Let the Games Begin! Your Day -2 Guide to the First Olympic Action

The wait is over. While the world looks toward the Opening Ceremony, the action in Italy is already moving at full speed. From the high-speed training runs on the slopes to the tactical chess match on the curling ice, the 2026 Winter Games are officially live.

Every morning, I’ll be breaking down the essential storylines, the must-watch matchups, and giving my largely uneducated predictions across every event. Whether you're here for the precision of the rink or the chaos of the downhill, here is your roadmap for Day -2.

The first day of competition features training sessions in Luge and Men's Downhill skiing, but the main action on day -2 comes from Stadio Olimpico Del Ghiaccio, where the mixed doubles curling competition gets underway the 10 nations enter a round robin stage where they all play each other once so 9 games in total the top 4 from this then advance to the semi-finals and subsequently the Gold or Bronze medal games. The favourites coming into this event are the host nation and reigning world and Olympic champions Italy, led by the same pair of Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner. The other teams expected to be in the mix are current world number 1s Great Britain, Sweden and Norway.

The fixtures on the first day are:
Sweden vs Korea (19:05 CET)
Great Britain vs Norway (19:05 CET)
Canada vs Czechia (19:05 CET)
Estonia vs Switzerland (19:05 CET)

Great Britain vs Norway: The big game of the day is definitely last year's beaten world championship finalists, Great Britain (Dodds/Mouat) vs previous medalists at the past 2 Olympics (2018 bronze, 2022 silver), Norway (Skaslien/Nedregotten), who are trying to go one better in Milano-Cortina. Both these teams rarely make errors, so expect this to be a lower-scoring back-and-forth affair.
Prediction: Great Britain 7-5 Norway

Canada vs Czechia: Canada (Peterman/Gallant) are the heavy favourites here. They are known for an aggressive style—putting lots of stones in play early to force their opponents into mistakes. Czechia (Zelingrová/Chabičovský) are one of the biggest underdogs of the tournament, having fought through the final qualifier. They have nothing to lose, which makes them dangerous if Canada starts slow. 
Prediction: Canada 9-4 Czechia

Sweden vs. South Korea: Sweden (de Val/Eriksson) were the Bronze medalists in 2022 and will be expecting to make it through the round robin, so this is a must-win for them on paper. While the Korean duo, Kim Seon-yeong (known to fans as 'Sunny') and Jeong Yeong-seok, qualified at the very last minute only qualified at the very last minute by upsetting Australia in December at the Olympic qualifying event, making them, along with the Czechs and the swiss the least favoured to make the top 4. I'm expecting Sweden to win, but don't be surprised if Korea get an early lead to make it nervy.
Prediction: Sweden 9-6 South Korea

Estonia vs. Switzerland: Estonia (Kaldvee/Lill) is making their historic first-ever Olympic appearance in curling. They are currently the #5 team in the world and finished 4th at last year's world championship,s so they are my underdog to make the final 4. They face Switzerland (Schwaller-Hürlimann/Schwaller), a husband-and-wife duo who are also making their Olympic mixed doubles debut. I'd expect Estonia to win, but in a close-fought game.
Prediction: Estonia 7-6 Switzerland

The One to Watch If you only have one screen tonight, make it Great Britain vs. Norway. It’s a rematch of the 2024 World Championship semi-final and will set the tone for the entire leaderboard.

Join the Conversation: Who is your "Dark Horse" to crash the Top 4? Do you think the Swiss duo is being overlooked, or is Estonia ready for a historic debut? Let me know your score predictions in the comments below!

What’s Next? I’ll be back tonight with a full Evening Summary and a look at the standings after the first stones have settled, and then daily guides and summaries throughout Milano Cortina 2026.

See you on the ice!

— Daniel Mott