Canada takes control of Pool B at 2026 World Mixed Doubles Championship

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — To beat the best, Canada’s Team Kadriana and Colton Lott knew they would have to make the most of any opportunities provided by their opponents at the 2026 ACE & Company World Mixed Doubles Championship. That’s exactly what they did against one of the most formidable opponents in the 20-team field on Monday at Centre Sportif Sous-Moulin.

The Gimli, Man., duo overcame the reigning world mixed doubles champions and 2026 Olympic bronze medallists, Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini/Amos Mosaner, 6-5 in an extra end.

Guided by national coaches Scott Pfeifer and Viktor Kjell, Canada stole a point in the extra frame, improving to 4-0 and dropping Italy to 3-1. The win gives Canada sole possession of first place in Pool B and on the inside track to secure a bye to the semifinals at the end of the round robin on Thursday. However, there’s still plenty more curling to come.

“We knew this was probably gonna be our biggest game of the round robin, just with their track record,” Kadriana said. “They’re a great team, so coming out with that win just makes us more eager to keep doing better and better each game, and hopefully, we end the week with a good finish.”

In the extra end, Constantini’s missed first shot allowed Canada to sit shot stone for most of the frame. Canada guarded effectively, preventing any double peel or runback attempts from Mosaner. Team Lott then sealed the scoring zone by tapping their shot stone onto the pin, leaving Italy with a difficult runback double attempt, which they missed.

Heading into the match, the Canadians understood they would need to capitalize on any Italian mistakes. The Italian team had dominated the field so far, leading all 20 teams in shooting accuracy at 86.2 per cent.

“We made some really key shots, and I felt like we had a better handle on the ice than they did,” Kadriana said. “We stayed strong and focused, which was exactly what we hoped for.”

Team Lott capitalized on early Italian mistakes, including a missed draw in the first end that gave Canada a steal of one. Another misfire in the third saw Italy remove its own stone, handing Canada a draw for two.

Italy responded with a deuce in the second end, but Team Lott contained them in the fourth, forcing Constantini to draw for a single and tying the game 3-3 at the break.

With two of the pool’s top teams facing off, big scoring opportunities were scarce. Both teams played nearly flawlessly in the fifth, leaving Canada unable to score more than a single after Kadriana’s precise draw to the button. An error by Italy in the sixth eventually allowed Canada to force them to a single point.

Canada used the power play in the seventh, appearing poised for a big end. However, Italy’s final stone — a freeze against three — forced Canada to concede a steal of one, but they retained the hammer heading into the eighth.

In the eighth, Canada executed a runback on a cluster of frozen stones, scoring a single to tie the game and force an extra end. A chance for a winning deuce slipped away after Italy’s final shot—a draw frozen to a Canadian stone in the top eight—shut down the opportunity.

“We had to throw it and hope that our shooter stuck around, but more times than not, that’s never coming down enough to get second shot,” Colton said. “Where [Constantini] actually ended up putting her guard in the house, frozen to ours, ended up being in the best spot for them.”

Overall, it was one of the Canadians’ best performances of the week, outshooting Italy 89 to 66 per cent in game accuracy.

Team Lott is now one of two undefeated teams at the event, with Australia’s Tahli Gill/Dean Hewitt also holding a 4-0 record in Pool A.

Canada returns to action with a pair of games on Tuesday. First, Team Lott takes on Hungary’s Team Dorottya Udvardi-Palancsa/Lorinc Tatar (2-2) at 4 a.m. (all times Eastern), followed by Scotland’s Team Katie McMillan/Angus Bryce (2-2) at 1 p.m.

For the latest scores, draws, and team lists, visit the event’s official scoring website.

Live streaming of games is available on World Curling’s live streaming platform, The Curling Channel.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at: https://www.curling.ca/fr/nouvelles-media/