#WMCC2019 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: The Madness Comes To Lethbridge

Which nation can slide through the "Gateway of Opportunity"?

Let the madness continue! #MarchMadness on ice jumps across the pond from Denmark to Canada for the next big international event.

Last week we wrapped up the women's world championship with a fitting final between two powerhouse nations: Switzerland and Sweden. In the end Switzerland's Team Tirinzoni would prevail over Sweden's Team Hasselborg and claim the world title.

The final was entertaining, filled with great shots and an extra end for the championship. The entire week of competition truly was madness as teams fought for playoff positions. One nation made history in a good way (Korea winning bronze). One nation fell into unfamiliar territory (Canada failing to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1999). Either way, we witnessed a week of curling madness...and we loved every spinning rock moment.

But as one rock comes to a stop another must be delivered. The women lit up the ice and now the men will take centre sheet as the World Men's Curling Championship gets underway this weekend in Lethbridge.

You are not getting tired of championship curling yet are you? Stay with us rock heads....the madness sweeps on!

Did you know the City of Lethbridge motto is "Gateway of Opportunity"? How fitting the city motto also happens to be a great primer for the teams about to compete for a world championship. This is their "Gateway of Opportunity". For the teams competing, only one will seize the opportunity, step through the gateway and earn world supremacy. But who?

13 nations will set foot on the ice at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge. Interesting to note the same 13 nations who competed last year in Las Vegas return. Sure the names on the back of the jackets may be different for some but the flags being waved in the crowd will be the same.

The expansion of the field and the addition of the World Qualification Event this season was intended to #growthesport and perhaps see new nations and new teams emerge on the international scene. Well the more things change the more they stay the same?

Europe lost an automatic spot last year due to Germany's last place finish. But the Netherlands won the spot back at #WQE2019. The Pacific-Asia region was designated two spots into the field but Korea would ensure a third #PACC spot qualifying first in New Zealand.

Will history be made in Lethbridge or will the same 6 nations who made the playoffs last year (Sweden, Scotland, Canada, South Korea, Norway, USA) continue the history repeating trend? Could we see a regular competing nation finally book their first-ever playoff appearance? Or could we see a complete #TeamUpset emerge from the field and shock the world?

Before the blog starts answering some of those questions with a full preview of the field, you know what needs to be done rock heads. Grab the paper. Sharpen the pencils. Time to go to school.

