High risk-high reward programs—that’s what we are going to be seeing a lot of this week in the men’s event at the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships. And the two favorites for gold are the two who have the highest planned difficulty of the entire event. Their stories and histories are completely different, with defending champion Shoma Uno being the veteran in his seventh Worlds and Ilia Malinin as the history-maker in his first full senior season. But like the women’s event, podium contenders abound, so clean programs will absolutely be key.
2023 Worlds predictions
Official hashtag: #WorldFigure
GOLD Shoma Uno JPN - No quad axel, so why is Uno the favorite? Well, for one, he’s still got seven quads planned between his two programs. While it’s lower than what Malinin is likely planning, it keeps him close enough that the combination of execution, components, and consistency couple give him the edge. He’s been generally very strong this season, and coming into his title defense here, he has been undefeated this season, including a win at Grand Prix Final over Malinin.
SILVER Ilia Malinin USA - US Nationals was his last competition appearance, and it was one for him to remember and one for him to forget. On one hand, he delivered his best short program of the season; on the other, the second half of his free skate was a disaster. Given the difficulty of his programs, it’s not unexpected that he could make mistakes. But his World title hopes will require him to be cleaner than he’s been all season. More than anyone, he’s going to need a clean short to set him up for the free skate.
BRONZE Keegan Messing CAN - Is this a sentimental pick? Yes. Is this a realistic pick? Yes. Messing is coming off the best competition of his career with silver at Four Continents in February. And the emotions will be very apparent in his final appearance at Worlds. After a shaky Grand Prix series, you wondered if his farewell season would be more of a victory lap, but after what he did at Four Continents, a first-ever World medal in his last-ever Worlds is a real possibility.
4. Jason Brown USA - No quad attempts this year, and in some ways, it’s felt like it’s freed up Brown’s creative mind in his free skate. But it’s been an unusual season for him, as he’s only had one competition so far, and that was his strong silver-medal skate at US Nationals. But even then, there was a bit of rust in the gauntlet that is the free skate. For him to get that Worlds medal this week, two clean programs are almost a complete necessity. That’s within reach - and a score in the 280+ range could set him up for that World medal he’s been looking for.
5. Adam Siao Him Fa FRA - The European champ has all the makings of a World medalist this season, and like everyone around him, it will depend on consistency. There’s a lot to like about both his trajectory this season and his strong all-around skating, but his free skate tends to be a gauntlet because he does have a tendency to toss around his jumps with abandon.
Top 24 MEN season best pre-#WorldFigure 2023
— Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) March 19, 2023
304.46 Shoma Uno
280.37 Ilia Malinin
275.57 Keegan Messing
274.35 Sota Yamamoto
269.98 Adam Siao Him Fa
264.35 Daniel Grassl
264.05 Junhwan Cha
259.92 Matteo Rizzo
258.02 Kevin Aymoz
254.56 Deniss Vasiljevs
253.66 Lukas Britschgi… https://t.co/X7o0oqLXc6
6. Junhwan Cha KOR - Fourth at Four Continents and with two bronze medals on the Grand Prix, Cha has had a solid though not spectacular season. Clean competitions have been elusive for him, though we’ve seen strong performances, especially in the short. Two clean programs will put him in medal contention, but he can’t really afford errors given his lower starting base value.
7. Sota Yamamoto JPN - After a really strong Grand Prix series that culminated with him getting silver at the Final, the second half of Yamamoto’s season hasn’t been a bit more up-and-down, starting with a couple subpar skates at Japan Nationals that almost took him off the World team and most recently with an inconsistent showing at Challenge Cup. He will need to rediscover his form from earlier in the season to get himself in the mix for a medal.
8. Kevin Aymoz FRA - This season has yet again been one where Aymoz has had to overcome injury early on. But unlike last year, his recovery has been quicker, and he’s shown signs of his old self. He took fourth at Europeans and was a couple of silly errors away from the podium. Can he finally put it together at the biggest event?
9. Matteo Rizzo ITA - Rotation cleanness will be important for Rizzo, and it’s really the thing that has kept him from really being a podium contender. The past couple of seasons have seen him rebuild, both in his skating and in his confidence, and he’s back to a point where he believes in his ability to be up there with the best.
10. Lukas Britschgi SUI - The surprise European bronze medalist should be on everyone’s radar by now. He’s made some major improvements the past few seasons, and with quads in hand, he’s become one to watch.
Others to watch for: Nika Egadze (GEO), Daniel Grassl (ITA) Boyang Jin (CHN), Morisi Kvitelashvili (GEO), Conrad Orzel (CAN), Kazuki Tomono (JPN), Andrew Torgashev (USA), Deniss Vasiljevs (LAT)