Team Canada, Kerri Einarson make playoffs at World Curling Championship

Photo: World Curling Federation

Curling's Kerri Einarson and Team Canada are once again headed to the World Championship playoffs.

It wasn't until the 11th hour that Canada qualified for the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship in Sweden.

Canada's four-peat representative finished their final game of the 12-game round robin with an 11-5 loss against Denmark's Madeleine Dupont, but despite the loss, Canada has punched their ticket into the next stage of the competition.

With a final round robin record of 7-5, Canada's fate was up in the air.

“We were going to have some anxious moments here waiting, but we knew there were a lot of scenarios here where we still make it through,” said Team Canada second Shannon Birchard.

Denmark scored its first of two three-enders in the third end, and Canada just couldn't recover. They found themselves in trouble after a couple missed runbacks in the middle of the end. That led to a hit to score three for Denmark.

"We had a great start to the game [against Denmark], and then in the third end we just let them off the hook. They played well to their credit, making some fantastic freezes and chases and draws. We just weren't responding in that sense," she continued.

It would happen again in the fifth end. Canada wrecked on a come-around tap, which gave way for Denmark to attempt a raise takeout to sit three. That left Canada chasing, and unable to turn things around.

By the eighth end, the game was out of reach for Canada after Denmark scored another 4 points.

While other games continue to shake out, there's a chance Canada could still take second place heading into the playoffs. They'll need both Denmark and Germany to win their games.

Playoffs start Saturday, March 25 and wrap up on March 26.