2015-16 Grand Prix Final: Men's Preview

[gsk8]

The men’s field at this year’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating certainly lived up to its reputation as an unpredictable discipline. Throughout the series, the men had incredible highs and disappointing lows—sometimes in the same competition. Expect more of the same when the six Grand Prix Final (GPF) competitors step on the ice for the short in Barcelona, Spain on Thursday.

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With quads galore, this is bound to be an exciting competition as mistakes can propel anyone up the ranks! What are your thoughts?

 

[Winnie_20]

I just hope everybody stays on their feet, and if they do fall, that there won't be any injuries. Please no drama like Machida's FS last year at the GPF. That was :hopelessness:

 

[Violet Bliss]

The biggest Quad Fest ever!

Or splat fest?

 

[FSGMT]

The uncanny technical level of the Men's field is clearly shown by how much Chan wowed us in 2011 when he announced that he would go for 2 quads when most of his competitors were not even attempting one... and now (still with those two same quads) he's the one with the weakest layout!

 

[Rissa]

Men's field looks amazing this year. I'm so lucky to be able to see them live and hoping for great skates! (Surprisingly, the one I'll be missing the most will be... Kovtun, I enjoy those silky programs of his.) It'lk be interesting to see how sucssessful newcomers, Shoma and Boyang, will measure up against the old guard.

 

[xibsuarz]

So the quad count goes like this:
Javier: 1 (SP) + 3 (FS) = 4
Yuzuru: 2 (SP) + 3 (FS) = 5
Shoma: 1 (SP) + 2 (FS) = 3
Boyang: 2 (SP) + 4 (FS) = 6
Patrick: 1 (SP) + 2 (FS) = 3
Daisuke: 1 (SP) + 2 (FS) = 3

So the men will be attempting a total of 24 quads in the GPF, an average of 4 quads per competitor

I guess the gold will heavily depend on which Yuzuru shows up, NHK Yuzuru means game over for everyone else. But SC Yuzuru...well that leaves the door open. I think Patrick and Javier would be the first to walk through that door. Even Yuzuru with one mistake could very likely lose against either of them if they go clean (or have less costly mistakes).
Patrick and Javier just need to keep it together. It will be interesting to see how Javier manages the home crowd and World Champion pressure. With Patrick, I think he'll have much less pressure because this is not an event he's particularly focused on. I think Shoma has a very good chance of making the podium, but it would have to be at the expense of Yuzuru, Javier and Patrick's mistakes (though in this unpredictable field, mistakes are the only thing you can always rely on).
Boyang, I think the skating order might harm him. He was getting decent PCS in his SP, but he's skating right after Patrick. Patrick is obviously miles and miles ahead of Boyang, so with his performance fresh in the judges minds and w/o much reputation to help him, I think his PCS will suffer. And he wasn't getting the best second mark in the FS, I think those things will keep him off the podium.
Dice just leaves too many points on the table, and if SC is anything to go by, he may have a hard time moving up even if he's clean. But he has been consistent.

 

[Ophelia]

Even Yuzuru with one mistake could very likely lose against either of them if they go clean (or have less costly mistakes).

Not sure about that. Yuzuru with one mistake can still break 300. Fernandez and Chan have not come close to that, even when putting together their clean performances.

 

[HanDomi]

Hanyu has some room in his programs and still be able to win. He don't needed to even attempt his 3lz in free skate and he would be strongly over 200 in the free. It all depends on quality of his quads and 3A. If they are as NHK he will get a lot GOE and that;s it. At SC his top quality was not there yet

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

It's ridiculous that Javier still isn't going for two quads in his SP. Especially since he's been landing two different quads, with consistency, far longer than Hanyu has.

 

[HanDomi]

It's ridiculous that Javier still isn't going for two quads in his SP. Especially since he's been landing two different quads, with consistency, far longer than Hanyu has.

I guess two quads SP put's a lot mental pressure, but I am surprised too anyway

 

[daniiltimin]

he's been landing two different quads, with consistency, far longer than Hanyu has.

You should remember that attempting 2 quads in the short is a huge risk. There are only 3 jumps in the program and a lot of pressure on you. I really like what Alexei Yagudin said once :

"you cant win gold in the short program, but you can lose it..."

He said that when there still was an old judging system and these days importance of a short program went down. But still, if you are far behind after the short, even your best performance in the free skate might not necessarily be enough. I would guess that Fernandez just don't want to risk it. I mean, we all seen him do many times 2 different quads in the free skate.

 

[Globetrotter]

It's ridiculous that Javier still isn't going for two quads in his SP. Especially since he's been landing two different quads, with consistency, far longer than Hanyu has.

