WHO KNOWS what’s going to happen?! It’s another men’s event that promises a lot of fireworks—there are some super exciting names in the field this week at Cup of China, but we also know that this season has been full of twists and turns when it comes to the men’s discipline. Grand Prix Final spots are on the line, with two of these guys having a realistic shot at the Final and two others having an outside shot.
Cup of China predictions
Official hashtags: #GPCOC #GPFigure
Grand Prix Final: Mapping the scenarios
GOLD Shun Sato JPN - Four silvers and two bronzes on the Grand Prix over the past four seasons—is it finally time for Sato to grab his first Grand Prix title? He has had some very strong skating both domestically and internationally this season already, and he comes in with a silver from Skate Canada. Stating the obvious here, but hitting those jumps will be key for Sato to get there this week—but probably more importantly, he has some of the highest technical difficulty in this event.
SILVER Adam Siao Him Fa FRA - Ok but really, what do we expect out of Siao this week?? Three weeks ago, he had the honor (?) of becoming the only person in Grand Prix Series history to win an event after finishing eighth or lower in the short program. That competition in Angers was, euphemistically, a rollercoaster. His injury in the off-season led to less training time that he would’ve liked leading into that event. And he’s had a few more weeks to smooth out the kinks since then.
BRONZE Mikhail Shaidorov KAZ - Just off the podium at the crazy event at Grand Prix de France, Shaidorov skated less consistently than we expected from him there, especially after his win at Denis Ten Memorial. He will have another shot at the Grand Prix podium this week, and remember, Cup of China was where he earned his first career GP medal last year.
4. Nika Egadze GEO - Fourth at Skate America, Egadze delivered two of the best programs of his career there, even putting a quad lutz in his free skate for the first time. He will have the technical goods to challenge for the podium, but will need mistakes to compensate for his deficit in program components relative to the other top guys here.
5. Matteo Rizzo ITA - It’s been a strong return to competition for Rizzo after his surgery late last season, and he has skated four strong programs. The thing that has eluded him is cleanly rotating his quad loop, which has always been something of an issue for Rizzo anyway. But without the quad toe back yet, he’s likely not quite competitive enough for the podium. But who knows?
6. Deniss Vasiljevs LAT - It’s been a very consistent season for Vasiljevs so far, and he’s delivered strong skates in his three competitions in the fall, most recently finishing in fifth at Skate America. He will have the lowest planned difficulty among the top skaters, so it will be important for him to continue that consistency here.
7. Boyang Jin CHN - The degree of shock three weeks ago when Jin won the short program at Grand Prix de France was like a shockwave went off in the skating world. But his free skate was completely out of sorts—not just the jumps but also the performance overall—and he ended up eighth overall. He has a chance to redeem himself here.
8. Nikolaj Memola ITA - Sixth in Angers, Memola was also among the crazy reshuffling of skaters from short program to free skate, going from tenth in the short to taking second in the free, which resulted in a sixth-place finish overall. His free skates this season have been solid, but he will want to clean up that short program here.
9. Daiwei Dai CHN - We saw the potential in Dai last year—booming triple axels, solid skating—but his consistency wasn’t there. But this season has been strong so far for him. He was fifth at Shanghai Trophy, and could make some waves this week at his home Grand Prix.
10. Hyungyeom Kim KOR - Kim makes his debut on the Grand Prix series this week after a good fall season. He took seventh at Cranberry Cup and fourth at Asian Trophy.
11. Yudong Chen CHN - Making his return to the Grand Prix for the first time since 2021, Chen was sixth at Shanghai Trophy last month.
12. Wesley Chiu CAN - This season has been a bit rough for Chiu, who has had trouble putting together consistent performances domestically and internationally. He was ninth at Skate America earlier in the season.