Latvia's women's curlers beat world number 10 Norway at the European Championships

Latvia's women's curling team defeated Norway 8-4 in the second round of Group A at the European Championships. The tournament is being held in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and features the 12 best women's teams in Europe. Latvia is ranked 22nd in the world and Norway 10th, so the win came against a higher-ranked opponent.

How the game went

Latvia is led by skip Evelīna Barone. The Latvians scored two points in the first end. Norway took one in the third end, but Latvia replied with two in the fourth and one in the fifth to lead 5-1. In the sixth end the opponents scored three, cutting the gap to 4-5. Latvia then added one and two points in the next two ends to win 8-4.

Latvia had lost both previous meetings with Norway this season. Norway's skip at the championships is Torill Bjørnstad.

Group standings

In the other second-round games, Italy beat the Czech Republic 8-1, and Switzerland beat Germany 4-2. After two games Latvia has one win and shares 2nd–5th place with Germany, Italy and Norway. Switzerland has two wins, and the Czech Republic has two losses. In its opening game Latvia lost 3-5 to Germany, ranked 13th in the world, a team it had beaten in both meetings this season.

Latvia's remaining group games are against the Czech Republic (14th) on Thursday at 10:30 Latvian time, Italy (8th) on Friday at 10:30, and Switzerland (1st) on Friday at 19:30.

Tournament format

The number of teams has been expanded this year from 10 to 12. They are split into two groups: Group A has the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway and Switzerland, while Group B has Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Scotland, Sweden and Turkey. Games are played over eight ends instead of the usual ten. The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals on Saturday. Medal winners will be decided on Sunday, and the tournament ends on 1 November. Latvia did not qualify for the men's tournament.

Latvia secured its place among Europe's elite last year by winning the B division European Championships. The team also includes Rēzija Ieviņa, Katrīna Gaidule, Daina Barone and Betija Gulbe, and the coach is David Ramsay.