#HistoryLesson

• Happy Anniversary - 2019 marks the 61st Anniversary of the championship. The first event took place in 1959, known as the Scotch Cup. The first winner was the legendary HOF Ernie Richardson and his Canadian team. They would defeat hosts Scotland, skipped by Willie Young. Richardson would go on to win four of the first five editions of the championship (1959, 1960, 1962, 1963).
• Undefeated Unlikely - There have only been 11 instances where a nation has gone undefeated at the world championship. The first was year one when Canada's Richardson went 5-0. Richardson would replicate the feat in 1960 and 1962. Canada is the only nation to accomplish the feat as well. The last undefeated run was Brad Gushue in 2017 (13-0) and the previous time before that was 1995 (Kerry Burtnyk, 11-0).
• Eh-OK - Canada has dominated the top of the podium. Just look at the facts. The Maple Leaf has been the last team standing 36 of 60 times, holding a championship winning percentage of 61%! Sweden sits second with 8 titles while Scotland has 5. Other nations with gold medal wins include: Norway (4), USA (4) and Switzerland (3). Only 6 nations in the history of the event has held the winner's trophy at the end of the event. Seems weird right? Overall Canada has landed on the podium 53 times from 60 appearances (88%). The last time Canada failed to reach the podium was 2014 (Kevin Koe, 4th).
• Always The Best Man, Never The Groom - Scotland has faced more heartbreak in a championship final than any other nation. The Scots have collected 20 silver medals, resulting in the nation being 5-20 in the final. Canada is next with 10 silver medals. The USA leads the way with bronze medal wins (13) ahead of Scotland/Norway/Switzerland (9).
• Winner, Winner, Poutine Dinner? - Canada's aggregate win-loss record at the championships is an astonishing 517-118 (81%). Just think about that for a second. In 60 years of competition Canada has only lost 118 times! Scotland has the next best winning percentage at 59% (348-243) while Sweden sits third at 57% (323-248). On the flip side, Austria has the worst winning percentage of 4%, going 1-26 in their three combined appearances.
• All They Do Is Win, Win, Win - Sweden's Niklas Edin will look to continue piling up the W's this week as he currently sits 4th on the All-Time wins list with 58. Leading the way is a good friend and rival of Edin's, Norway's Thomas Ulsrud who has won 88 games at the world championships. Canada's Kevin Koe and USA's John Shuster are tied with 31.
• Hey, I Know You - Only one nation has qualified for all 60 editions of the tournament....and no surprise on which nation that is: Canada. Scotland has competed in 59 championships, missing the tournament in 2001. USA has participated in 58 with Sweden (56) and Switzerland (55) rounding out the Top 5. Of course all 5 will be competing in Lethbridge.
• You New Here? - Ok so we will not see any nation make their debut in Lethbridge but a few nations are still relatively new to the world championship scene. Netherlands will be making their 3rd straight appearance but only 4th overall. South Korea will make their first ever back-to-back appearance but only their 6th appearance overall. Russia will make their 7th straight appearance, which also just happens to be their total number of appearances.
• Stats, Stats, Stats, Stats, Stats - Looking for a few random facts to impress your curling friends? How about the longest game? 14 ends back in 1971 between Norway and USA. Most blank ends? 2016 had 118! Yikes! The most blank ends in one game was 8 when Finland def. France 2-1 in 1988. Most extra-end games? Last year saw 11. Fewest extra-end games? 0 in 1968. Imagine that?
• Scoreboard Watching - Fans love seeing points on the board. But what is the highest score in a championship? Scotland defeated Germany 34-0 in 1967. What about highest combined score? Almost the same actually: 37 (Scotland 29 - Switzerland 8, 1965). The lowest combined score? 3. Accomplished 3 times. The 1981 final saw Switzerland def. USA 2-1. The blank end bonanza game above between Finland and France (which also went to an extra end). In 2004, Sweden also defeated USA 2-1. The largest score for a single end is 6, accomplished 21 times. The first time was 1968 (Sweden against Germany). The last time was 2018 (Scotland against China). Interesting to note the 6 score was thrown on the board 4 times during the 1969 championship, once by France (vs. Germany), Canada (vs. Norway), USA (vs. Canada) and Scotland (vs. Norway).

Now you should be able to at least win WMCC Jeopardy with those historical details. If you do, at least toast the #TwineTime blog in celebration. You are welcome!

The time has come. Here are your #WMCC2019 seeds based on the blog #PowerRankings formula introduced this season:

2019 Pioneer Hi-Bred World Men's Curling Championship

Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

2018 Champion: Sweden (Team Niklas Edin)

Format: 13-team RR with Top 6 advancing to playoffs. Top 2 teams earn bye to SF.


(1) Scotland (Team Mouat) - From bronze in year one to gold in year two? Don't talk about a sophomore slump for the Scottish champs folks. These boys have looked like world championship contenders this year and are ready to use the experience of last year to take them one step further this year, playing for the world title. If we follow the progression of Bruce Mouat over his curling career we should expect to see him standing atop the podium come the end of the event. Look at his junior resume. First appearance, bronze (2015). Second appearance, gold (2016). First world championship appearance, bronze. Second appearance, gold? Team Mouat picked up their biggest win as a young team last November when they took down the defending champion #SwedishVikings to win the European Championships in Estonia. Enter Lethbridge where the defending champions are....the #SwedishVikings. The alignment of the stars seems to play into an advantage for Mouat. But the results on tour also speak for themselves. A runner-up (The National) and SF (The Masters) #gsoc result. A #wct win (Perth Masters). Last year reaching the playoffs was considered a strong result. This year anything short of a finals appearance would be a set-back.


