Just days after combining to defend their European title, World champions Team Mouat are set to do battle with one another at the British Curling Mixed Doubles Euro Super Series in Stirling’s National Curling Academy this weekend.
Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan, as well as their alternate Kyle Waddell are all in action on the opening day of the competition which runs from November 30 - December 3 and features many of the world’s top partnerships.
The line-up includes two former World champion partnerships, Mouat and Olympic women’s champion Jen Dodds and Switzerland’s Jenny Perrett and Martin Rios.
Lammie has also won the World title, but now has a new partner in Dodds’ Olympic gold medal winning teammate Hailey Duff, with whom he won this event a year ago. 
Norway also has high class representation in the form of Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten, who won silver medals at both last year’s Olympics and this year’s World Championship, while fresh from skipping the Estonian team at last week’s European Championships Marie Kaldvee teams up with Harri Lill, while Wouter Gosgens, who skipped the Dutch men’s team in Aberdeen, partners Vanessa Tonoli.
For the British Curling squad another high class event on home ice competing with a world class international field provides further opportunity to hone their skills in the very different discipline of mixed doubles.
“This year will definitely have a different edge to it, as there are a number of international teams in the top 10 in the World Mixed Doubles rankings, so it feels like it will be a stronger field and a bigger event because of that,” said defending champion Duff.
She also believes that last week’s success, allied to the inclusion in the field of Dodds and Mouat, who were competing in Canada when this event took place a year ago, will heighten the domestic competition.
“Obviously having Jen and Bruce as Scottish champions and having been to a couple of World Mixed Doubles Championships, everyone knows just how strong they are, but that said all of the Scottish teams look really strong,” said Duff.
“Bobby and I haven’t played as much together as we did last year, but we have that experience which will put us in really good stead.
“We’ve played a few games together this week and Bobby and all of the boys are on a high just now after their amazing achievement last weekend.
“They only had two days recovery before switching to Mixed Doubles mode, so it will be about managing that as well as possible, but this is a good opportunity to see where we’re at right now.”
With four pools of five competing for quarter-final places, Mouat and Dodds meet Tonoli and Gosgens in their opening match, having been drawn in the same group as fellow world champions Perret and Rios, who set out against this year’s World Junior championship winning skip Fay Henderson and Euan Kyle. Pool A also contains a third British Curling pairing of Holly Wilkie-Milne and Robin Brydone, whose first match is on day two against Henderson and Kyle.
In Pool B, McMillan teams up with his cousin Robyn Munro, another member of the World Junior Championship rink and their opener is against Spain’s Oihane Otaegi and Mikel Unanue, while Waddell and Rebecca Morrison start against Skaslien and Nedregotten in a group which features a third British Curling combination of Sophie Jackson and Duncan McFadzean.
In Pool C, Duff and Lammie face Kaldvee and Lill in their first match, while their regular teammates Hardie and Gina Aitken, a five-time Scottish Mixed Doubles champion, are taking on compatriots Amy MacDonald and Blair Haswell, their group also including another British Curling pairing of Lisa Davie and Mark Watt.
Former men’s World Junior champion James Craik meanwhile teams up with Katie McMillan in Pool D which features two more British Curling pairs – Sophie Sinclair and Ross Whyte and Laura Watt and Angus Bryce, as well as Switzerland’s Laura Engler and Kevin Wunderlin and Norway’s Martine Ronning and Mathias Braenden.
Please click here for results from Curling Zone.
Please click here for the draw.
Results:
Draw 1
Dodds/Mouat –Tonoli/Gosgens 11-2
Morrison/Waddell – Skaslien/Nedregotten 4-7
Otaegi/Unanue – Munro/McMillan 8-9
Henderson/Kyle – Perret/Rios 8-7
Draw 2
MacDonald/Haswell – Aitken/Hardie 5-8
Sinclair/Whyte – Ronning/Braenden 1-8
Engler/Wunderlin – Watt/Bryce 5-6
Duff/Lammie – Kaldvee/Lill 7-8
Draw 3
Skaslien/Nedregotten – Jackson/McFadzean 7-6
Perret/Rios – Dodds/Mouat 6-7
Wlikie-Milne/Brydone – Henderson/Kyle 3-8
Munro/McMillan – Morrison/Waddell 2-5
Draw 4
Ronning/Braendon – McMillan/Craik 7-8
Kaldvee/Lill – MacDonald/Haswell 9-5
Davie/Watt – Duff/Lammie 2-7
Watt/Bryce – Sinclair/Whyte 4-8
Draw 5
Morrison/Waddell – Otaegi/Unanue 1-9
Jackson/McFadzean – Munro/McMillan 8-6
Tonoli/Gosgens – Perret/Rios 4-7
Dodds/Mouat – Wilkie-Milne/Brydone 8-4
Draw 6
Sinclair/Whyte – Engler/Wunderlin 3-6
McMillan/Craik – Watt/Bryce 6-4
Aitken/Hardie – Kaldvee/Lill 5-7
MacDonald/Haswell – Davie/Watt 4-10
Draw 7
Henderson/Kyle – Dodds/Mouat 9-4
Wilkie-Milne/Brydone – Tonoli/Gosgens 7-8
Munro/McMillan/Skaslien/Nedregotten 2-7
Otaegi/Unanue – Jackson/McFadzean 7-1
Draw 8
Duff/Lammie – MacDonald/Haswell 5-6
Davie/Watt – Aitken/Hardie 3-5
Watt/Bryce – Roenning/Braenden 2-7
Engler/Wunderlin – McMillan/Craik 7-6
Draw 9
Perret/Rios – Wilkie-Milne/Brydone 6-1
Skaslien/Nedregotten – Otaegi/Unanue 7-5
Jackson/McFadzean – Morrison/Waddell 8-4
Tonoli/Gosgens – Henderson/Kyle 6-9
Draw 10
Kaldvee/Lill – Davie/Watt 8-4
Roenning/Braenden – Engler/Wunderlin 9-5
McMillan/Craik – Sinclair/Whyte 11-8
Aitken/Hardie – Duff/Lammie 8-5
Quarter Finals
Henderson/Kyle – Perret/Rios 6-3
Dodds/Mouat – McMillan/Craik 8-11
Kaldvee/Lill – Aitken/Hardie 10-7
Skaslien/Nedregotten – Roenning/Braenden 3-7
Semi Finals
Henderson/Kyle – McMillan/Craik 8-4
Kaldvee/Lill - Roenning/Braenden 7-11
Final
Henderson/Kyle (SCO) - Roenning/Braenden (NOR)
