Short program
Start
S(igi Heinrich): And for me personally, I look forward to Shoma Uno! That's logical!
H(endryk Schamberger): Exactly, this will be today's highlight. Ah, I'm excited to see what his form is like. If he can skate to the confident victory here, one should expect from him.
Warm up
S: In this group the second to last skater is Shoma Uno from Japan.
H: And he is the big favourite - everything but first place would be a huge surprise.
Start
S: So, now we look forward to the little whirlwind from Nagoya. Shoma Uno.
3A Fall
S: That suited the music.
H: Hehe, yes. But it didn't fit his concept, for sure.
S: No.
End Program
S: This can cost the Grand Prix Final already. That happens pretty quickly. I just took a glance at the NHK Trophy, where he will start next, and the field is doable for him. He can win there. And here he won't win.
H: Well, at least he won't win the short program. But...
S: The free.
H: Exactly!
He will stay within reach to beat Keegan Messing, and I believe he will get three or four more points for the program components, right now he is behind by six points, with the fall that makes seven. So it'll be around four or five points. He could be around 90, which means, uh, nothing is lost yet, even a second place would be alright for him
It shouldn't be less though, but this is a little continuation, he opened the season in Bergamo at the Lombardia Trophy and he wasn't convincing there, even when he won. A lot of insecurities. And the field, the rivals weren't as strong as here at Skate Canada, by far. He will now have to pay the price. Regardless, one has to say, in the free, Keegan Messing will have it hard to stand his ground against Shoma Uno, because the Canadian has to show more than just one quadruple jump. Still this is a sensational result for Keegan Messing, here in front of a home crowd, to leave the vice World Champion behind, that's a grenade!
S: But the fall wasn't the only insecurity, he got deductions for the combination and not just a few.
H: And, uhm, he didn't land the axel backwards either. This is not the first time he has problems with the Axel, this happened a few times before, every quadruple worked, but the Axel didn't. Nevertheless one has to say, his base value is the highest, compared to Keegan Messing he DID show two Quads, the first one the flip was flawless.
S: So now we look forward to the program component score, it could be around 55...uh, program component not 55, 45.....
H: Not as many
S: Ah, 43....
H: Oh he did not....
S: Yes....
H: ...did not come out unscathed. Seven points behind Keegan Messing, that's hard to catch up to. Just one hundredth of a point in front of Junhwan Cha, but this just of secondary importance, the placement is important. Keegan Messing is the biggest surprise of the evening.