Eden’s team fell at the Battle of the Hammer.

Both Sweden and Great Britain were already ready for the semi-finals before the match – a repeat of the European Championship final that Eden lost at Lillehammer in December. Then the opposition was named after Scotland, but at the Olympic Games the same team competes, with Bruce Mowat as the leader, as Great Britain.

Eden’s team, who earlier in the day beat Denmark 8-3, ended up in an early loss to Great Britain who were able to dominate the match. Despite the even numbers, Sweden wasn’t really close to being able to turn in victory.

The team that wins the group stage gets the “hammer,” the advantage of starting with the last stone, in the semi-finals – and in the possible final.

Before responding to the match Niklas Eden on the question of how important it is to have this advantage.

– very important. Now I don’t have an exact number, but it’s like in the men’s top 10, if you have the last stone in a ten-round match, you have a more than 70 percent chance of winning before the match begins.

– If you look at Scotland (Great Britain) and Gushue (Canada), the top three ranked teams, I think there is a high chance of winning. It may not happen the same way every time, but in the end the “hammer” is a huge advantage. In the top ten encounters, I don’t think you win more than a pair without that hammer. Just against these teams, it’s really important, so winning the base series is a huge step towards going to the final and maybe even winning it.

At the same time, the “hammer” is not everything.

– Then the nerves come in for a playoff and then the stats play less of a role. But with or without a hammer, I still think we’ll have a chance if we play well. But mentally, Eden said, I think it’s very important to have that hammer.

So favorable brosThe captain of the Great Britain team, spoke about the importance of taking advantage of the “hammer” before the match against Sweden.

– You want to “hammer” in any game you play. I’m not sure about the percentage, but it definitely increases your chances of winning, maybe to 60 percent.

In group stage matches, the two teams initially draw two stones to determine who gets the “hammer”. The team with its stones closest to the ‘button’ in the nest may start with the last stone. But in the playoffs, it is the team that is placed at the top of the table after group matches that gets this advantage.

Great Britain and Sweden are now losing before the final group matches. Great Britain will meet Russia on Wednesday and Canada on Thursday. Eden’s team concluded the group game with a match against Switzerland on Thursday.