womens curling results: Sweden and Switzerland clinch spots as six teams remain in medal hunt
With one round-robin draw remaining at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the women's curling field is set for a dramatic finish. Sweden and Switzerland have secured semifinal berths, but four other teams remain in contention and several must-win games and tiebreak permutations will decide the final seeds.
Standings and clinched teams
As the round robin reaches its finale, Sweden leads the standings at 7-2 and has already clinched a playoff place. Switzerland, at 6-2, has also locked up a semifinal spot. Behind them a logjam sits at 5-3, with the United States, Canada and South Korea all still alive. Great Britain (4-4) holds a precarious position, while Denmark (4-5) hangs just outside the most realistic paths to the podium. China (2-6), Italy (2-6) and Japan (1-7) are effectively eliminated from medal contention.
Who still controls their fate
Three teams — USA, Canada and South Korea — enter the final draw with 5-3 records and clear, immediate objectives. Canada faces South Korea in a win-and-in showdown; a victory will send Canada into the semifinals and leave Korea needing favorable results elsewhere. The United States squares off with Switzerland in a tougher assignment: a win puts the Americans safely through, while a loss could still leave them alive depending on other results.
Great Britain at 4-4 can still reach the semis, but they will likely need assistance. Their draw shot challenge (DSC) ranking is strong, which helps in multi-team tiebreak scenarios, but the simplest path is securing a win or seeing key rivals drop their games in the final draw. Denmark must win and rely on multiple upsets to advance.
Scenarios, tiebreakers and the Draw Shot Challenge
With several teams clustered near the top, multiple-tie scenarios are possible, and the Draw Shot Challenge will play a decisive role. The DSC is the average distance of pre-game practice draws to the button thrown by each team's skip across the tournament; it is used to rank teams when head-to-head results do not resolve ties. Currently, Great Britain and Canada sit ahead in DSC positioning, with South Korea also well placed, meaning those teams would have an edge in three-way ties unless the averages change in the final draw.
Key scenarios to watch for Thursday (ET): if Canada beats Korea, Canada advances. If the United States defeats Switzerland, the U. S. moves on as well. If both the U. S. and Canada lose, South Korea could capitalize depending on its DSC and the results elsewhere. If multiple teams finish 5-4, the combination of head-to-head records and DSC will determine the semifinal seeds without an additional tiebreak game in some cases.
The stakes are high: Sweden and Switzerland will enter the semifinals with a chance to control the bracket, but the final seeding — which influences semifinal matchups and medal odds — remains unsettled. Expect tight strategy, careful shot-making and a heavy reliance on the small margins that decide elite curling.
Round-robin play concludes Thursday (ET). Fans and teams alike should prepare for a late-night finish and potentially complex tie-resolution math as the tournament prepares to move into the medal phase.
