Of the four disciplines, pairs is perhaps the one where the depth has varied the most year by year. And as it often happens, as the Olympics approaches, the competitiveness among the top teams has increased over the past few seasons. Even with the late withdrawal of World champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps due to illness, this is still going to be a very exciting showdown, and absolutely a preview of what we will see at the World Championships.
Grand Prix Final predictions
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GOLD Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin GER - An errant fall in their short program at Cup of China kept Hase/Volodin from being undefeated so far this season, but Conti/Macii also skated a superb competition to beat them there. Of all the pairs, they have been the most generally consistent across the big elements. Can their steadiness pave the way to a repeat title this week?
SILVER Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara JPN - The most well-rounded pair of this group, Miura/Kihara take the title if they skate clean. But they have yet to put down a clean competition this season. The biggest obstacles have traditionally been the side-by-sides for them, but the throws have been a bit erratic as well. Things will need to click just a bit better this week for them to take their second Grand Prix Final title.
BRONZE Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii ITA - Cup of China was one of the best competitions of their career. And they are back for a third consecutive Final, having won a medal the past two years. Last season was something of a rollercoaster one for them, but they have righted the ship so far this year, with their only loss being at Grand Prix de France to Hase/Volodin.
4. Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava GEO - Of all the pairs, they are the ones who can be strangely inconsistent—and when it happens, it’s often in the free skate. That happened at Skate America, when they made multiple mistakes in the free and dropped to fourth. But they showed exactly why they are contenders for the World podium when they picked up one of the highest scores of the season with a win there to secure their spot in the Final. Don’t be fooled, they have a real chance of winning this whole thing.
5. Ellie Kam/Danny O’Shea USA - With their throws finally in good form this season, the US champions have stepped up tremendously, breaking 200 points this season and getting themselves a spot in the Final. They’ve shown that their short program is competitive with the best in the world, but they still need to be cleaner in the free to get themselves that next step up to compete with the very best pairs.
6. Rebecca Ghilardi/Filippo Ambrosini ITA - The late substitutes for Stellato/Deschamps, the reigning European bronze medalists are no stranger to this event, having qualified the last two years and finishing fifth both years. They were disappointed at Finlandia Trophy after finishing third and slashing their chances to qualify in the top six. But they salvaged that first alternate spot, and will be hoping to redeem themselves from that free skate.