Canada’s victory sets up key final-round clash with Japan at 2026 BKT World Women’s

Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson moved into an enviable position Friday at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Pharmasave, and with one more round-robin victory will reap the rewards.

The Canadian champions from Gimli, Man., including skip Einarson — third/vice-skip Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Karlee Burgess, alternate Krysten Karwacki, coach Reid Carruthers and national coach Viktor Kjell — bettered Australia’s Team Helen Williams (1-11) 11-2 in the afternoon’s draw to improve their record to 9-2 and hold on to a share of second place in the 13-team field with Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa.

Japan kept pace with the Canadians after posting an 8-1 win over Team Delaney Strouse of the U.S.A. (2-10).

And as good fortune — or scheduling — would have it, Canada and Japan clash in the evening’s final draw with the winner clinching sole possession of second place at 7 p.m. (all times Mountain).

Finishing second is no small matter. It means a first-round bye in the six-team playoffs and a chance to recharge some depleted batteries.

It’s a script made in curling heaven, and it should be a frolicking great time at Calgary’s WinSport Event Centre with so much at stake.

Einarson said the game plan Friday night would be to “just keep doing what we’re doing.”

“We played really well,” she said shortly after rolling to the victory over the Aussies. “We had a great first end and made some nice freezes and had some really good weight control. If we can take that going forward.”

Einarson and Fujisawa have a short history at world women’s. They met in 2023, splitting the two games they played. Japan won the round-robin game, and Canada won the qualification game.

The winning team will join first-place finisher Switzerland’s Xenia Schwaller (11-1) on the sidelines for the first round of the six-team playoffs and move directly to the semifinals Saturday afternoon. Third will play sixth and fourth will play fifth in the qualifying-round games earlier in the day.

It will take Friday’s final draw to sort out the matchups, but following afternoon play, the only thing clear was the playoff teams that have qualified are Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranaa (8-4), and South Korea’s Team Eunji Gim (7-4).

Still in the hunt with one game to go are Turkey’s Team Yildiz Dilsat (6-5), Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini (5-6), and China’s Team Rui Wang (5-6). Turkey and Italy will meet in a key final matchup while China takes on Norway’s Team Torlid Bjoernstad (4-7). A three-way tie for the sixth and final playoff spot is possible.

The Swiss, meanwhile, nailed down top spot with a pair of key wins on Friday. They opened with a 6-4 win over hard-charging Team Italy in the morning and completed their round-robin schedule with a 7-3 triumph over Team Sweden in the afternoon. A Swedish win would have helped their cause, but would have made little difference to the Swiss, who had top spot locked up.

Canada, even with a loss in the final round, cannot finish lower than third.

The Canadians, who qualified Thursday evening despite losing to Norway, rebounded nicely against Australia. After three consecutive days of morning and evening games, Einarson and Co. got their first chance to sleep in on Friday, and looked fresh and relaxed.

Canada asserted its dominance in the very first end, making eight perfect shots to set up a steal of three.

The knockout blow came shortly after in the third end when Canadians, with their first hammer, used it to score five, with Einarson making a double with her final stone to stretch the lead to 8-1.

Canada picked up a steal of one in the fourth end when Williams rolled out on a hit, facing two. Leading 9-2, Canada scored another two, and Australia conceded.

Einarson, who shot 100 per cent in the game, admitted her team didn’t want to take their foot off the gas, considering the big game ahead.

“We’re still wanting to be precise and accurate and learn the ice. We could be back on that sheet again. We want to bring the same intensity we bring to every single game.”

The Canadians employed Karwacki as lead for the last two ends, and she admitted that getting into action was so much fun that she wanted to play more.

“I loved it,” she said. “The crowds have been amazing, and the fans were so supportive, and I just embraced the moment.”

Karwacki says her team’s success has been largely due to its attitude.

“Everybody has been in a really great mood and really supportive of each other,” she said. “That’s really helped us carry things forward. When things get tough, everyone is there for each other.”

In other Friday afternoon action, Norway continued its winning ways with an 8-6 victory against Scotland’s Team Fay Henderson (4-8).

The 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship continues Friday with a draw at 7 p.m.

Round-robin play runs through to Friday, with the top six teams making the playoffs; no tiebreakers will be played, so ties for playoff spots will be broken based on head-to-head results, and if that doesn’t resolve the tie, then the pre-game Last-Shot Draw distances.

The top two teams from round-robin play will be seeded directly into the semifinals on Saturday at 4 p.m., while third will play sixth and fourth will play fifth in the qualifying-round games earlier on Saturday, at 10 a.m.

The winners of the qualifying-round games will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will play for gold on Sunday at 3 p.m., with the semifinal losers battling for bronze Sunday at 9 a.m.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS2 will provide coverage of all Team Canada games, and all playoff games, at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship. CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule.

For ticket information for the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, go to www.curling.ca/2026worldwomen/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2026worldwomen/nouvelles/.