Latvian women's curling team beats Czechia 11-4 for second win at European Championship

Latvia's women's curling team beat host nation Czechia 11-4 in a Group A match at the European Curling Championship in Ostrava, Czechia. The team is led by skip Evelīna Barone. The result gives Latvia two wins from three games and keeps it in contention for the semifinals. In the world rankings, Latvia is 22nd and Czechia 14th.

How the game went

Czechia led 2-0 after the first end, and Latvia replied with two points in the next. Latvia scored four in the fourth end to go ahead 6-2. The Czechs got two stones back in the fifth, but Latvia took five points in the seventh end to lead 11-4, after which the game was stopped.

Standings

Latvia lost its opening game 3-5 to Germany and then beat Norway 8-4. In other third-round matches, Switzerland defeated Italy 8-4 and Norway beat Germany 7-2.

Switzerland leads Group A with three wins from three games. Latvia and Norway each have two, Germany and Italy one each, while Czechia has lost all three. On Friday Latvia plays Italy at 10:30 and Switzerland at 19:30. Semifinals are on Saturday, and medals will be decided on Sunday.

Championship format

The 12 best European women's teams and 12 men's teams are competing in Ostrava; Latvia's men did not qualify. The field has grown from 10 to 12 teams this year. Teams are split into two groups and play five round-robin games, with each game lasting eight ends instead of the usual ten. Group A consists of Czechia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway and Switzerland; Group B of Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Scotland, Sweden and Turkey. The top two from each group reach the semifinals.

Barone's team secured its place among Europe's elite last year by winning the B Division European Championship. The roster also includes Rēzija Ieviņa, Katrīna Gaidule, Daina Barone and Betija Gulbe, and the coach is David Ramsay. The championship ends on 1 November.