2019 Japan Open: Thoughts and Highlights

[gsk8]

Lots of YT videos (at least for now) for those who were not able to livestream.

I was wondering how Tennell would fare before the GP since we haven't seen her perform until now. It was great seeing Fernandez on the ice again!

Results/Protocols

What are your thoughts?

 

[silverfoxes]

In what universe does Nathan deserve PCS that high, for what he put out there? What an absolute farce. Sasha deserves every bit of the PCS she gets, and then some, if he's going to be scored like that.

 

[moonkat]

In what universe does Nathan deserve PCS that high, for what he put out there? What an absolute farce. Sasha deserves every bit of the PCS she gets, and then some, if he's going to be scored like that.

Hope she gets slightly higher PCS during the season. She needed 4 quads to win Has this ever happened in the men's division?

 

[Ali81]

In what universe does Nathan deserve PCS that high, for what he put out there? What an absolute farce. Sasha deserves every bit of the PCS she gets, and then some, if he's going to be scored like that.

Nathan is the anointed one ,didn’t you know?. Since the US nationals when he was grossly overscored , his PCS has been inflated dramatically and now seems set in stone .

 

[1111bm]

I don’t understand one thing, so maybe the judging experts on these forums can help me out or point me to someone knowledgeable on twitter.

Shoma’s 4F looked UR to me, and his 4T was landed forward… but for some reason they didn’t get called as such. And Shin Amano was even the technical specialist here, and isn’t he infamous for being pretty strict?

Shoma is not from the US, so why would the judges protect him?
And on top of that, he’s also one of Nathan’s big rivals after Yuzu. Why wouldn’t the ISU + Usfed penalise Shoma to push Nathan to the front even more? Or at least give their other project, Vincent, the chance to beat Shoma again and further improve his reputation?
They didn’t even need to invent phantom UR calls this time, Shoma himself gave them such a great opportunity.

Even Shoma’s PCS was barely 1.5 points behind Nathan, and given the lower difficulty of his technical content it was still rather substantial (if we assume the ole rule-of-thumb that higher tech = higher PCS).

Yes I know it’s only a fluff event for japanese tv and Shoma is one of Japan’s favourites, but they did brazenly overscore Nathan here, so Usfed was clearly meddling.
(also what was up with all those UR calls that Vincent got?)

Colour me confused.

 

[Jammers]

In what universe does Nathan deserve PCS that high, for what he put out there? What an absolute farce. Sasha deserves every bit of the PCS she gets, and then some, if he's going to be scored like that.

Nathan has earned that high PCS he's a two time Senior world champion. Over a two year stretch he's been beaten only one time and that was when he had his mini slump at the Olympics. When Sasha has dominated like Nathan has over a couple of years she will start getting much higher higher PCS also. Just look at Zagitova she's getting PCS like she's Oksana Bauil and Michelle Kwan all rolled into one.

 

[shine]

In what universe does Nathan deserve PCS that high, for what he put out there? What an absolute farce. Sasha deserves every bit of the PCS she gets, and then some, if he's going to be scored like that.

LMAO, and you think she won't? Zagitova is already getting them WITHOUT the quads and has been for 2 years.

 

[[email protected]]

Thoughts and highlights? It's obvious to me. Europe won but Javi and Denis were quite lucky to have two strongest ladies in the world by their side.

 

[Mishaminion]

Awful judging.
Sasha underscored in PCS, she shouldn't be getting Zagitova level PCS (Many argue Zagitova shouldn't be getting such high scores either but nevermind) but she shouldn't be 11 whole points adrift in components.
Although she did have some wobbly landings, her jumps were HUGE and ticked lots of other boxes. Yet she was lowballed in GOEs.
There was no SP but if there had been, Alina would have won this.
I don't care how much PCS the judges throw at her, Alina should not be only 6 points behind a skater with 4 quads. Sasha is not even devoid of artistry and skating skills, she's not Zagitova/Kostornaia level but she's musical and knows how to perform.

 

[icetug]

Thoughts and highlights? It's obvious to me. Europe won but Javi and Denis were quite lucky to have two strongest ladies in the world by their side.

