Canadian mixed doubles team off to World Cup final

SUZHOU, China – Canada has secured a spot in the mixed doubles final at the inaugural World Cup of Curling.

Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres, an Edmonton-based team, are 4-1 through three days and locked up first place in Pool A.

Walker and Muyres lost 8-5 to Kristin Moen Skaslien and Sander Rolvag of Norway late Thursday night, but bounced back to beat Maria Komarova and Daniil Goryachev of Russia 6-3 on Friday.

Meanwhile, Rachel Homan’s Ottawa rink and Kevin Koe’s Calgary rink both are close to clinching spots in their respective finals.

Homan (4-0) crushed Anna Sidorova of Russia 8-2 on Friday, hours after hammering American Nina Roth 9-1.

Koe (4-0) beat Peter De Cruz of Switzerland 7-4 on Friday.

The top two teams in each division will play for championships on Saturday and Sunday.

The World Cup features four tournaments of team and mixed doubles competition involving the top curling countries in the world. Each country determines its representatives for each leg.

The second stop is Dec. 5-9 in Omaha, Neb., followed by the third in Jonkoping, Sweden, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.

The grand final May 8-12 in Beijing will include winning teams from the previous three stops.

The World Cup offers a total of $775,000 (U.S.), or just over $1 million, for a prize pot. Winning one event is worth up to $33,000 (U.S.) to a team and that number doubles in Beijing.