(2) Canada (Team Koe) - Now most people are going to suggest Canada should be the #1 overall seed and for very good reason. The new team has put together solid and consistent results all season. While we don't see this team often on the #wct, they are a regular fixture at the #gsoc events. And not only a regular fixture but a regular playoff qualifier and championship contender. Runner-up at The Masters. SF at The National. QF at the Elite X, Tour Challenge and Canadian Open. Not to mention reaching the final at the Canada Cup. Oh yes and that Curling World Cup opening leg victory to start the season. As this blog likes to highlight, consistency, consistency, consistency. This team can get to the finish line but the issue, for the most part, has been crossing first. Playoffs, no brainer. Playing for a medal, of course. Winning the big final game, jury is still out. Of course this is also Kevin Koe folks. Three world championship appearances. Two gold medals. Plus, want to erase that 2018 Winter Olympics memory? Go out and beat a field full of fellow 2018 competitors and claim the world title. Redemption is sitting there for the taking.


(3) Sweden (Team Edin) - Redemption you say? How about revenge? Nobody will be eyeing up revenge more at this event than perhaps the defending world champions. Team Shuster was not in Las Vegas last year when the #SwedishVikings won the world title. The Olympic champ will be in Lethbridge. Team Edin may have defeated Team Mouat at last year's world championship in the RR but Mouat extracted his revenge in the Euro final this year. Ball is back in Edin's court now. Can he return the favour against the favoured Scot? It seems weird perhaps to list Edin as the #3 seed heading into the championship given he has reached the world final the past two years. But this has not been the best season for Team Edin either. The SF results at The Masters and Canadian Open were nice, as was the tour title in Basel, but failing to qualify at the Tour Challenge and going 0-for-3 at the Curling World Cup were a bit surprising. Edin has a rock star persona around him. We all expect championship wins and deep playoff runs but when he comes up short, loses in QF or fails to qualify he is almost judged harsher than the average curler. Expectations are high when you are one of the best. The Swede's will try to #DefendTheIce this week but Canada has produced mixed international results. Edin won two world championships here (Victoria, 2013 and Halifax, 2015) but also tough losses: Regina, 2011 - Bronze, Edmonton, 2017 - Silver. And don't forget those 2010 Winter Olympics (6-6, missed the playoffs). Always a dangerous threat though and still one of the best in the game. Expect a podium finish....but which color? A win for Edin would tie him for most world championships won at 4 (tied with Randy Ferbey, Glenn Howard, Ernie Richardson, Arnold Richardson, Garnet Richardson).


(4) Switzerland (Team de Cruz) - Which Team de Cruz shows up in Lethbridge? The team who won bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2017 world championship? Or the team who floundered at the 2018 European Championship, failing to reach the playoffs in one of the biggest shockers of the season? There have been some up and down results this season for the Swiss champs. They won a tour event in Champery and reached the SF at the Tour Challenge. But they also failed to reach the playoffs at The National and Canadian Open. The biggest question surrounding this team has always been getting over the SF hump, making finals and winning the big important games. When they won a #gsoc title last season it appeared they tossed the monkey off their backs. But did said monkey return to cling on one last time this season? They do come to Lethbridge fresh off a tour title in Aberdeen so confidence and momentum is high. Always a playoff threat but can they be a gold medal contender now?


