Sophie Jackson and Duncan McFadzean saved their best form of the round-robin competition for its final day as they swept past China and hosts Sweden to claim a place in the playoffs at the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Oestersund.
The Scottish champions went into day six of the event in confident mood, knowing their form had steadily improved as the week had gone on, but also that they needed help from elsewhere if they were to secure a place in the knockout stages.
They duly won the pre-match draw competition to earn the hammer and last stone advantage against the Chinese and while they were only able to score a single at the opening end, they then stole at the second to claim the upper hand in the match. 
After the Chinese got off the mark at the third end, a Scottish two at the fourth took them into the midway break 4-1 up and while Ying Yang and Jiafeng Tian then took their powerplay at the next and scored two, before stealing a shot at the sixth to level the match at 4-4, Jackson and McFadzean then used their own powerplay to re-establish a two shot lead heading into the final end, where they ran their opponents out of stones.
Korea’s shock defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the same round of matches, meant that a win over the hosts, coupled with a defeat for the USA in the North American derby with Canada who, like Sweden, had already secured their playoff place, would be enough to see the Scots through.
While they lost the draw competition this time around, a steal at the first against the brother sister combination of Rasmus and Isabella Wrana edged things Scotland’s way and they gradually got on top ahead of the powerplays where the Swedes could only score one when they had last stone advantage, whereas Jackson and McFadzean played a super end to claim a decisive three on their way to an 8-4 victory.
“It’s been a great day here in Oestersund,” said Jackson.
“We really finished off the round-robin strong and we’re super, super excited to have first of all given ourselves a chance of getting into the playoffs and we’ve taken that now, so we’re just delighted.
“At the start of the day we knew we had to win out to be in with a chance of the playoffs.
“We knew we needed a couple of other games to go our way too, but we just focused on ourselves and putting two really good games together.”
With Canada simultaneously handing the USA a 12-6 defeat, the Scots consequently find themselves heading into the playoffs on a run of four successive victories, with all their momentum heading in the right direction. 
“We started off the competition a little slower than we would have liked to, but that’s kind of usual Duncan and Sophie fashion,” laughed Jackson.
“We did that at the Scottish as well, so we just had to keep faith that we were going to come good once we got used to the ice conditions which I think we really have and we’re starting to prove what we can do now.
“It’s a really good way to trend, because starting slow, then ending the round-robin really well stands us in good stead for the playoffs.
“Momentum is on our side and we’re feeling really good.
“Our weight control is really on it with those taps and our draws are setting up the ends well, which is so important in mixed doubles.”
They can also take added confidence from ending Sweden’s winning run and their target is now to earn a re-match, since that is the semi-final clash that awaits the winners of their meeting with Swiss husband a wife pairing Yannick and Briar Schwaller in the first round of the play-offs.
“It feels great to end Sweden’s winning streak,” said Jackson.
“They played well and maybe just got a couple of rubs in the wrong direction, but we felt we were really on top for the majority of the game and eventually the scoreline reflected that.
“We like to play in these scenarios where we need to win the games, having a bit of pressure on us, which makes us play that little bit better.
“Yannick and Briar are obviously both great players and a great mixed doubles team, so we can expect a really good game against them.
“We’re going to have to be on top of our game again, but that’s going to be true right the way through the playoffs now, so we’ll just keep focusing on ourselves, which we’ve done and try to put as good a game together as we can and hope that’s enough.”
The round-robin continues until April 25, with the 20 competing teams divided into two pools of 10, playing nine matches each ahead of the play-offs and medal matches which take place on April 27.
Group A: Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Turkiye.
Group B: Australia, Canada, China, Czechia, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, USA.
Please click here for LIVE streaming of all games on The Curling Channel
Selected games are also available on the BBC iPlayer, BBC Scotland website and app
Please click here for more event information and results
Scotland Team
Sophie Jackson
Duncan McFadzean
Michael Goodfellow Coach
Ross Paterson Coach
Schedule (BST) & Results
Saturday 20 April
Session 2
Scotland – Czechia 7-3
Sunday 21 April
Session 4
Scotland – Korea 4-6
Session 6
Scotland – Australia 7-5
Monday 22 April
Session 8
Scotland – USA 8-4
Tuesday 23 April
Session 10
Scotland – Canada 5-12
Session 12
Scotland – Netherlands 7-5
Wednesday 24 April
Session 14
Scotland – New Zealand 9-3
Thursday 25 April
Session 16
Scotland – China 6-4
Session 18
Scotland – Sweden 8-4
Friday 26 April
09.00
Qualification Games
17.00
Semi Finals
Saturday 27 April
09.00
Bronze Medal Game
13.00
Gold Medal Game
Image: World Curling
