Four teams remain in the running for the final two semifinal spots in Olympic men's curling heading into a very intriguing final draw of the round-robin.
Reigning world champ Team Bruce Mouat (5-4) does not control its own destiny, but the Great Britain rink still has a fighting chance of reaching the final four.
Mouat, who does not play in the final draw (Thursday, 3:05 a.m. ET / 12:05 a.m. PT), needs one of Norway or Italy to lose its respective games to make the playoffs.
Norway's Team Magnus Ramsfjell (4-4) faces Canada's Brad Jacobs (7-1) in a game on CBC Gem or Sportsnet+, while Italy's Team Joel Retornaz (4-4) battles Switzerland's Team Yannick Schwaller (8-0).
But while Switzerland and Canada have been the best teams in the field this week, neither side has anything significant to play for in the final draw. Switzerland is locked into first place, while Canada is guaranteed to finish second.
Men's Olympic curling standings, schedule, results
Team Brad Jacobs will aim to get Canada back on top of the Olympic podium for men's curling for the first time since 2014 this month in Italy. Follow all the action with Sportsnet.
Men's curling standings, schedule, results
If Norway and Italy both win, they're in and Great Britain is out.
If Norway and Italy both lose, Great Britain takes the No. 3 spot and Team Daniel Casper of the U.S. (4-5) actually could sneak into the fourth and final playoff spot.
In a three-way tie with all teams 1-1 against each other, it comes down to the draw shot challenge — a truly unique part of World Curling events.
Heading into the final draw, the U.S. has a slightly better score than Italy in the draw shot challenge (DSC), while Norway is well back of those teams.
If the U.S. stays ahead of Italy and Norway in the DSC and the latter teams both lose, the Americans will make the playoffs with a losing record.
There is another scenario that would see the Americans make the playoffs without worrying about the DSC.
If Italy and Norway both lose and Germany (3-5) beats China (2-6), the U.S. makes it by virtue of the head-to-head record between the four teams tied at 4-5. The Americans and Germany would lead that comparison with 2-1 record, but the U.S. gets the edge by virtue of its head-to-head win versus Germany.
The Americans' playoff hopes took a big hit Wednesday with a 9-2 loss to Great Britain. Team USA is idle in the final draw.
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