(5) Japan (Team Matsumura) - The casual fan may be a bit surprised to see a high seed for a relatively unknown Japanese team but do not let the lack of international experience and unfamiliar name fool you into believing this team cannot contend for a playoff spot. In their first year together Team Matsumura has won the Pacific-Asia championship, collected two #wct titles and reached another final. They have competed in 9 events (including Japanese championship) and have qualified in 8. This is a perfect case of #FearTheUnknown. Based on the blog ranking formula they sit #15 in the world folks. Results speak for themselves. The wildcard here will be their lack of international experience though. Matsumura has been to one world championship, as an alternate back in 2015. Same can be said for second Yasumasa Tanida (alternate, 2016). The only on-ice experience comes from vice Tetsuro Shimizu who competed in 6 previous world championships with Team Morozumi (recent being 2017). Shimizu also competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics with Team Morozumi where the Japanese team would finish with a 4-5 record missing the playoffs. Outside of the Big 4 above, and the shocking low seed below, the 6th and final playoff spot is wide open. There are a handful of teams in the field with legit playoff aspirations and Team Japan could be the team to snag the final spot. We saw what happened in Denmark with strong #PACC teams emerge as playoff contenders. Why should we not expect another #PACC team to make a run in Lethbridge? Wild card advantage could be on the bench with coach Bob Ursel (3-time Brier participant and former Canadian/World junior champ) and national coach J.D. Lind (a #TwineTimeFam member remember).


(6) Russia (Team Glukov) - Speaking of teams curling fans may not be as familiar with, welcome back to the ice Russia's Team Glukov. This will be skip Sergey Glukov's third world appearance but first as a skip. His previous appearances (2018, 2014) were as vice. Last year Glukov, playing with Alexey Timofeev, finished with a respectable 5-7 record, one game out of a playoff spot. We have not seen the Russian champions very often on tour this season but they do have a tour win (Red Square) and a QF result (Qinghai) to go alongside their Russian championship victory. This team is a bit of a wildcard. Expectations were low last year but they surprised many with their results. While this may be a different team, the positive experience for Glukov could help him prepare the team for another strong result this year. As mentioned, the final playoff spot is up for grabs and Russia came close last year. Could they go one win better this year and make a playoff push?


(7) Netherlands (Team van Dorp) - Now if you want to talk about a fan favourite, especially in Canada, look no further than the Netherlands and Team van Dorp. This team will be making their third straight world championship appearance and have progressively improved their result over the past two years. At their debut in Edmonton in 2017 they finished with a 1-10 record. Last year they finished 4-8. Based on that progression alone, could they finish 6-6 and contend for the playoffs? They have had some strong results on tour this season, notable reaching the QF at the Tour Challenge Tier II and winning a tour title in Dumfries. On the flip side they had a disappointing European championship, winning their final two games to avoid relegation. Having been in Edmonton, Las Vegas and Tallinn, Estonia to see this team compete, they have improved tremendously over the past three seasons. Remember they also had to take the long road to Lethbridge after the disappointing Euro record. They were the final team to qualify for the field via the new World Qualification Event, needing to defeat England to punch their ticket. Can they compete for a playoff spot here? Maybe but it won't be easy. But if they improve on last year's win total by at least one game they could live up to their seeding.


(8) USA (Team Shuster) - So this is probably the most shocking seed in the field. The 2018 Olympic champions are seeded #8? They even won a Curling World Cup leg (Omaha). How could this be? Oh the disrespect to our red, white and blue competitors? Ok, ok, ok, simmer it down and hear me out. Is Team Shuster the eighth best team in the field? Probably not. They are probably higher. But need I reminder you loyal rock heads this seeding is based on the new #PowerRankings formula and Team Shuster has not been a regular #wct participant this season. They started the season with a runner-up performance in Winnipeg followed by QF appearances at the Shorty Jenkins, The Masters and Tour Challenge. The results have been fairly consistent, qualifying in 5 of 7 events. The seeding here though is more a result of only playing 7 events and failing to advance beyond the QF each time (outside the season opener). The wild card here will be vice Chris Plys (a #TwineTimeFam member). Plys will be making his first official world championship appearance, having served as alternate in his only two appearances (2009, 2018). Nobody could be more deserving of a national gold medal win this season than Plys either. After 9 previous US championship appearances, including three silver medals, Plys finally picked up his first title this season after joining Team Shuster in the off-season. If Plys plays at the high level we have come to see from him on tour over the past few seasons, he could be the difference maker in a 5-7/6-6 fight for playoff record to 7-5 or 8-4 and fighting for a spot on the podium.