There is only 3 jump passes in the SP. If he goes for 2 quads, it means he has to do a quad out of steps and then a Quad-3T in combo as well as a 3A. I don't think Javi has a reliable 4T-3T or 4S-3T. If the 4T-3T is popped to a 4T-2T in the first half, this is worth as much as a 3Lz-3T in the second half with the 10% bonus. The latter is much more manageable for Javi who will also have a better chance of getting +ve GOEs than a popped quad combo. Javi has probably the strongest PE and IN skills among the skaters, so he will be better off relying on getting a strong clean skate than risking falls and pops that interfere with the performance and getting docked both technically and PCS wise.

 

[Interspectator]

Nice Summary of each skater's High points and weaknesses. It's going to be a nail-biting few days but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[draqq]

Meh, I don't really care for quads. If you've got crappy skating skills, adding a quad in there won't fix that.

 

[AprilS]

Meh, I don't really care for quads. If you've got crappy skating skills, adding a quad in there won't fix that.

How about if two skaters both have very nice skating skills?
nice skating skills + more quads > nice skating skills + less quads.

I think that's where the very top guys are right now, tbh. I think the only one who can qualify as "crappy skating skills and added quads" is Boyang... but even he doesn't just have a quad, he has a 4Lz!

 

[draqq]

How about if two skaters both have very nice skating skills?
nice skating skills + more quads > nice skating skills + less quads.

I think that's where the very top guys are right now, tbh. I think the only one who can qualify as "crappy skating skills and added quads" is Boyang... but even he doesn't just have a quad, he has a 4Lz!

More often than not, those who have nice skating skills and add quads turn into those who have nice skating skills and fall a lot. So many men's programs have mistakes now and I would rather watch a clean skate with fully rotated, beautiful triples than the same program with a fall on a quad or even a step-out on a quad.

Now that Yuzuru Hanyu has achieved 118 points in the technical, I believe that men's skating is going to turn into more of a splatfest considering that artistry can only net you 100 points total at best. And apparently landing a quad cleanly now gives you unwritten points in the presentation mark. Apart from a handful of skaters, men's skating should just be called "jumping tricks on ice with random movements" at this point.

 

[AprilS]

More often than not, those who have nice skating skills and add quads turn into those who have nice skating skills and fall a lot. So many men's programs have mistakes now and I would rather watch a clean skate with fully rotated, beautiful triples than the same program with a fall on a quad or even a step-out on a quad.

Now that Yuzuru Hanyu has achieved 118 points in the technical, I believe that men's skating is going to turn into more of a splatfest considering that artistry can only net you 100 points total at best. And apparently landing a quad cleanly now gives you unwritten points in the presentation mark. Apart from a handful of skaters, men's skating should just be called "jumping tricks on ice with random movements" at this point.

To each their own :confused2:

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

. Apart from a handful of skaters, men's skating should just be called "jumping tricks on ice with random movements" at this point.

But without the quad any old robot could compete.
https://youtu.be/yL0u2jLpVuE?t=2m03s

Unfortunately even robots fall doing basic steps as we can now see

In all seriousness....I may not like the quads a whole lot myself but everyone should be allowed to define their own limits and style in which they compete. Seems fair enough to me.

 

[Ophelia]

More often than not, those who have nice skating skills and add quads turn into those who have nice skating skills and fall a lot. So many men's programs have mistakes now and I would rather watch a clean skate with fully rotated, beautiful triples than the same program with a fall on a quad or even a step-out on a quad.

Now that Yuzuru Hanyu has achieved 118 points in the technical, I believe that men's skating is going to turn into more of a splatfest considering that artistry can only net you 100 points total at best. And apparently landing a quad cleanly now gives you unwritten points in the presentation mark. Apart from a handful of skaters, men's skating should just be called "jumping tricks on ice with random movements" at this point.

Then go watch exhibition skating if youre so into clean skates. Competitions are about higher, faster, stronger.

 

[hippomoomin]

The cool skating robot needs to have skinner legs not to kick his own leg with the other one.

By any means, I am relieved the person who broke the sound barrier of TES is not Boyang; otherwise I am pretty sure most folks are going to call for a change of the rules simply because someone who "does not deserve" to be world champion could be a world champion.

But without the quad any old robot could compete.
https://youtu.be/yL0u2jLpVuE?t=2m03s

Unfortunately even robots fall doing basic steps as we can now see

In all seriousness....I may not like the quads a whole lot myself but everyone should be allowed to define their own limits and style in which they compete. Seems fair enough to me.