Wow, the men's short had everything: first 100+ program of the season, Yuma taking a break and still finishing on the music, an axel combo, Adam's costume . . . I was on the edge of my seat!
I bought my ticket to see Ilia, and I've already had my money's worth with his electrifying program debut.

I loved his performance, as creative as it was exhilarating, the drop dead gorgeous 4F, and the "transitional" 3A. I'm looking forward to seeing his actual costume, but I discovered that I didn't mind the stripped down training gear look for the debut. Plenty opportunities to see the full package later.
I thought Yuma's program looked crisper and better than Dreams on Ice. I'm really sorry he suffered from leg cramps (it freaked me out when he stopped), but it truly disrupted the performance and I honestly think that should have impacted the PCS more.
I'd nominate Makar Suntsev for a WTF award, but what's the point when Adam is going to win anyway. I think there are other ways to make a Leonardo themed program and all of the alternatives that I've thought of so far seem better in my opinion (which is obviously different than Benoit's). I miss Adam's old SP already. Wonder what the Michelangelo program has in store for us?!
Kao performed much better than I'd feared. I'm not sure if he is at the point where he should be resting or skating, but hopefully it's the latter. His program is too heavily Benoit flavored for my personal taste, but I thought he performed it well. Can he turn his fortunes around now?
While it is great to see the ever entertaining Luc Economides skate well, my enjoyment of it was spoilt by his use of the music of an avowed Nazi supporter. There are other things to skate to
Some highlights included Corentin Spinar, whom I do not remember seeing before. One of my favorite programs of the event

. I also liked Kyrylo Marsak's beautiful performance to Fall on Me. I thought it was emotional even before I found out that it is a tribute to his father. Jumps looked good as well, and after popping the first part of his combo he did well to put a perfect triple on the end.