(9) South Korea (Team S. Kim) - Enter the other team who took the long road to the world championship. South Korea was forced to play the World Qualification Event after the team finished 3rd at the #PACC earlier in the season. They dominated #WQE2019, posting a 7-1 record and winning the first spot defeating England. We have not seen this team play a ton of #wct events this season but they have qualified in 4 of 5. They also picked up a tour victory at the US Open to end the 2018 calendar year. This was also the last time we saw them on the ice, which could hinder their chances early on. For skipper Soo-hyuk Kim, this will mark his 4th world championship appearance. The records have not been kind though: 1-8 (2003) and 2-9 (2011, 2016). The playoffs may be a stretch for them against this field but improving on the personal best of 2 wins is certainly in the cards. Having said that, it also wouldn't surprise me to see this team pull out the #TeamUpset flag and be in the playoff conversation heading into the final day of the RR and finish with 5 wins.


(10) China (Team Zou) - Another Asian team casual curling fans may be unfamiliar with is China's Team Qiang Zou. This is a slightly altered team from last season as skip Dejia Zou is gone and past vice Qiang Zou has taken over the team. In Vegas last year the team finished 3-9. This year they have added more youth to the line-up, bringing in Chinese junior champ skip Zhiyu Wang at vice. Zhiyu has represented China at two world junior championships, finishing with 2-7 (2017) and 3-6 (2018) records respectfully. The 22yo will join a young team as Zou is only 27 while second Zhilin Shao is 23 and lead Jingtao Xu is 25. On tour this season they have qualified in only 2 of 10 events but one of those events was the surprising silver medal win at the #PACC, punching their direct entry ticket to this championship. A run to the playoffs is going to be an up hill battle for this young team but they should get great experience to hopefully build for the future. We know Chinese curling is investing a lot in the sport leading to the 2022 Winter Olympics so a good result here for Zou would go far.


(11) Italy (Team Retornaz) - Ah the #TeamUpset in the field. The seed may be low but end result should be high for Italy and seasoned vet skip Joel Retornaz. This will be Retornaz's 6th world championship appearance and he has steadily improved his results each time. From going 1-10 at his rookie championship (2005, alternate) to his first championship as skip (2008, 3-8) to last year when he finished 5-7. This could be the year Retornaz leads Italy to their first-ever playoff appearance. In 22 appearances the best finish for Italy was 5th back in 1976! This season Retornaz and his team have had a rejuvenation of sorts. They broke through at the European championships winning a bronze medal. But they also reached the QF in Champery and recently in Aberdeen. Off the ice you will be hard pressed to find a nicer dude than Retornaz as well. He has the respect and admiration from his competitors. If the curling gods are looking down and feeling generous handing out wins this week, Italy and Joel Retornaz should be bumped to the front of the accepting line. This team could easily make a playoff push this week and re-write the history books once again for Italian curling.


(12) Norway (Team Ramsfjell) - Speaking of #TeamUpset, how about Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell? Who expected the young 21 year old to be representing Norway this soon at a world championship? Ramsfjell shocked the world when he knocked off Team Walstad and Team Ulsrud to win the Norwegian Championship and book their spot in the field. But don't let the junior age range fool you either. This is a strong up and coming junior team. Ramsfjell has led the national junior program for the past few years, representing Norway at four straight World Junior Curling Championships. He has won one bronze medal (2017) and finished with a 6-5 record at this year's championship in Liverpool, NS. After winning the national championship the team represented Norway at the Winter Universiade, winning gold. Not too bad of a tune-up event and result! The team has played in three tour events this season, failing to qualify but picking up valuable experience and a few wins along the way. The added bonus for them may sit with alternate Steffen Walstad. Walstad has represented Norway at the past two world championships and the 2018 Euro's. His international experience on the big ice could help his younger teammates prepare for their rookie appearance. Do not be surprised to see this team pull out 2-4 wins this week.


