Group 1
Max Aaron, USA: 41.37 TES + 35.54 PCS -1.00 = 75.91 and into 1st place
- No audio on the feed so it will be a little hard to judge connection to the music and timing
- Fall on the opening quad attempt but it looks like he slipped off the landing edge so he might get full rotation credit
- Triple lutz + triple toe
- Decent stretch through his position but he could be lower throughout his sit spin and losing a bit of speed at the end
- Big triple axel in the bonus with a nice landing
- Good position in the twisted camel spin but not a lot of flexibility through the catchfoot
- Good speed and intensity through the footwork with lots of intricate changes of direction and one foot sequences and it's nice to see him let lose and smile a bit
- Nice back entry to the sit spin with a good broken leg and back tuck variation ending right in his ending pose
Adam Rippon, USA: 43.23 TES + 37.03 PCS = 80.26 and into 1st place
- Quad lutz just a little bit down on the landing and has to put his hand down
- Lots of speed in his twisted sit spin with nice positions
- Decent camel position into a nice catch foot with good speed maintained throughout
- Triple axel a bit wonky in the air but he fights to hang on to the landing
- Triple flip + triple toe
- Nice expression and movement quality in the step sequence with lots of use of the full body and changes of direction; the crowd is really getting into it and he's flying across the ice
- Good speed in the camel spin into an even faster sit spin and a really nice layback
Artur Gachinski, RUS: 37.24 TES + 34.57 PCS -2.00 = 69.81 and into 3rd place
- Quad toe feel slid out from under him on the landing--it just seemed like he didn't have enough going into it
- Triple lutz + triple toe hand down on the landing
- Nice triple axel
- Twisted broken leg camel into a really weak catch foot position
- Broken leg sit spin with good speed throughout
- The audio has come back and I'm not feeling this music for him...doesn't seem to suit his style at all
- A little choppy and on top of the ice in his step sequence and a few places where the edge changes are not clean
- Twisted camel into a sit position that seemed a bit out of control and ending with an upright y spin
Alexander Majorov, SWE: 41.29 TES + 34.68 PCS -1.00 = 74.97 and into 3rd place
- Quad toe with a hard fall
- Triple lutz + triple toe with a lot of spring and height in the 2nd jump
- Decent positions in his spin but he needs more stretch through the free leg in his sit and camel positions
- Triple axel but I'd like to see a better landing position
- Really slow broken leg camel spin but a nice catchfoot position
- Interesting steps in his step sequence and the crowd seems to be enjoying it; a few bobbles here and there on the turns
- Back entry to a twisted sit position losing speed through the back tuck position
- Finishing a bit before his music
Group 2
Jason Brown, USA: 44.85 TES + 38.93 PCS = 83.78 and into 1st place
- Nice triple axel
- A lot of attention to detail in the in betweens in this program
- Triple flip was high and gorgeous but tight on the triple toe landing
- Great catch foot camel spin with his foot above his head and his free leg on his back
- Nice low sit spin position
- Triple lutz with the 'tano variation
- Nice step sequence with excellent edge changes, interesting variations on the movement and changes of direction
- Camel spin with a twisted position into a nice sit spin and ending with a scratch spin
- Really solid Grand Prix debut from him!
Takahiko Kozuka, JPN: 38.15 TES + 39.60 PCS = 77.75 and into 3rd place
- Quad toe a little tight on the landing
- Nice triple axel
- Losing a bit of centering on the entrance to his camel spin but good low sit position and nice timing with the music
- Triple lutz stepped out of the first jump and can't tack on the combo
- Nice camel position
- Good flying sit spin but losing speed through the back tuck position
- Good speed and flow through the footwork sequence and he even seems to pick up speed toward the end--a bit of ice spray on some of the turns
Tatsuki Machida, JPN: 50.08 TES + 41.10 PCS = 91.18 and into 1st place
- Nice opening quad toe + triple toe
- Beautiful triple axel
- Good camel spin with a nice change of leg although a bit slow
- He has really nice connection and flow with his music
- He could use more stretch through his free leg in the sit spin
- Nice triple lutz but I would have liked to see him hold the landing a bit longer
- Nice flow through his step sequence although a bit bobbly on some of the turns and losing speed and flow toward the end
- Camel spin into a broken leg sit and ending with a back scratch spin
Daisuke Takahashi, JPN: 35.84 TES + 42.25 PCS -1.00 = 77.09 and into 5th place
- Quad toe two footed and then falls
- Nice camel but he could use more flexibility through the catch foot; after the change of foot he could use more height in his free leg as well
- Triple axel really tough landing and had to put his toe pick down after a half turn
- Triple lutz + double toe with no oomph behind it and he has to step back on the landing of the toe
- Finally he starts to look like Dai here at the end of his program--he seemed to be going through the motions the first half and didn't really connect with the music or the program
- A rough outing for Takahashi but he fought for everything
