Through play Saturday evening in Esbjerg, Denmark, defending champion Germany and surprising Norway are atop the leaderboard with 2-0 records at the Capital One World Women’s Curling Championship.

Germany, skipped by veteran Andrea Schöpp, won its second match, taking four in the ninth end to upend Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott, 10-7 in Draw 3 action.

Schöpp, who won the Ford World Women’s last year over Scotland’s Eve Muirhead in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, her second such title following a victory in 1988, had opened defence of her title with an 8-3 thumping of host Denmark on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Norway’s Linn Githmark, the 2004 world junior champion who finished with a 3-8 mark last year in Swift Current, kept pace with a 5-2 decision over Korea (Mi-Sung Shin). She also won her opener on Friday, stunning Sweden, 8-7.

Canada, skipped by Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland and Czech Republic’s Anna Kubeskova are next at 1-0. Holland won her first game Saturday morning, 8-6 over the 2009 world champion, Bingyu Wang of China, while Kubeskova surprised Scotland’s Anna Sloan, 6-5.

On Sunday, Canada faces Russia’s Liudmila Privivkova and Denmark’s Lene Nielsen.

TSN will carry many Canada round robin games live, plus the playoffs.

Click for full story at the CCA website.

CCA Photo: Team Canada in Denmark