The O2 Arena in Prague was transformed for the grand final between the hosts and Switzerland. More than 17,000 fans were on hand to cheer on their local team as they took on the Swiss in the Czech capital.

The crowd went wild as goals from David Kampf of the Toronto Maple Leafs and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins, along with 31 saves from Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks, gave the Czech Republic a 2-0 victory over Switzerland and the gold medal at the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.

The Boston Bruins winger sent the crowd at the Prague Arena into a frenzy at 49:13 with his signature one-timer from the left circle following a pass from Tomas Kundratek.

Toronto Maple Leafs centre David Kampf sealed the win with an empty-net goal 19 seconds from time after Switzerland pulled goalie Leonardo Genoni.

Pastrnak joined the Czech team after the Bruins were knocked out of the Stanley Cup by the Florida Panthers.

He was the NHL's seventh-highest scorer in the 2023-24 regular season, but his goal in the World Championship final was his only one in the four games he played in the tournament.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal stopped 31 Swiss shots for his third shutout of the championship.

Switzerland came closest to scoring in the first period when Christoph Bertschy's shot hit the post.

It was the seventh title the Czechs have won since gaining independence in 1993, having also won in 1996, 1999-2001, 2005 and 2010, with current captain Roman Cervenka, 38, the only player to have repeated the feat since their last triumph in Germany on 23 May 2010.

Once again, Switzerland fell just short of the title. Their defeat in the final was their fourth silver medal after 1935, 2013 and 2018.

Despite his team's defeat in the final, Switzerland's Kevin Fiala was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scoring seven goals in eight games after joining the tournament late for the birth of his daughter. However, that did not stop the Kings man from winning the journalists' vote.

Czech coach Radim Rulik took over the team before the season and won gold in his first World Cup as coach of the national team.

Sweden took bronze after defeating Canada 4-2 in the third-place match thanks to two goals from LA Kings forward Carl Grundstrom, including the winner with six minutes remaining.

It was the first medal since 2018 for a Swedish team that included Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, among other big-name NHL players.

The Czechs reached the final after beating Sweden 7-3 and the United States 1-0 in the quarterfinals (a poor performance despite having all 23 of their players in the NHL), while Switzerland beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout in the semi-finals on Saturday.