South Korea had finished the round robin stage as the third seed with a record of eight wins and four losses, while the US squeezed into the playoffs as the sixth and last seed with a 6-6 record. And during the round robin play last Wednesday, South Korea beat the US 9-8.

But led by skip Jamie Sinclair, the US defeated South Korea handily in the rematch. The score was tied at 3-3 through eight ends before the Americans blew the game open with seven points in the ninth end.

South Korea, a surprise silver medalist at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, was trying to win its first world championships medal. Last year, South Korea ended in sixth place. (Yonhap)