How it unfolded
Great Britain topped the round robin at 8-1 and Sweden finished second at 7-2. Sweden beat Canada 5-3 and Great Britain beat the United States 8-4 in their respective semi-finals, sending the tournament's two strongest teams straight into the final. The match was low-scoring throughout. Both sides used guards in front of the house to block the centre and prevent multi-point ends, and the score was tied 4-4 after ten ends. Great Britain held the hammer in the eleventh, extra end. With a single stone deciding the outcome, Bruce Mouat's shot did not settle where he wanted, and Sweden stole a point to win 5-4. It was gold on Niklas Edin's third Olympic attempt, completing a set of three differently coloured medals after bronze at Sochi 2014 and silver at Pyeongchang 2018.
Why it still matters
This win made Edin the only skip to hold all three Olympic medal colours, and combined with his four straight world titles, built what is now considered the strongest résumé in curling history. This final was also a showcase for how top teams play under a five-rock free guard zone: both sides focused on denying the other more than two points, and the result was a one-point match that ran to an eleventh end.