2025 Cup of China Pairs Free PBP - I'd Do Anything For Points (But Am Wont To Splat)

They just skate like they will be Olympic Champions, even with the mistakes. This program kinda has the formula and look I think they need, infinitely better than whatever last year (jump rope) was. His lifts are really some kind of scary today, though. That final group 3 lift, he was taking such big steps forward.. it's asking for disaster one day.

Cannot deny their basics strength and the lines that are almost non-existent anymore in the discipline.
 
Metelkina/Berulava's program is very random. That first lift was so close to disaster, I think divine intervention kept that aloft somehow.
 
It makes such a different to see a team skating with confidence and (some) speed. Despite the fall and the truly :yikes: stumble going into the lift, this looked assured, and like they are here to win.

The program, though? The random phone-over gave me hope but then nothing came of it, and the 2nd song was jarring. Does anyone have an uptempo program this year?
 
Miezekatze said:
I thought he looked nearly equally wobbly on the second lift, but that still got very good GOE+s ?

Very messy competition overall from everybody.
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He’s absolutely still huffing and puffing in this interview and it’s been a decent amount of time since they finished skating. Maybe he’s sick or something and that contributed to the wobbly lifts.

I don’t remember their lifts being bad like that before.

I like their quality but I really don’t need phones ringing and sirens in a program.
 
Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava 🇬🇪
Rank after SP: 1
Coach: P. Sliusarenko, E. Zakroev
Music: Le discours d'Arthur, Keeping Me Alive

Triple Twist 4 (3 after review)
3S+2A+2A+SEQ - Anastasiia fell
3T
Throw 3F
Axel Lasso Lift 3 - Luka slipped, but saved it
Throw 3Lo
Back Outside Death Spiral 3
Pair Combo Spin 4
Reverse Lasso Lift 4 (3 after review)
Hand-to-Hip Lift 4
Choreo Sequence

Just when I think the Georgians can't put a foot wrong she falls, and he nearly brings them both down on a lift. Better programs than they've had in the past showing their skating in a better light.

-1.00 = Falls
139.47 = 1st Place
217.24 = 1st Place
 
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I can't believe I slept through the pairs! So annoying! I'm so excited to be starting a new job the week after next that will allow me a hybrid work schedule & that means I'll be able to work from home on Fridays for the rest of the GP season - next week I'd already arranged to work an extra 30 minutes Monday-Thursday in order to be home in time to watch SCI live.

I have so many thoughts about today's skates. I see that @tony has already called out another Group 4 lift called as a Group 5 lift by SuiHan on IG - which makes me even madder about their scores and placement today.

GhiAmbro – 3tw – nice; SBS 2s – well, but of course; SBS 2a+2a+1a – bit out of synch but they stood ‘em up; first lift – alright; throw 3lo – huge but did her hand touch the ice?; choreo seq – alright; throw 3lz – she really is pitching forward on these landings; second lift – better than the first one; last lift – quite good; FIDS – decent; pairs spin – pretty good

HocKun – they bedazzled a heart on the back of his shirt… 3tw – fine; SBS 3s – she doubled & he stumbled out of it; SBS 2a+1a+1a – alright; first lift – slow but fine otherwise; throw 3f – nice; second lift – dear God that slowed way down as it wore on; throw 3lo – beautiful; last lift – alright; BODS – decent; pairs spin – alright; choreo seq – the most dynamic part of their program for sure

ZhaHua – what’s the point of talking away one of the sleeves on her dress? 3tw – huge; SBS 3t+2a+seq – she biffed the 2a; SBS 3s – he was tilted on the landing & Chris says it was short on rotation; throw 3lz – good; first lift – that has to be one of the coolest entrances into a lift I’ve seen in awhile; FODS – meh – hate the leg/blade grab for a level; second lift – very nice; throw 3lo – really solid; last lift – strong; choreo seq – eh; pairs spin – alright; this music was just too soft & they are capable of skating to stronger music.

McBark – 3tw – nice; SBS3t – 3-turn for her on the landing; SBS 3s – and down she goes; throw 3lo – looked good to me, judges think otherwise; first lift – nice; BODS – fine; pairs spin – biffed the entrance & yup, no value for the element – ouch… they’re going to plummet to the bottom of the standings with this mess; throw 3f – really nice; second lift – nice; choreo seq – alright; last lift – fine. Yikes… that was a rough program and it may not even be good enough for a medal at 4CCs because there’s likely to be at least 3 other teams there that can & will beat them in ZhaHua, EfiMit and whomever winds up as the #3 Canadian team. LOL – the only bright side – that score would have STILL secured the 3rd spot had they been sent to Skate to Milano.

SuiHan - I’m still getting used to her long hair, lol; Han starts us out with death on the ice; SBS 3t+2a+1a – rough on the rotations for her on all three jumps; 3tw – out of nowhere – so dynamic; throw 3f – really nice; choreo seq – meh; SBS 3s – she doubled; first lift – wow he really struggled getting her up on that group 4 lift; FODS – ugly-assed blade grab position; pairs spin – meh – underwhelming; throw 3s – fine; second lift – alright; last lift – whew that was a bit rough; honestly, they should be behind ZhaHua and I’m going to be really irritated when the judges PCS them into the lead in a few minutes. Pale shadow of their former selves & that judging pisses me off. A lot – and I’ve been a diehard fan of them since their first senior season.

ConMac – 3tw – nice; SBS 3t+2a+2a – bit out of synch on both 2As, but pretty decent; first lift – so smooth; SBS 3s – hand down for her; throw 3lo – another hand down; second lift – alright; BODS – simple & elegant; pairs spin – okay; throw 3s – another hand down; last lift – nice; choreo seq – decent. I swear, if the tech panel & judges find a way to drop them behind SuiHan, I’m going to rage. I just… Chris is saying he thinks they’ve done enough, judges gave them the all-clear on the rotation for the SBS jumps, so that’s good. This should be at least 205 if not higher based on the generous scoring so far today… Oh thank god! Nearly 210 and at least silver!

