Andrei Mozalev

[Mariott]

The Top 10 most important events of the 2025-26 season for Andrei Mozalev, with photos of the moment

Spoiler: #8

#8. Andrei won the short program at the Panin Memorial for the first time since 2020.

Georgy Pokhilyuk, a representative of the Tutberidze team, and other coaches watch closely as Andrei performs his short program.
St. Petersburg, Figure Skating Academy, 10/11/2025.
Photo by Alexei Parf from his social media.​

Were you pleasantly surprised too? For me, this was the first sign, the first indication that the 2025-26 season is shaping up, if not successfully, then at least promisingly for Andrei.

The “Panin Memorial” was the first major event of the season in Russia, a second-tier domestic tournament, but with a very strong field of competitors. The men’s singles competition, in particular, featured a very strong lineup. The top skaters showcased their new programs for the season, demonstrated their readiness, and tested their skills against their rivals. I’m using past tense verbs because, unfortunately, for the 2026–27 season, this tournament has been moved to late December, and it’s unlikely that top athletes will participate now: at that point, they’ll be fully focused on preparing for the Russian Championships. As a result, it will lose its strategic significance and turn into a minor local event. That’s sad, but well, perhaps the Moscow fall competitions will become such strategically important events.

But last year it still was the important event, the first tournament of the season. Here Andrei presented his new programs (he wasn’t invited to the national team’s test skates last year). His short program, “Everybody,” caused a sensation, especially since the skater performed it brilliantly and didn’t make a single mistake. For the first time since 2020, he won the short program at this tournament, and for the first time in several seasons, he scored over 95 points in the short program (this will be his best season in terms of short program scores until December 2025).

Andrei won the short program ahead of Dikidji, Ugozhaev, Lutfullin and Vetlugin, proving that he is ready to compete for the top spots at major events. It was awesome, and it is undoubtedly one of the season’s most significant events.

 

[Mariott]

The Top 10 most important events of the 2025-26 season for Andrei Mozalev, with photos of the moment

Spoiler: #7

#7. Andrei was invited to the Channel One Cup for the first time since 2023.

Andrei carries toys collected from the ice during the fun relay races at the Channel One Cup.
St. Petersburg, Yubileyny arena, 03/22/2026.
Photo by Irina Tsimfer from her social media.​

The Channel One Cup is a commercial event organized by Russia’s Channel One, held since 2021, in recent years at the end of the sports season. Figure skaters are divided into several teams, each including representatives from all disciplines. The teams compete against each other; each team receives a cash prize, but the winning team’s prize is significantly larger than that of the other teams.

All Russian figure skaters want to participate in this competition because it is prestigious, lucrative, and the television network invests heavily in promoting each participant, boosting their popularity. Since this is a commercial tournament, the organizers themselves choose whom they want to invite to participate. In the last few seasons, only skaters who finished in the top five at the Russian Championships could be absolutely certain they would be invited. Everyone else hoped, but could not be sure. The selection criteria changed every year. The organizers mixed up the lineup, inviting strong juniors and retired athletes, and partially entrusting the selection of participants to spectators, sports journalists, and the federation, etc.

Because Andrei had two unsuccessful seasons, he didn’t receive an invitation and was forced to miss the tournament in 2024 and 2025, which left him deeply upset and feeling disappointed in himself. This year he was invited — and this event had a huge impact on his emotional state and self-esteem. He performed well, earned a cash prize, and had a great time with friends. It really was a successful season.
Welcome back, Andrei!

 

[Mariott]

The Top 10 most important events of the 2025-26 season for Andrei Mozalev, with photos of the moment

Spoiler: #6

#6. Andrei won the Channel One Cup for the first time since 2022.

Andrei takes a lap of honor with his trophy in hand at the Channel One Cup. St. Petersburg, Yubileyny arena, 03/22/2026.
Photos by Irina Tsimfer from her social media accounts.​

Now that was a comeback!
Red is a lucky color for this guy! Andrei won the First Channel Cup as part of the “Red Machine” team in 2021 and 2022, then broke his winning streak and took silver in 2023, didn’t receive an invitation and missed the tournament twice in 2024 and 2025, and in 2026 he returned and won gold for the third time — again on the red team! What a guy!

Of course, Andrei wasn’t flawless in the short program, but aside from a fall on his opening quadruple Salchow, everything else in the program was executed perfectly, especially the light and soaring 3A. On the second day of the competition, Andrei had an excellent performance in the pairs jumping competition alongside Nikita Sarnovsky and in the jumping relay, confidently landing both a 3A and three types of quads, including a 4F, which he only began attempting in competition this season. And during the relay, when he had to navigate obstacles at speed on one leg, he displayed masterful skating skills, outperforming even some of the top ice dancers in this regard.

Congratulations on your third team gold, Andrei! Look who’s back!