GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA – The 2008 World Men's Curling Championship roared to life at the opulent Ralph Englestad Arena, and the hometown fans had plenty to cheer about.

Craig Brown's United States entry, from nearby Bemidji, Minnesota took out defending European silver medallist Thomas Ulsrud of Norway 8-6 before an appreciative crowd. Brown scored a big three-ender in the fifth end to go up 5-2, and added a deuce in the eighth for a 7-4 lead. Following another two from Norway, the Americans hung on to score a single to confirm the win.

"I thought we had them," said Norwegian lead Havard Vad Peterssen.

"The ice is perfect," said Norwegian second Christoffer Svae. "It's just hot out there, I was sweating like a pig.

"That was a really good game," Svae added. "It's okay to lose to the Americans."

"It wasn't the cleanest game," countered Brown. "We gotta couple breaks but we also made a couple of really great shots when we needed to.

"It's good to have a win."

The upset of the day took place on sheet D as the Czech Republic's Jiri Snitil defeated Scottish powerhouse David Murdoch 7-5.

Murdoch, a pre-tournament favourite, is the 2006 World champion and a two-time Le Gruyère European champion. With the win, Snitil is making the Czech Republic's debut appearance at the worlds a real eye-opener for fans and media alike.

However, it's the second time the Czechs have beaten Murdoch. At the very same Europeans that Murdoch eventually won – and which qualified the Czechs as the 12th and final team for Grand Forks – the Czechs upset the Scots by a score of 6-4.

"Somehow it worked out and we just kept going," said the modest Snitil.

"That ice changed a bit in the middle (ends)," said Murdoch.

"Those guys played well and punished us for it."

Meanwhile, Germany's Andy Kapp, the defending world silver medallist, jumped out to a big lead and then hung on to beat Switzerland's Claudio Pescia 9-8. In the final match of draw one, France's Thomas Dufour broke open a 1-0 game in the sixth end with a three-ender, and then scored another in the eighth, en route to a 7-2 victory over another worlds rookie, China's Fengchun Wang.

In evening draw action, two of the four matches feature opening game action for Sweden and Australia, while Canada takes on Denmark.