MetBeru – 3tw – really beautiful; SBS 3s+2a+2a – she falls on the last 2a; SBS 3t – nice; throw 3f – decent; I don’t get the sirens in this program at all, they’re so unnecessary; first lift – Luka nearly dropped her but managed to save it; throw 3lo – nice; BODS – stop with the damn calf grab already! Pairs spin – alright – good choice to bury it in the middle of the program; second lift – fine; last lift – there’s something odd about the way he kicks his toe up on his lift footwork that makes every lift with him an adventure; choreo seq – eh. They’re gonna win based on TES, which I suppose is fair since ConMac didn’t skate clean and they were cleaner.

Overall thoughts – SuiHan have two weeks to get themselves into better condition for NHK – they could win silver there, but I dunno… PavSvia, EfiMit and ChanHowe all have the ability to beat them, especially if the tech panel correctly invalidates the SP lift if they don’t change it.

Honestly, these pairs scores are kind of insane this season. For what the teams are putting on the ice, I’m not feeling scores should be as high as they’ve been, but what can you do?
 
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Random responses as I read through the pbp thread that I missed earlier, lol -
Elisheba said:
I don't know why I can never find this team interesting.
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It's GhiAmbro - 'nuff said. They've never been all that interesting and rarely more than merely competent.
thvu said:
The judges are being so stingy with GOE for those great throws. Mostly +2s, but some +1s which is completely baffling to me.
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I wouldn't give very high GOE for HocKun's throws - they're usually pretty small and don't cover much ice. In a field like this one, in particular, that stands out in a negative way.
tony said:
If onlyyyyy they had been sent to the Olympic qualifier. Kidding, but goes to show one really strong performance means nothing.

This should be last in the LP and last overall. Not much else to say.
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Wait... We expect consistent performances out of our US pairs now??? 🤣 That's madness! 🤪
peibeck said:
And in a completely unrelated comparison, I'm sure some poster here will find yet another reason to complain about Shin/Navy not getting a 3rd spot for American pairs in Milan. 🤪
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You betcha! Their total score here today still would have secured the 3rd spot. And their season worst, last week, was still 5 points higher than ShiNagy's SB, also earned last week when they lost another head-to-head face-off against McBark.
Lilia A said:
Rev lasso lift was not. Will it get called a 5RLi here again? Probably. Will it get called that at NHK? She shall see.
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Honestly, if I were SuiHan, I'd withdraw from NHK and spend the next couple months working on their stamina & all that. No need to further tarnish their legacy with more weak performances and the tech panels fudging the lift classification to give them a bunch of undeserved points in the SP. They need that time to get themselves into proper Olympic fighting shape and there isn't much benefit, IMO, to barely squeaking into the GPF and then likely finishing off the podium there.
honey said:
He’s absolutely still huffing and puffing in this interview and it’s been a decent amount of time since they finished skating. Maybe he’s sick or something and that contributed to the wobbly lifts.

I don’t remember their lifts being bad like that before.

I like their quality but I really don’t need phones ringing and sirens in a program.
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They've always been sketchy as heck with his footwork - and it's cost them some placements in past seasons, though he was steadier last season. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a lift error knocks them out of the medals at the Olympics, TBH.
 
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When M&B’s free skate started I thought…wow, they have two tasteful programs this year. Then the phone started ringing and the sirens going off and it was downhill from there. :confused: I just can’t get on board with them and their tasteless programs. Some elements are lovely quality.

Sui & Han quite overscored for what they put out. They both look very beat up to me…kind of stiff. Her neck and shoulders hardly move. I do like them from past performances. Hope they can get back to that level and not get generous scores based upon the past, not the present.

McBeath/Parkman had such a glorious short program. But why can’t they get through a free skate without lots of nervy mistakes??

Loved Conti’s free skate dress!
 
Ana/Luka - I gasped when he slipped on that lift and was amazed he kept it together. Hate that they have those telephone rings and have absolutely NO choreographic response to them.

Sara/Nico - that program is white on rice but they did well for an early season comp in a ragged field.

Sui/Han - understandably messy. will see if they can sharpen up in a few months. for such a dramatique starting pose this program has zero build or emotional connection.
 
Sui/Han - I'm a big fan but I'm puzzled as to why either of them want to come back. I'm not against comebacks as such, particularly for skaters who may feel they have unfinished business,but surely Sui/Han don't fall into that category. Lack of training definitely showed but I'm hopeful they can improve in the coming months.

Team Georgia - If you're going to go with a random ringing phone in the middle of a program can you at least answer it? :lol:
 
Smart of B/G to withdraw.

G/A is one of those teams I can respect, but there's something very workman like about their skating, but they seem really likable so I oddly root for them to do well even if I'd rather be watching Elllie Kam fall on something.

H/K another team I don't necessarily like to watch but root for because goshdarnit, they just seem so nice. And she always looks good in a pantsuit. I don't like this team, I don't like arena rock, but that just worked. I HATE this song but was singing along by the end of it.

Zhang/Huang are now first alternatives on my dance card. It's good to start looking for skaters to uber for the next Oly cycle early.

McBark--having two competitions, one in Europe and one in Asia back to back is ROUGH. They just looked tired.

Anything that could possibly said about Sui/Han has been said.

The theme for this should be yeah, but did you die?!!! Those lifts were scary, and I don't recall being scared before for either of these teams. Or maybe I just repressed M/B and this is the first time I've been able to pay attention to their skating instead of their costumes.

What a bizarre little event.
 
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