JO is a team event and each point counts. Bradie and Mirai had the strongest and 3rd strongest men in the world by their side and this didn't help at all.

 

[[email protected]]

JO is a team event and each point counts. Bradie and Mirai had the strongest and 3rd strongest men in the world by their side and this didn't help at all.

Apparently 1 and 3 is not enough against 1 and 2. There are multiple men skaters in Europe who score better than Denis and Javi is retired so that yes, they were lucky.

 

[Seruleane]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I enjoyed Nathan's program. He's no Yuzuru, but why does he have to be? He has his own quirky style that works for him, and I love how carefree his skating looks. He makes the quads look so easy. I was thrilled for Nathan and Alina. They both really seemed to enjoy themselves out there with no pressure. Kudos to Trusova as well, for landing 4 quads- wow, that girl is revolutionizing ladies figure skating, whether we like it or not. Also really enjoyed Satoko and Rika. Ladies figure skating will be a fierce competition this year.

 

[Roast Toast]

Of all skaters, Trusova is underscored in PCS? wth. Is this what discussions are about on the competition forum? There is no performance to speak of for over half of the program as she stalks the quads, which admittedly are the best I've ever seen a lady do. Her SS is mediocre, with some particularly ugly crossovers. No lines, no stretch, no posture. She could gain some points in her short where there is some semblance of a choreography but let's not pretend the free is anything other than a Plushenko jump drill.

 

[Rissa]

Nathan has earned that high PCS he's a two time Senior world champion. Over a two year stretch he's been beaten only one time and that was when he had his mini slump at the Olympics.

In a fair world, you don't earn PCS by how many titles you have, you earn them by skating great programs. So, having watched JO, no, Nathan didn't earn those PCS. Frankly, he didn't even earn those GOEs. (And don't start me on what the girls got but didn't earn.)

 

[Mishaminion]

Of all skaters, Trusova is underscored in PCS? wth. Is this what discussions are about on the competition forum? There is no performance to speak of for over half of the program as she stalks the quads, which admittedly are the best I've ever seen a lady do. Her SS is mediocre, with some particularly ugly crossovers. No lines, no stretch, no posture. She could gain some points in her short where there is some semblance of a choreography but let's not pretend the free is anything other than a Plushenko jump drill.

She's not that bad.
She does perform, she's musical, her skating skills are better than you give her credit for. And she's exciting to watch, you certainly can't say she's boring.
She's not a 70+ PCS skater (maybe she will improve) but she's better than 63.
The protocols have her jumps graded worse than Miyahara's and about on par with Nagasu's.
Does that make any sense to you? Even though her landings were not perfect they ticked many other boxes and didn't deserve such low GOE.
Strange judging all round to be honest.

 

[icetug]

There are multiple men skaters in Europe who score better than Denis and Javi is retired so that yes, they were lucky.

Could you please write which men skaters do you mean? As I took last EC results and what I see: Samarin, Rizzo and Brezina got invitation to Shanghai (where Brezina scored lower than Javi and Deniss, by the way). Kolyada is ill (and got the invitation to Shanghai as well). Grassl is still in a junior circuit so no invitation for him. Bychenko, Samohin and Kvitelashvili got lower scores than Deniss this season. Aliev was weak last season and didn't show internationally so no invitation for him. The only men who could get the invitation and is really strong is Kevin Aymoz. But he peaked only last season so JO organizers must recognize him. Hope to see him as Team Europe next time.

 

[Mathman]

Shoma is not from the US, so why would the judges protect him?

I don't understand the question. Shoma is from Japan. This was a Japanese event. The natural tendency would be for the judges to protect Shoma. What does the USA have to do with it?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

You all realize this is has never been a hardcore competition, right? It's not even the level of the GP's. It carries no real weight. Relax.

 

[apgold]

You all realize this is has never been a hardcore competition, right? It's not even the level of the GP's. It carries no real weight. Relax.

Agreed. It should be treated as a fun event. I enjoyed watching the programs on Youtube and it was a nice preview of the season for some of the heavy hitters.

 

[Mishaminion]

I agree it was more for fun and doesn't really matter in the long run. I just hope the serious competitions aren't judged like this one that's all.