Top 5 from worlds

[StephenGfan]

These worlds were pretty bad overall scoring and placements wise, probably the worst of this decade. but there were a few performances from here that i really loved:
1..Sui/Han FS- Their side by sides, their last lift, Her landings just- *chefs kiss* i was so happy for them they delivered this season where they knew they had to the most I didn't know if they could pull it off here because of inconsistency and injures this season but they did! Sui/han for 2022 olympic gold<3
2. Yuzuru FS- made me very emotional since the struggles with injuries all season, so beautifully done under all that pressure
3. Jason brown SP- Loved it! the music it fits well with him he really moved well with the music.
4. Gilles/Poirer Vincent FD- What can I say that hasn't been already said about this masterpiece? this is an example of real ethereal program *cough*
5. Mikhails carmen FS- Finally performed it to the fullest and it was great!

Honorable mentions: Disco brits FD, Danadians FD, james/cipres FS, Gabrielle daleman SP, Kaori SP, Wang/liu FD and Stepnova/bukin RD

 

[cathlen]

1. Sui/Han FP. If I could I'd say that was really what mattered to me. All the other ones are like secondary to this
2. Kaori Sakamoto's SP. Underscored for me!
3. Kevin Aymoz SP.
4. Peng/Jin SP. Underscored as well.
5. Sinitsina/Katsalapov FD.

I'd love to include G/P FD, because it's gorgeous program, and it's always a pleasure to watch, but they had it performed better than at Worlds, and while it was still magical, it wasn't the best, they were too nervous

 

[Hollymolly]

1. Nathan SP/FS
2. Sui / han FS
3. P/C' FD
4. Zhenya FS
5. Rika FS

 

[GGFan]

The only moment that mattered for me at these worlds was Sui and Han free skate. A performance for the ages and what a program. Best pair skating I have ever seen. For me, this FS further solidifies them as one of the greatest pair teams of ALL TIME. I feel there’s so much to say about this program, but in the end I found myself unable to say anything. It touched my soul in a way that I cannot describe.

Or maybe as TAT has said in her crying voice at the end of their skate (thanks to a twitter friend choromatsu333) - “They just won. They are rare, and there’s no one like them. I have never heard or seen anything like this before. The way they skate, they don’t let you breathe. They are the true geniuses of their craft. They feel, and create such art on ice. They feel every note of this music, every sound. And the audience cannot calm down, because this is fate. There are things to talk about, things to write about. They came through with so many tragedies in their lives...”

Or sum it up shortly as Zhurankov said after the moment their music stopped - “this is not just skating anymore. It was four minutes of LIFE.”

Till this point I’m still afraid that everything happened for them was a dream. If so I don’t want to wake up. It’s just feel so unreal, considering their injury-plagued season (and basically their whole career of course), and then they just came through and gave me that skate. They did this again, just like the comeback they did in 2017. I wasn’t expecting anything from them this time but in the end I found myself in awe.

SP was great too but that FS was beyond extraordinary. This is going to be the inspiration for me this year to achieve the things I couldn’t do before.

I got so many feels reading this. I re-lived the program through your words. Thank you and Beatrice (NoNameFace) for eloquently expressing what we felt

 

[shine]

P/C’s FD.

 

[Skater Boy]

1. Gilles and Porier FD - wow I know it was only 7th but this should have won the fd
2. Evgenia's FS - so unexpected; so emotional
3. Jason Brown SP
4. Sui and Han FS/Aina FS/SK FD - all for different reasons

 

[Interspectator]

1. Yuzuru's FS
2. Kaori's SP
3. Jasons SP
4. Sui/Han FS
5. Kevin Aymoz SP

 

[reneerose]

1. Jason Brown's SP
2. Gilles and Poirier's FD
3. Sui and Han's FP
4. Yuzuru Hanyu's FP
5. Nathan Chen's FP

I forgot to put in Evgenia's FP.

 

[4everchan]

1 Gilles and Poirier FD
2 Weaver Poje FD
3 Weaver Poje RD
4 Nathan Chen FP
5 Gabby Daleman's combos (the 3t-3t and the 3lz-3t) and smile

 

[CoyoteChris]

For once, this is pretty easy. But no order...
1. Jason short.
2 MR. Chen's Free
3. Sui and Han
4. Kaori, the best artist out there.
5. Rika. Glad I got to see you and Kaori at Four conts!
Very Honorable mention. Vince . Crouching tiger, HIdden Malinois!
Very Very honorable mention. Japan, Japanese camera crews, and the Japanese fans.
Oh those kids

 

[TontoK]

Only two from me:

1. Yuzu and Nathan back-to-back. I list this as one moment, because I think it was historic.
2. Sui/Han Free Skate

I won't have anything else on my go-to list of great videos.

