2023 NHK Trophy Mens FS - The Last Stumbler Guys

[skatingguy]

Tsuboi, Tatsuya
Coach: Sonoko Nakano, Mitsuko Graham, Sei Kawahara
Music: High Strung by Nathan Lanier

4S+2T
4S
3Aq+1Eu+3S
Fly Sit Spin 4
Step Sequence 3
3Lo
3A
3F
3Lz - pick wasn't stable - leaning badly - couldn't save it
Ch Combo Spin 4
Choreo Sequence
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4

Pretty good skate - too bad about the Lutz. You really do have to marvel at the quality of Japanese men's skating when this guy can go out there and nail those difficult opening jumping passes.

151.99 = 1st Place
216.62 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Chiu, Wesley
Coach: Keegan Murphy, Eileen Murphy
Music: Kill Bill

3F+3T
4T<+3T
2S
3Lo
Fly Sit Spin 4
3A< - fall
3Lz+1Eu+3S
3Lz
Choreo Sequence
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4
Step Sequence 2
Ch Combo Spin 3 (4 after review)

Better skate for Chiu than what we've seen recently.

137.14 = 2nd Place
209.16 = 2nd Place

 

[skatingguy]

Economides, Luc
Coach: Florent Amodio
Music: Charlie Chaplin Medley

2A
3A - forward lean
3Lz
3Lo
Ch Camel Spin 3
Step Sequence 3
3A+1Eu+3S - tight landings
3Fe - saved it, was supposed to be in combination
Choreo Sequence
2Lz+2T - got the timing all wrong, 3-turn between jumps
Fly Sit Spin 4 (3 after review)
Ch Combo Spin 3

Economides has some very smooth jump landings - the first triple Lutz in particular - just couldn't keep it going through the combinations.

136.88 = 3rd Place
211.12 = 2nd Place

 

[skatingguy]

Selevko, Aleksandr
Coach: I. Kononova, K. Kalenda, K. Davydenko
Music: Ad Martem by Havasi

4T<
3F+3T
3Lo
3Aq - big step out, hand down
Ch Camel Spin 4
Step Sequence 2
3A<+2A+2A+SEQ
3Lz+2T
3S - poor landing
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4
Choreo Sequence - a bit of a wobbly shoot the duck
Ch Combo Spin 3 (3V after review)

Pretty good skate for the senior Selevko. Not sure how often he hands that opening quadruple toeloop, so good for him.

145.58 = 2nd Place
221.43 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Frangipani, Gabriele
Coach: Fabio Mascarello
Music: Io Ci Saro By Andrea Bocelli

4T
2S
3A - forward lean
3Lo
Fly Sit Spin 4
3Aq+1Eu+3Sq
3F+3Tq - tight landing, slight step out
3Lz+3Tq - and again
Choreo Sequence
Ch Combo Spin 3
Step Sequence 3
Ch Camel Spin 4

Good skate with a few messy jumping passes. Not a big fan of the program. Big music that Frangipani can't really do anything with.

148.95 = 2nd Place
227.15 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Egadze, Nika
Coach: E. Tutberidze, D. Gleikengauz, S. Dudakov
Music: Moulin Rouge

4T - hard fall - way outside the circle
4S+3T
4S
3A+2A+SEQ
Fly Camel Spin 2 - lost the balance, travelling, up on the toe
Step Sequence 3
3A+1Eu<<+3Sq - the Euler was actually the step out from the Axel
3F
3Lz - this is where the Euler combo was planned
Ch Combo Spin 4
Choreo Sequence
Fly Ch Combo Spin 3 (2 after review)

I found that didn't keep my attention, and I had to keep refocusing on what the next element was. The choreography misses some of the big moments in the music, and Egadze legs are so stiff that he has difficulty keeping up to the pace at times.

156.04 = 1st Place
237.34 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Selevko, Mihhail
Coach: Irina Kononova
Music: Game of Thrones (soundtrack)

4T
4S< - fall
2Lo
1A+3T - not much flow on the landing
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4
Choreo Sequence
3A<+2T
3Fq+1Eu+2S
3Lz< - fall
Ch Camel Spin 3
Step Sequence 2
Ch Combo Spin 3

The fall on the quadruple Salchow knocked his wind out, and really sucked the energy out of the program.

126.27 = 7th Place
207.58 = 7th Place

 

[skatingguy]

Vasiljevs, Deniss
Coach: Stephane Lambiel, A. Dolfini, G. Isceri
Music: Blues Deluxe by Joe Bonamassa

1S - wow, what was that - slipped on the take off
4S<< - fall
3A<+3Tq
3Lo
Fly Sit Spin 4
Choreo Sequence
3Aq
3Lz+1Eu<<+2S - step out, called euler
3F!
Ch Combo Spin 4
Step Sequence 4
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4

The 'Hunt for Quad Salchow' continues for Deniss.

139.81 = 5th Place
221.95 = 3rd Place

 

[skatingguy]

Pulkinen, Camden
Coach: Alex Johnson, Rafael Arutunian
Music: Tosca, La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

4T
2Lz+3T
3A+1Eu+2S - tight landing, foward leaning, big step out
3Lo
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4
Step Sequence 3
3A+2A+SEQ - step out
2Lz
3F!
Fly Camel Spin 2 - considerable loss of speed
Choreo Sequence
Ch Combo Spin 4

By Camden standards this wasn't terrible - something he can build on for US Nationals.

142.92 = 5th Place
229.32 = 2nd Place

 

[skatingguy]

Britschgi, Lukas
Coach: Michael Huth, Robert Dierking
Music: The Rainmaker, Enduring Hope, Corpus Rex

4T+2T - quadruple toeloop was a little forward leaning - lacking flow
4T - tight landing
3A+2A+SEQ
3Lo
Ch Combo Spin 4
3A
2Fe+1Eu+3S
3Lz
Step Sequence 3
Choreo Sequence
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4
Ch Camel Spin 4

Another solid skate for Lukas. The program's not as good as the short, but he commits to the performance, and that's more than we get from a lot of skaters.

168.18 = 1st Place
254.60 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Uno, Shoma
Coach: Stephane Lambiel
Music: Timelapse, Spiegel im Spiegel

4Loq
4Fq
3A - deep forward lean
3A+2A+SEQ
Step Sequence 4
4Tq+3T
2T
4Tq+2T
Fly Camel Spin 4
Ch Sit Spin 4 (3 after review)
Choreo Sequence
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4

-1.00 Time Violation

Some real moments of quality, and beauty in this program. I hope we get to see it delivered cleanly at least once this season.

186.35 = 1st Place
286.55 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Kagiyama, Yuma
Coach: Masakazu Kagiyama, Carolina Kostner
Music: Rain in Your Black Eyes by Ezio Bosso

4S
4T+1Eu+2S
3Lo
Fly Ch Sit Spin 4
3A+2A+SEQ
3A - fall
3Lz+2T
Choreo Sequence
3F
Step Sequence 4
Ch Combo Spin 4
Fly Ch Combo Spin 4

That seemed like a bit of nervy skate from Kagiyama. Not the same energy, and drive that he had in Grand Prix of France.

182.88 = 2nd Place
288.39 = 1st Place

 

[MacMadame]

I've just caught up with the Men, at least the ones I had the patience to watch all of the way through.

I love Kagiyama, who is, by far, my favorite of the current men, and I'm not an Uno fan. But the way Uno skated to the pulse of the music was exquisite, and the way he moved his full body as if he didn't have to compensate for being on skates, for me, was more-than. He painted the music with his body.

That's probably why he won the FS. I love them both and I'm okay with the results as I think both parts of the event were scored fairly.