Scotland skip Bruce Mouat held his nerve in the most tense of circumstances to ensure Team Mouat won their third consecutive and fourth overall European curling title.
With these European Curling Championships being held in Aberdeen, there was considerable pressure on Team Mouat to deliver a gold medal on Scottish ice and they duly delivered, with 29-year-old Mouat unfazed by the expectations of the home crowd.
The Scots were up against their old rivals and one of the greatest teams in curling history, Team Edin of Sweden, who are the reigning Olympic champions and also have six world and seven European titles to their name.
Given the strength of the opposition, it’s hardly surprising that Mouat and his teammates, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan, were made to work for their victory.
With the match all level after the scheduled ends had been completed, an extra end was therefore required to decide the winner.
In the early stages of the extra end, Lammie put the Scots in a strong position by removing both guards with his first stone, then another plus the only Swedish stone in house with his second.
This, ultimately, put Mouat in a strong position to deliver victory and the Edinburgh man was never going to let his team down, successfully executing an inch-perfect draw with his final stone to secure a 6-5 victory for the Scots.
"We're doing something right at these European Championships," said Mouat, reflecting on his rink’s formidable record at this event over the years.
"I'm not sure exactly what it is, but we're playing well every time we've come to them and I'm very proud of the team and how we've knuckled down and managed to turn our season around.
"I'm so proud of how we played in that final and it's really great to see that we can play like that in pressure games again.
"It was great to have that opportunity to have an eight foot draw in a championship like this.
"It feels amazing and extra special having so many friends and family able to come and watch."
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