The first big competition of the season has finally come to an end, and boy, was it an intense one. The Top 6 men of the Grand Prix series went out and gave it their all, with polarizing results. If anything, the entire men’s event was not a clean one overall, with mistakes made and points left off the table. In the end, Nathan Chen took home the GPF title, becoming the competition’s new champion since being dominated by Yuzuru Hanyu since 2013.
GOLD: Nathan Chen (USA)
Nathan Chen continues to be the only undefeated man this season, although we can’t say the same for consistency. Some of his jumps were sloppily landed, and pops and step-outs in the free skate made him leave points off the table. Fortunately for him, he managed to maintain his overall lead. Chen remains to be a heavy favorite to win his second National title, and we’re pretty sure he’s already booked one of three spots in the Olympic team, Chen will be working on a cleaner skate for the most important podium finish of all, in Pyeongchang.
SILVER: Shoma Uno (JPN)
A lot of pressure was on Uno, especially competing in his home country not to mention on his training location. He had his fair share of mistakes in both programs as well, a time violation and a fall on the triple axel in the short, and losing steam on jumps plus lack of combo jumps in the free. He managed to win the free skate, but missed the GPF title by half a point. While Uno doesn’t look too disappointed, he’ll be working on improving his performance for Japanese Nationals, where he will be defending his title. Like Chen, he’s pretty much booked a spot in the Olympic team, but he’ll need a better performance in the Olympics, where he’s also a favorite to finish on the podium.
BRONZE: Mikhail Kolyada (RUS)
It’s not the performance that Kolyada was looking for in his Grand Prix Final debut, but he managed to grab the bronze medal nevertheless. He has struggled with the quad lutz in both of his programs, though he managed a great recovery on the second half of his free skate, minus the single loop. Despite this, he’s still the heavy favorite to win his second National title, not to mention be part of the Olympic team.
Sergei Voronov (RUS) may not have made a surprise podium finish, but his fourth-place finish in Nagoya is still something to be proud of. His performance wasn’t clean either, though his free skate was already the cleanest in the field. He had just figured into the Olympic team conversation.
Meanwhile, Adam Rippon (USA) edged over Jason Brown (USA) in the standings. The two men don’t have a consistent quad and had to rely on maximizing their grades of execution, both of which the two men struggled with. In the end, the free skate became crucial, with Rippon making less mistakes than Brown. It looks like Rippon has a higher chance of making it to the Olympic team, while Brown has to redeem himself in U.S. Nationals.
You Only Lutz Once 