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Men's World Championship in Canada 2013. Norway.

Playing curling and playing curling in Canada is about as different as drinking coffee or having an espresso in Italy. A nice arena with a reasonable capacity, curling celebrities in the audience, in short a great feast for every curler, plus a taste of Olympic spice. You can feel it every step of the way here, everyone knows that the main goal is to get enough points to participate directly in the Olympics. Not that a medal is something unimportant, but it's an afterthought. Our team played their opening game against Norway (Ulsrud, without Nergaard) with visible confidence. After four ends, we lead 3 : 2 and have already prepared some hot moments for our opponent, e.g. a difficult finish against a three. Even in the fifth end Nor is struggling a bit and we hope we can take advantage of it. Keep your fingers crossed - it's worth it, because with France and New Zealand not participating, our mathematical chances have improved a bit. Midway through the fifth, Nor has a corner guard, but we have two in the circle and we're in business.

rn

The defining moment of the duel with Norway from a spectator's perspective came in the ninth end, when Ulsrud took a bit of a gamble. He was one up after playing an accurate draw to two feet at the end of the previous, eighth end. He was probably confident, but his stones were not as accurate as the Czech's at the end. Jirka Snítil first made it three for Czechs in the ninth end with a precise hit and stay, and when we were in a bit of a tight spot in the tenth end, he offered Nora only a heavy slash double with an excellent come around, but Ulsrud didn't deliver. A wonderful win to start with is nice, but there is still a long way to go. Tonight, it goes through China. They fell to Canada in the first game. The Swiss scored and the Swede worked hard.rn

photo - from the Norway game