Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat rose to the occasion as they swept Canada aside 8-5 to move clear at the top of Pool A in the World Mixed Doubles Championship at Curl Aberdeen.
The Scottish pair raced into an early lead against Canada in the meeting of the joint group leaders, taking three points with an open draw in the first end and they never looked like relinquishing their lead.
They made it 4-0 with a single at the second end and were 6-2 up before Canada scored a triple of their own at the fifth end to get back into the game, but singles at the sixth and seventh closed out an excellent win for the duo.
A delighted Mouat said: “Getting the hammer is key in these games, so to score three at the start was a scary position to be in for a mixed doubles game, but we managed to hold out.”
Dodds’ tap freeze at the seventh end ensured there was no way back for Canada, but she was quick to praise her team-mate.
Dodds said: “Bruce swept it so well. I kind of put it out there, but you can get it curling a wee bit and Bruce got the perfect position.”
The win means Dodds and Mouat lead their group with a 6-1 winning record going into their final round-robin matches against Korea and Hungary today.
Victory against Canada, which followed their 7-5 win earlier in the day against Germany, has almost certainly booked the duo’s place in the play-offs and with it a qualification for their national teams at next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.