2026 Worlds Mens FS PBP - You Will Score Something, But Not Nothing

[Dobre]

Well that may be as solid a final flight of men's LP performances as I can remember at a major international. (At least since 2002). Bravo, gentlemen. I'm especially happy to see Shun skate that Firebird as well as he did in the Olympic team event (or nigh as well, as I can't go back & compare). And also, I was very proud of Selevko (after the Hail Mary lutz) for staying calm and skating that LP so beautifully. His SP I have loved all season, but this was the first time I felt moved by the LP. And good on him for earning that 2nd berth for Estonia. Gogolev has had as solid a season as one can have and earned every opportunity in it, as he didn't even have a solid score for the GP heading in. This is what consistency can do for you.

Oh, a couple more shout-outs. To Adam Hagara, who hit that skate solid. And to Jacob Sanchez, who built his material all season, showed up for Nationals & Worlds in shape, and skated with the joy I've always loved about his skating but which one really doesn't anticipate for a newbie facing the nerves of a first senior worlds. Good job, guys.

 

[mtnskater]

Just now catching up. Had to delay watching to participate in the No King’s protest and try to save my country

So so glad we did not have a repeat of Friday the 13th men’s Olympics version. This was generally a well skated event and very fun to watch.

Jacob Sanchez is such a joy with such quality skating. Solid, beautiful senior worlds debut. Bet he picked up a lot of new fans.

Kevin Aymoz. Excellent skate and a great ending to the season. 5th place free…gotta hand it to him. He is a favorite to watch always.

Andrew Torgashev. Got the job done for three spots and seems to have figured out how to compete better under pressure. His skating skills are divine and I’d like to see him lean into that even more in his programs.

Adam. Such a wonderful short program. But somehow he’s lost his mojo on delivering sold free skates. Hope he can somehow get it back. Skating needs him!

Alexander Selevko. Was hoping he could hang on for a medal. His free is one of my favorites from the music to the choreography to the way he performs it. Not surprised Bezic was involved according to Mark. So happy he earned a spot for his brother!!

Gogo. Another solid skate. Good for him. He still skates with a bit of awkward style. He could really take advantage of his height and long limbs with better line and positions…ala Robin Cousins. Hope he continues to work on it. Exciting future for the upcoming quad.

Shun Sato continues his streak of amazing consistency under pressure of competition.

Yuma Kagiyama. Honestly I’m so happy for Yuma fans that they got their wish of an error free Yumandot program this year. I really loved the first 3/4 of this program here. But I still think the last part of the music where it sounds like Mt. Olympus is opening up and the gods are coming down is too big for any skater. He is not a power skater but more of a zippy, agile, quick skater. Anyway, great to see him end the season really happy with his free performance and recover from the disaster short. For sure the performance of the night.

Ilia Malinin. Gotta admit I was worried whether the demons from the Olympic free might be still haunting his mind. But not to worry. Even with a couple of watered down jumping passes, he’s adding so much more difficulty by far than anyone else. This program was not performed as well as his short program where he was so loose. But I’m so happy for him that he ended the year putting the Olympic free skate behind him and winning a third world title. He also has his amazing Grand Prix Final skate with 7 quads to remember for this season…a performance I’ll never forget.

The skaters all deserve a big, enjoyable vacation from a long grueling season. I’m ready for a break from skating fandom myself

 

[Ross H]

While I'm glad Ilia was seemingly able to exorcise some of his demons from Milan, I can't get over Yuma's program. A masterpiece from beginning to end, and seeing how happy he was sets it over the top for me.

Overall, I'm really happy with the level of skating at this competition. I would put this Worlds on my top list of events I wish I had seen in person - right up there with Philadelphia nationals 1998 and Washington worlds 2003.