Men's Short Program Play-By-Play

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11 KVITELASHVILI Morisi (GEO)

Music: Feeling Good by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley performed by Michael Buble

Grey jacket, black pants

3A
4S - fall, looked <
FCSp
CCSp
4T+2T - foot down
StSq
CCoSp

Fall and iffy on quads

SP: 40.88+36.68-1.00 = 76.56, 4/11

 

[draqq]

Moris Kvitelashvili (GEO)

Good 3A to start, just a little flick of the landing leg. Fall on the 4S with a heavy lean to the side. Flying spin with fair speed, better cannonball sit spin. Nice 4T+2T in the second half. Alright step sequence into a centered combo spin.

The program fell a little flat in artistry and expression. But good fight to get that 4T after the heavy fall on the 4S. His edgework and choreography is better than his interpretation and performance quality. He could have been jazzier and snappier to Buble.

 

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12 MESSING Keegan (CAN)

Music: Singin' in the Rain by Nacio Herb Brown performed by Gene Kelly

Blue shirt, black vest+pants

4T+3T
3A - fall
FCSp
CSSp
StSq - small stumble?
3Lz
CCoSp

Nice quad combo, fall on 3A.

SP: 45.50+40.61-1.00 = 85.11, 1/12

 

[draqq]

Keegan Messing (CAN)

Beautiful 4T+3T! Ouch, a bad entry into the 3A with a fall. Fast forward edge in the layover camel spin. Great change of edge spread eagle, and quick rotation in the sit spin. Light humor through his step sequence with tight spins. Cute hitchkick out of the solid 3Lz. Blurry speed through the final combo spin. Quite late with the music.

That darn 3A! Otherwise, that was solid, expressive, and well-choreographed program to Singin' in the Rain. Very strong speed with deep curves and wonderful expression. That quad was gorgeous too.

 

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13 BREZINA Michal (CZE)

Music: Kodo (Japanese Drums)

Black outfit, sparkly dragon motif, white sash

4S+2T - ok, bit tight
3A
FSSp
CCSp
3F
StSq
CCoSp

One of his better skates, he fistpumps

SP: 44.34+40.81 = 85.15 (SB), 1/13

 

[draqq]

Michal Brezina (CZE)

Landed 4S+2T, a bit forward on the opening quad but completed. Beautiful flow out of the 3A. Nice centering on the flying sit spin. Nice running camels into the camel spin. Nice 3F right into the footwork, with interesting steps and good attention to the beat. Good centering on the final spin, a little with the music.

The announcer said this wasn't his style, but he's had this short program for about three years on and off in his career so it's very much his point of view. Great to see his quad back! This is our first truly clean and full program in this men's short program and whowouldathunk it would be Brezina to deliver on the day? This should go into first to me or very close to it.

 

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14 CHA Junhwan (KOR)

Music: Gypsy Dance (from "Don Quixote") by Leon Minkus

Dark red shirt, black pants

3F+3T
3A
CCoSp
3Lz
StSq
FCSp
CSSp

Good skate, seems relieved

SP: 43.79+39.64 = 83.43 (PB), 4/14

 

[draqq]

Jun Hwan Cha (KOR)

Good ice coverage through the 3F+3T with smooth landings. Good height in the 3A landing right with the beat of the music. Competent combination spin with good speed. Fine landing on the 3Lz. Nice Yuna camel and catchfoot in the spin. Good energy through the step sequence, though it could have deeper curves. Fast combo spin to finish!

Well, great to see the hometown kid really nail the short program. He should be well into the 80s with that performance and much better artistically compared to his team event SP where he also skated clean. I hope his name becomes more popular in Korea to bring some momentum in their skating program without Yuna.

 

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15 FENTZ Paul (GER)

Music: Wonderwall by Noel Gallagher performed by Paul Anka

Pink shirt, grey pants, suspenders

3T+3T
3A - ok, bit tight
FCSp
StSq
3Lz - ok, hangs on
CSSp
CCoSp - ended early

Decent skate

SP: 37.71+37.02 = 74.73, 9/15

 

[draqq]

Paul Fentz (GER)

Planned quad turned into a 3T+3T, but still well performed. A bit of a skid on the landing of the 3A. Alright camel spin. A bit more expression than I usually see from Fentz in the footwork, but he could have more projection and intention. Eeked out that last 3Lz. Adequate pair of spins to finish.

