Brad Gushue will play for gold again at the men's world curling championship after a 9-5 semifinal win over Scotland's Bruce Mouat on Saturday.

Gushue and Sweden's Niklas Edin will clash for gold Sunday in a rematch of last year's final in Edmonton where Gushue won 4-2.

Edin will have last-rock advantage in to start Sunday's final as the higher seed.

"Niklas and his team are a great team. They're one of the best in the world," Gushue said. "They'll have hammer starting out so really for the first five ends it's going to be about trying to wrestle hammer back. I certainly expect a tight game and for it to come down to last rock."

Mouat faces South Korea's ChangMin Kim — a 9-8 loser to Edin in the other semifinal — for bronze.

Gushue chases history

Trailing 5-4, Gushue scored three in the seventh end and stole a point in the eighth en route to the semifinal win over the Scots.

Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Mark Nichols from St. John's, N.L., went undefeated to win last year's world championship.

They're attempting to become the fifth team in history to win back-to-back titles.

All of them have been Canadian: Randy Ferbey (2002-3), Don Duguid (1970-71), Ron Northcott (1968-69) and Ernie Richardson (1959-60, 1962-63).

Scots not intimidated

Scotland is a young team with an average age of 23.5. Mouat, 23, won a world junior title two years ago.

The Scots weren't intimidated in their world championship debut going 11-1 in the preliminary round to earn a bye to the semifinals.

Gushue, 9-3, had to beat Greg Persinger of the U.S. 6-4 in a morning quarter-final to advance. Canada lost 8-7 to the Scots on the first day of the tournament.

Brad Gushue leads Canada onward in the world curling championships after a 6-4 win in the quarters against USA. 1:06

Wind and cloud cover over Las Vegas after several arid, sunny days contributed to a sudden increase in the humidity in the Orleans Arena on Saturday.

Draw weight and finesse hit and rolls were difficult on frosty ice. Ice crews scraped and pebbled the game sheet at the fifth-end break. Each player took a practice throw.

Down three points in the ninth end, Mouat attempted a difficult double takeout to score two. He missed and the Scots shook hands.

Mouat needed a hit and roll towards the button for one, but rolled the wrong way and gave up a steal.

Turning point

But the turning point was the seventh, when Gushue's angle raised locked two Canadian counters together on the edge of the button in the seventh. Mouat's draw was a hair short of shot stone.

Gushue's raise takeout to score three generated a triple fist pump from the skip and brought the pro-Canada crowd to its feet.

Gushue's hit and roll to freeze for shot stone in the sixth end forced Mouat to draw for a piece of the button and a single point.

Canada had the Scots on the ropes in the fifth end laying three. Mouat rubbed on a guard, which re-directed his shooter onto shot stone and then rolled behind cover. Gushue had to draw for his one and a 4-4 tie.

Canada bailed out of trouble

Three freezes had Gushue facing stones stacked on the four-foot rings in the fourth. He sprung only one of two Scottish counters, leaving Mouat a draw for the deuce and a 4-3 lead.

A wide double by Nichols in the third end bailed Canada out of trouble. Mouat lost his shooter on a peel with his first stone, so Gushue buried a draw behind a guard. Mouat missed and gave up a steal of one to trail 3-2.

A freeze by Nichols forced Mouat into an up-weight double takeout in the second end. The Scot left a Canadian stone biting the edge giving Canada a chance for two. Gushue ended up drawing for the deuce to pull even at 2-2.

A deep draw by Walker and a tick on a guard by Gallant in the first end allowed Mouat to set up for a multi-point end. Gushue didn't get rolls behind a guard with his rocks, so Mouat drew for the deuce.