this season, Constantini and Mosaner are No. 4 in doubletakeout.com’s rankings, the highest among all teams competing in the world championship.
How will Canada fare?
The World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship is a bit of a sore spot for Canada, having never won gold and just two silver and two bronze medals since the tournament's inception in 2008. Even then, Canada’s most recent medal is silver in 2019, courtesy of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant.
Canada has come close a couple of times since then, with Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue losing to Sweden in the bronze game in 2021, and Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing also just missing the podium with a loss to Norway for bronze in 2023.
Peterman and Gallant represented Canada last year, falling to Estonia in the qualification round, then the United States in a placement game to finish sixth. That was good enough to earn a spot in the Olympic Winter Games, where Peterman and Gallant came in fifth.
Kadriana and Colton Lott will compete for Canada this time after winning last year’s national title in Summerside, P.E.I.
This will be their second appearance at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship after finishing fifth in 2024 in Sweden. The Lotts were eliminated in the qualification round to (who else but) Estonia. Chalk it up to one bad break as the Lotts lost 6-5 on a steal in an extra end. Kadriana Lott was an all-star, leading all women’s players by a significant margin with an 88.4 shooting percentage (Sweden’s Isabella Wranå was a distant second at 80.9 per cent). Colton Lott finished second among all men’s players, shooting 83.3 per cent.
The Lotts are coming off a title win at the Mixed Doubles Players’ Championship two weeks ago in Dundas, Ont. This season, they also finished second at the Mixed Doubles Super Series in Moose Jaw, Sask., and were semifinalists at an event in Sherwood Park, Alta.
It'll be the second time Colton Lott has the Maple Leaf on his back this month, after earning silver at the World Men's Curling Championship with skip Matt Dunstone.
They are No. 8 in doubletakeout.com’s rankings, second among teams competing in the world championship, and should be in contention.
Key to success: Don’t run into Estonia in the qualification round.
Who will advance from Group A?
Are you surprised we're going to say Estonia? Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill earned silver at the worlds in 2024 and just missed the podium last year, losing to Australia for bronze. Although Kaldvee and Lill finished last in Milano Cortina with a 2-7 record, their two wins came against Canada and eventual gold medallist Sweden. They finished second at the Baden Open this past weekend.
Speaking of Australia, Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt are also likely to koala-fy, er, qualify for the playoffs. The pair went 8-1 through pool play last year to top their group en route to earning bronze. They’ve played in nine tournaments this season, but not the big one, as they lost to Czechia and South Korea in the playoffs of the Olympic Qualification Event in December in Kelowna, B.C., and missed out on a berth in Milano Cortina. They were semifinalists last weekend at the tune-up event in Baden.
Japan’s Tori Koana and Go Aoki also missed the cut at the Olympic Qualification Event but are among the best at No. 9 in doubletakeout.com’s rankings. They won the Japanese mixed doubles title last month and reached the quarterfinals in Baden. Koana has been busy of late, helping Typhoon Curling Club reach the final in the debut season of Rock League two weeks ago.
Who will advance from Group B?
We’ve already discussed Italy and Canada and like their chances, but there are still a few other teams that could squeeze into the playoff picture from Group B.
Scotland’s Katie McMillan and Angus Bryce have played in only two tournaments this season, but they won both of them. They were victorious at the Uppsala Mixed Doubles event in December in Sweden and went undefeated through the Scottish Mixed Doubles Championship last month.
South Korea’s Seon-yeong Kim and Yeong-seok Jeong had a whirlwind run just getting to the Olympic Qualification Event, from flight delays to missing luggage and borrowing equipment, but lost just one game during the week to punch a ticket to Milano Cortina. They finished ninth at the Olympic Winter Games with a 3-6 record, defeating Canada, Estonia and the United States. Kim and Jeong have played in 10 tournaments this season, with a tour win at the Dixie Mixed Doubles Cup in September in Mississauga, Ont.
Stefanie Berset and Philipp Hösli will represent Switzerland after winning the national title last month. Berset has served as Silvana Tirinzoni’s alternate in the past, earning two silver medals at the World Women’s Curling Championship and one at the Olympic Winter Games. She also recently played on tour with skip Corrie Hürlimann (but is set to join a new team for next season) and earned bronze at the European Curling Championships. Hösli competed at the World Men's Curling Championship for the first time this year, reaching the qualification stage.
Hungary’s Dorottya Udvardi-Palancsa is a two-time gold medallist at the World Men's Curling Championship (yes, seriously). She makes her eighth appearance in the tournament and first with Lorinc Tatar.
