The ninth edition of the event is the first to take place since mixed doubles was confirmed as a new discipline on the programme of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

Participating nations have been divided into six pools with defending champions Hungary pitted against Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, Switzerland and Slovakia in Group A.

Hosts Sweden, last year’s runners-up, have been drawn into Group B along with Austria, Finland, Germany, Korea, Lithuania and Slovenia, while Group C is made up of England, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkey and 2015 bronze medallists Norway.

Australia, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Italy and Serbia will go up against one another in Group D with newcomers Israel meeting Belarus, Denmark, Spain, The Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States in Group E.

Qatar, another country making their debut, face Brazil, Czech Republic, Estonia, Russia, Scotland and Wales in Group F.

Round-robin play is due to get underway tomorrow and continues until Thursday (April 21).

After any tie-breakers that may be required, the top 16 ranked teams will play in a head-to-head format with the winners continuing to the quarter-finals and onwards to the medal games on April 23.

As it is the first event at which Olympic qualification points are available, knock-out stage losers will continue to play to determine final rankings and points allocation among the top 12 teams.

The gold medallists will receive 14 points, while the teams that collect silver and bronze will earn 12 and 10 points respectively.  

The remaining teams ranked from fourth to 12th will receive between nine points and one point depending on their position.

After the 2017 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships, the seven teams with the most points accumulated over two years will qualify for Pyeongchang 2018, along with host nation South Korea.

There will not be an Olympic qualification event for mixed doubles, which is a discipline for teams of two players - one male and one female, and no alternates. 

At the same time as staging the World Mixed Doubles Championship, Karlstad will also play host to the Men's and Women's World Senior Curling Championships, being held in the Karlstad Curling Arena.