FÜSSEN – Germany's Andy Kapp made a huge takeout for four points in the eighth end to eliminate Sweden in the first men's  tiebreaker at the 2007 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships.

Kapp held leads of 3-1 and 4-3 through the early ends and finally snapped the four-ender on Sweden's Peja Lindholm, the three-time world champion from Östersund.

Lindholm, who was scored at just under 50 per cent in shooting percentage during in the match, finished fifth at the 2007 Worlds after forming a new team with former Scotsman James Dryburgh at third. The team has a young front end and aims to build toward the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The Germans fled the field of play to prepare for their second tiebreaking match of the day, against Scotland's David Murdoch.

"I don't even know when the game is," said brother Uli Kapp, who plays third.

"For us it's all about being here, now that we have the Worlds berth. Playing at home is a great feeling."

Kapp and virtually the entire German men's team are also members of the organizing committe, which only adds to the frantic pace of the eight-day tournament, which wraps up on Saturday evening.

"If we weren't still playing, I would be serving beer tonight," Kapp added.

In the women's eighth-place tiebreaker, Katerina Urbanova of the Czech Republic avenged a ninth-round defeat by Austria's Claudia Toth to confirm her country's berth into next year's Euro A Division.

Urbanova won a sloppy game when the Austrians miscalled Toth's last rock in the extra-end, which was overswept by an inch.

Austria now drops to next year's B Division, along with ninth-place Finland, while the Czechs will play a best-of-three challenge series against this year's B Division champion for the final berth in the 2008 Ford World Women's Championships in Vernon, Canada.