It’s been no surprise that the high-risk high-reward men’s field this season has led to both exciting skates and epic implosions. And perhaps this season has seen more crazy shifts in standings than ever. The biggest jump from short program placement to Grand Prix win belonged to Adam Siao Him Fa, who had to withdraw because he injured his ankle at Cup of China two weeks ago. But this men’s field at the Grand Prix Final is still very stacked, and maybe—just maybe—this will be different from the rest.
Grand Prix Final predictions
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GOLD Ilia Malinin USA - It feels like it’s been ages since we last saw Malinin in competition. He opted for the strategy of getting his two Grand Prix events done back-to-back right at the start, winning Skate America and Skate Canada and then having five weeks to prepare for Grenoble. After a rousing free skate at Lombardia Trophy earlier this season, his two free skates on the Grand Prix brought him down to earth a bit. You’d imagine he will up his technical content this week as the season is now in its halfway mark, so he may be bringing an even higher risk program.
SILVER Yuma Kagiyama JPN - After two competitions where Kagiyama looked very solid, he went into Finlandia Trophy looking like he would easily skate away with a second GP win. And like Malinin, he also went back-to-back in his Grand Prix events; but unlike Malinin, he had to travel halfway around the world from NHK to Finlandia. And that seemed to prove costly in the free, where he looked completely out of sorts and delivered his worst skate in years. He still won that event thanks to a great short, but he will have to be back to his previous form this week if he’s to give Malinin a run for the title.
BRONZE Shun Sato JPN - Finally with a Grand Prix win after a bunch of silvers and bronzes the past few years, Sato has stepped into the role that he was hoping to find himself in going into Japan Nationals—he’s the only other Japanese man other than Kagiyama to qualify for the Final, and that gives his chances of getting on the World team a huge boost. But before he thinks about that, he’s got the task of facing one of the toughest field he’s seen in his career. Podium is very much within reach.
4. Kevin Aymoz FRA - Grand Prix Final was where it all went wrong for Aymoz last year. His free skate meltdown last season set off a chain reaction that just kept getting worse and worse, eventually leading to a 31st-place short program at Europeans. And it looked like maybe the pattern was continuing after a similar meltdown at French Masters to start his season. But Skate America and Finlandia Trophy saw him back in his rhythm, even when things weren’t exactly all firing right for him. Grenoble will be the biggest test yet.
5. Mikhail Shaidorov KAZ - As the first substitute, Shaidorov got called to replace Siao a few days ago, and he will make history as the first Kazakh skater to compete at the Grand Prix Final. And make no mistake, he very much is competitive with the rest of this field with some of the most difficult programs here.
6. Daniel Grassl ITA - Grassl’s return after suspension last season has very much been a success, and he qualifies for his second career Grand Prix Final. He was sixth two years ago. Among this group of skaters, he probably has the greatest disadvantages both in technical cleanness and in components, so he will need to be much cleaner to contend with the rest.