Firstly, Sui/Han deserved to win. By including those high base value elements (which are actually undervaluled in pairs skating, I feel), they start with such sky high base value that it would take a poor skate from them AND a great skate from someone else to win. That didn't happen.
Secondly, that they deserved to win doesn't mean they weren't overscored, or that overscoring doesn't matter.
Here's the criteria for Skating Skills
Balance, rhythmic knee action, and precision of foot placement
Flow and effortless glide: Rhythm, strength, clean strokes, and an efficient use of lean create a steady run to the blade and an ease of transfer of weight resulting in seemingly effortless power and
acceleration.
Cleanness and sureness of deep edges, steps, and turns: The skater should demonstrate clean and controlled curves, deep edges, and steps.
Varied use of power/energy, speed, and acceleration: Variety is the gradation – some of which may be subtle
Multi directional skating: Includes all direction of skating: forward and backward, clockwise and counterclockwise including rotation in both directions.
Mastery of one foot skating: No over use of skating on two feet.
Pair Skating and Ice Dancing: Equal mastery of technique by both partners shown in unison.
a) Outside the elements, it's all two foot skating. Very much stroke, stroke, stroke
b) They're quick, but it's not effortless. It's the same thing Murakami struggled with and why her SS aren't as high as they could be even though she's fast, so you don't have that glide, that smoothness, that precision, that high skating skill technicians are able to get.
c) There's very little in the way of great edge control that again, we see in the top teams (not here, but in general)
So already, out of the seven criteria, they lack a strong hold with four of them. They did well in the multi-directional skating and showed a variety of speed well, and seemed pretty equal to me. To me, that's around a six. What do you think, skateflower?
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