Friday in Dudinka was a double holiday – this day was the day of last lessons in schools, and the Arctic Curling Cup hosted the opening ceremony and a number of interesting matches.

The morning began with the matches of group A. Team Anna Sidorova defeated the team of Finland (skip Eszter Juhasz) with a score of 11:1. For the first time in the history of women's tournaments of Arctic Curling Cup (2017 and 2019) one of the teams scored more than 8 points in one game.

The second game was much more intense and reminded the story of yesterday's match of the ice hockey world championship between Canada and Switzerland, in which the Canadians saved the game in the last second of regular time, and then won in overtime. In Dudinka,the Swiss team Binia Feltscher leaded after 6 ends with a score of 6:3, but the Canadian team Kerri Einarson, who played the first match in the tournament, managed to win the 7th and 8th ends with a score of 2:0 each and the match 7:6. Perhaps, this is the most impressive "comeback" of the tournament.

The first Asian team in the history of the tournament held its debut match last. The Koreans were 5:3 after 5 ends of the game with the team of the Krasnoyarsk Krai (skip Anna Venevtseva), but then the Russians managed to win three ends in a row with a score of 1:0 and celebrate the victory with a score of 6:5. Krasnoyarsk Krai traditionally presents their teams in the "home" tournament, but in 2017 and 2018 they remained without victories. Of course, a significant contribution to this success was made by the titled Olga Zharkova and Ekaterina Galkina, who show a world-class game here.

Scotland (skip Eve Muirhead) have two wins first of all teams in the tournament. They had a very nice match against Alina Kovaleva, keeping the advantage gained in the first end (2:0). Over the next seven ends of the Scottish scored only one point, but it was enough to win, as the Russians for the entire match scored only two points. The final result 3:2 in favor of the ex-world champion and European Muirhead.

This was followed by the opening ceremony, which gathered a full hall of spectators, many even stood near the ice rink. This time, all the action dedicated to the elements and their importance in the lives of people of the Far North, took place on the stage, as well as on vertical screens. The audience saw the performance of the famous local ensemble "Heiro", air gymnasts, fire show (in accordance with the requirements of fire safety). Bright event on a clear sunny day on Taimyr.

In the evening session, the team Anna Sidorova "gained" a rare achievement, which is unlikely to please the Russians. After the morning 11:1 victory, the Russian team lost with the same score. Even the course of the match repeated the morning game – the only point the losing team scored in the 6th end, after which the game was completed. But this unexpected defeat of the Russians perpetrated a Canadian team Kerry Einarsson, which is clearly felt confident after this morning's hard-fought victory over the Swiss.

The team Vlada Rumiantseva won important match against Switzerland with a score of 6:2, now the young Russians have a good chance of qualifying to semifinals.

Team Alina Kovaleva after the failure in the morning managed to confidently beat the team of the Republic of Korea (8:1) and continues to fight for the promotion from the group. The team of Krasnoyarsk Krai joined this fight after the victory over the Swedes. The Russians won the 4th end (3:0), after that they brought the match to a successful conclusion (8:3).

Watch broadcasts of matches, as well as recordings of completed games on the Russian Curling TV channel on YouTube.

Group A

• Canada – 2 matches, 2 wins

• Russia Junior – 2 matches, 2 victories

• Switzerland – 3 matches, 1 win, 2 losses

• Russia (Anna Sidorova) – 3 matches, 1 victory, 2 defeats

• Finland – 2 matches, 2 defeats

Group B

• Scotland – 2 matches, 2 wins

• Russia (Alina Kovaleva) – 3 games, 2 wins, 1 defeat

• Krasnoyarsk Krai – 3 matches, 2 wins, 1 defeat

• Sweden – 2 matches, 2 defeats

• Republic of Korea – 2 matches, 2 defeats

Schedule 26 May (Moscow time)

• 05:00 Finland – Switzerland

• 05:00 Canada – Russia Junior. Broadcast on Russian Curling TV

• 08:00 Scotland – Krasnoyarsk Krai. Broadcast on Russian Curling TV

• 08:00 South Korea – Sweden

• 12:00 Russia (Anna Sidorova) –Russia Junior. Broadcast on Russian Curling TV

• 12:00 Finland – Canada

• 15:00 Russia (Alina Kovaleva) – Sweden. Broadcast on Russian Curling TV

• 15:00 Scotland – South Korea