(13) Germany (Team Muskatewitz) - Another seed requiring a bit of backstory is the low #13 seed for Germany may seem a bit unfair given the recent result at the European Championships. While Muskatewitz did skip the team in Tallinn, the line-up in front of him was different to the one he will hold the broom for in Lethbridge. Daniel Neuner and Ryan Sherrard will still be in front of him but Neuner will move up to vice while Sherrard will make the jump to second. Sixten Totzek is unavailable due to school commitments. Euro alternate Sebastian Schweizer has retired. Those absences left the team needing to pick up another player and strong alternate. Enter Dominik Greindl at lead and Benny Kapp as alternate. Both Neuner and Greindl will be making their world championship rookie appearance. Skipper Muskatewitz will make his second appearance after playing as second back in 2016 (1-10 record). An interesting side note, Muskatewitz's first ever world championship game came again a face he will see once again this week, Kevin Koe! That leaves the experience on the team to former Canadian junior champ and the "old man" on the team (and #TwineTimeFam member) Ryan Sherrard. For Sherrard he will make his third straight world championship appearance, previously competing with Team Baumann in 2017 (3-8) and 2018 (1-11). Now the majority of this team has seen success this season, reaching the playoffs in Estonia and finishing fourth overall. The downside being they have played only one event together in the current line-up, recently in Aberdeen where they went winless. As for the alternate position, the team reached out to Benny Kapp to join them. The 16 year old will make his international debut in Lethbridge but the last name should clue you in that curling runs deep in his family. His father happens to be Andy Kapp, a 14-time world championship participant with two silver medals (1997, 2007) and three bronze (1994, 1995, 2005). Kapp (Andy of course) also happens to have the second most wins all-time at a world championship with 72. The playoffs may be a reach for the German team but they should outperform their seed.


Projected Standings:  1. Canada  2. Scotland  3. Sweden  4. Switzerland  5. Japan  6. USA  7. Italy  8. Korea  9. Russia  10. Germany  11. Norway  12. Netherlands  13. China


Qualifiers: Canada, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, USA


Bronze Medal: Sweden (Team Edin) def. Switzerland (Team de Cruz)


World Men's Curling Championship GOLD MEDAL: Canada (Team Koe) def. Scotland (Team Mouat)


Do you agree with the seeding above? What about the predictions? Sound off on your opinions and predictions rock heads via social media and continue the discussion. Remember to use the #WMCC2019 throughout the event and tag your favourite team(s) in your posts to let them know you are cheering them on.

Remember TSN will have live coverage of all Canada games throughout the event as well as the playoffs (regardless of whether Canada advances). But if you are wanting to see your other favourite teams play, check out the World Curling Federation channel for live RR draws as well.

#StayTuned

The #TwineTime blog will be in Lethbridge for LIVE coverage starting Wednesday April 3 through to the final on Sunday April 7. Keep your eyes on @twinetime14 via twitter for rock by rock draw coverage. You never know what surprises might come along the way.

Are there any specific athletes YOU would like to see this blog interview post-game? Perhaps any specific questions YOU would like to #AskACurler? Share your athlete interview requests and/or questions with me via twitter and I will do my best to make it happen.

Remember this blog is by a fan for THE FANS!

And, ICYMI, we added a new member to the #TwineTimeFam last week. Listen to the interview with current three-time Sask junior champion Rylan Kleiter.

The blog will also return post-championship with UPDATED men's, women's AND nations #PowerRankings. Who will sit atop the mountain at this late point in the season? You know the drill...#StayTuned!!