Fentz just doesn't have a lot of energy, though he was notably better than I've seen for him this year as far as artistry is concerned. I'm always miffed when these skaters choose a fun jazzy number when it doesn't mesh with their personality. I would have much preferred a more serious or stern classical piece on him.

 

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16 GE Misha (UZB)

Music: Pain of the Heart:
Ave Maria by Giulio Caccini performed by Ikuko Kawai

Brown ombre shirt, brown pants

3A
3Lz+3T
CCSp
3F - ok, hangs on
FSSp
StSq
CCoSp

Solid skate

SP: 41.75+42.15 = 83.90, 4/16

 

[draqq]

Misha Ge (UZB)

Clean and direct 3A to start. Nice and light 3Lz+3T into a good multidirectional camel spin, might lose a level for not having a lot of rotations in the last position. Got the landing out of the 3F immediately into a nice flying sit spin. Wonderful intention and patience throughout his footwork sequence. And a beautifully centered combo spin to finish.

I don't really care that Ge doesn't have a quad or that he doesn't have difficult transitions. He has speed, flow, expression, and a sense of gravitas throughout Ave Maria. He's a very supple skater who means what he moves. Gorgeous skating that will sadly be undermarked in this IJS system...

 

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17 HENDRICKX Jorik (BEL)

Music: Je suis malade by Alice Dona, Serge Lama performed by Francesco di Cello

Brown ombre shirt, black pants

3A
CSSp
CCoSp
3Lz+3T
3Lo
StSq
FCSp

Very good skate, he smiles

SP: 44.17+50.47 = 84.74, 3/17

 

[draqq]

Jorik Hendrickx (BEL)

Very careful into the 3A but good landing. A bit of travel through the first spin but decent second combo spin. Good flow through the 3Lz+3T. Good running edge on the 3Lo. Great stretch and emotion through the step sequence and a centered spin to finish.

I really appreciate this expressive style for Hendrickx. The patterns on the ice and the choreography is very interesting and the interpretation is the best I've seen from him. Strong, clean performance that should help him qualify easily for the free skate.

 

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18 SAMOHIN Daniel (ISR)

Music: L'Immensita by Il Volo

Black costume

4T+3T
4S
CCoSp
3A - fall, looked <<
FSSp
StSq
CSSp

One of his best skates in a long time, he seems pleased

SP: 43.29+38.40-1.00 = 80.69, 8/18

 

[draqq]

Daniel Samohin (ISR)

Wonderful and unexpected 4T+3T! High landing on the 4S but completed fairly, not a lot of steps going into it. Shame on the heavy fall on the 3A, ouch (seems like it might have been dinged <, yep it was). Step sequence could be more complex but good commitment. Good center on the spin but a bit slow in the camel spin. Adequate back spin to finish the program.

Probably the best I've seen him this year. Great on him on performing two quads in the short. I like the severity of his performance, very masculine in presence. He could be faster across the ice and have more interesting choreography, but strong performance and interpretation overall.

 

[draqq]

Did that score seem a little low? I guess it was the UR on the 3A?

Yep, < on the 3A. And only level 3s on the last three elements. Also -1 on the 4S.

 

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19 RIPPON Adam (USA)

Music: Let Me Think About It (Eddie Thoneick Remix) performed by Ida Carr feat. Fedde Le Grand

Sheer red top with pleather details, black pants

3F+3T
3A - tight, hangs on
FCSp
3Lz
FSSp
CCoSp

Bit tight on the jumps, but he made it. He fistpumps

SP: 44.48+43.47 = 87.95, 1/19

 

[draqq]

Adam Rippon (USA)

Smooth 3F+3T with okay run-out. Just got that 3A with a slight tap of the other foot. (not a Quad Axel, lol) Very well-centered camel spin. Gorgeous and high 3Lz right out of footwork. Very fast sit spin right into an exuberant and fierce step sequence. Beautiful layback spin with almost ridiculous speed and oh baby finish!

Only a slightly wide landing on the 3A, and a little tentative at the start, but a fun, snappy, pop-tastic performance. I still think he's capable of better transitions and choreography but this was undeniably him - and it was fantabulous!

 

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20 ALIEV Dmitri (RUS)

Music: Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khatchaturian

Dark red admiral coat

4Lz+3T - ok, maybe 4Lz<
4T
FCSp
3A
CSSp
StSq
CCoSp

Wow, did not expect that! He seems calm

SP: 56.98+42.00 = 98.98 (PB), 1/20