 

[Arriba627]

1. Shoma's SP step sequence
2. Jason SP
3. Sui & Han FS
4. Nathan SP
5. Matteo SP

Honorable mention:
--James & Cipres' determination in the FS after Vanessa's collision
--Gabby Daleman SP & FS
--Ekaterina Ryabova from Azerbaijan being overcome with emotion after her season's best & qualifying for the FS
--Kolyada FS

 

[LaArdilla]

1. Sui/Han FS - just out of this world
2. P/C getting all their levels and being foot perfect for RD
3. Nathan vs. Yuzuru FS
4. Men's SP in general - Kevin Aymoz, Jason Brown...
5. Evgenia's bronze medal after such a tough season

Love G/P Vincent program to pieces, but they didn't skate it to its fullest here, the 4CC was much better

Honourable mentions:

- Japanese audience - always
- fancy jumps stats
- K&C reactions, when the skaters and coaches got to know the results a couple of seconds before they appeared on the screen
- ultra HD camera in K&C - you could see every drop of sweat on the skaters' faces. It's the first time I have noticed it, some of them sweat buckets! No wonder though.

 

[cell]

Seeing it live

1. Sui/Han FS - just incredible
2. Papadakis /Cizeron RD - ART
3. Papadakis /Cizeron FD - utterly beautiful
4. Nathan Chen SP - so much fun
5 Fear/Gibson FD - the energy was through the roof!

 

[NoNameFace]

First maybe I'll get off my chest one thing I really did not like - it was scoring/judging. Too many cases of overinflating scores, too many underscored skaters, leaving bitterness over great experience watching FS usually is.

When we talk about TOP 5, in no particular order:

- Piper and Paul, both performances - the only team who manage to balance out originality and constant challenging themselves repertoire-wise with technical improvement as well. No love from judges (as expected), but Vincent FD goes into ID history as one of the most special, unique and heartfelt experiences ever, touching so many people across the world, no other program with such tranquil, soft yet powerful nostalgic feel to it, encompassing such wide palette of human emotions, affirming life experience with all it bears and gives. True costumes, true story, true art in motion for me. A program that cures me & breaks me at the same time.

- Wenjing Sui/Cong Han, both programs - the most 'out-of-body' experience for me besides Gilles/Poirier. What they did, for me really surpassed just skating/competing/winning or losing - things that are measured, scored, compared; what they did was difficult even to describe in words at first (which is rarity as some of you may know), the impact of their performances/aura around them hit me so strongly and still lingers on my mind. They truly created a life experience out there, owned the music, the space, people's feelings, captivated attention and adoration by simplest move or gesture which is quite rare in Pairs where we usually seek particular decorum/image of big elements, harmony in skating, unison. Wenjing and Cong shatter that expectation and create their own brand of what to expect/desire from Pairs skating - and myself, I can guarantee that watching Pairs after seeing them at Worlds won't be the same. They brought 'synchronized individuality' into the discipline and took it on different, higher artistic level, especially in terms of repertoire and movement design - I can't tear my eyes from BOTH of them equally when they perform, either when apart of together, they are not the highest, most statuesque skaters out there, but they command attention so powerfully, decisively by every move. Both programs - such manifest of creating their own brand of performance and Pair skating experience, infused with that newly gained maturity and confidence I feel, not even about their skill, but an ability to command emotions through series of movements (pretty hermetic for pairs). The way they build their performances into that climax/crescendo is truly unparalleled for me, operating silence and sound, pause and motion. Their SP got me teared even before music started, this amount of emotional engagement into partnership, music, program, this experience of being together in such things so visible in their faces/their closeness is one of a kind, their FS left me crying and breathless from all the feelings which I did not even how to voice out. This I consider their biggest power - that they make people free to experience, feel emotions, carry them forward with no need to name them/measure them.

- Jason Brown's SP - hands down the best SP for me this season and the most glamorous, seductive, addictive performance in singles at Worlds. Jason really showed his class, top capability, exquisite skill in it - and I wish more skaters would bring such roundness into the discipline to just enjoy experience as a whole, not waiting for particular jump. He makes an unison with music, with lyrics, his body expresses rhythm and vibe so effortlessly, everything so 'tasty' and wholesome. His musicality, punctuation in pose/transition are so easy-looking and the way he connects these moments into one thing flowing so seamlessly is a difficult & complex thing to achieve.

- Satoko Miyahara's both programs - I pride myself in supporting things I relate to and believe in on more deeper level that just pretty/effective/successful visuals, Satoko may not win medal, may have small jumps, but her carriage and experience she brings into skating, the level of her performance quality/beautifully integrated and matured skills elevate every music and an choreography. Kaori may have touched me more from 'raw' performance standpoint, Rika may have impressed me more with her fighter attitude and powerful delivery of that FS, but Satoko brought to me that sentiment of absorbing the pure beauty of skating with no particular expectation.

- Laurence/Nikolaj's both dances - the team that fast became my 2nd favourite ID team right now, the team with most natural and fiery chemistry and that feminine/masculine energy balance out there. Both programs were a delight to watch, proving their beauty is not about appearances, but how they are magnified by their attitude, powerful delivery, intricate emotional layer they cast over their performances. It just never feels fake/staged for me, their interactions/chemistry just flows in and out of every gesture making up into electrifying experience/interpretation. Special mentions to Laurence's costumes, because, man - she is a goddess!

Besides TOP 5, there are few stories that moved me, not even talking about successful performances or scoring:

- Evgenia making a statement and giving out such emotional come-back to Worlds

- Gabrielle making the best out of there, her dedication of her SP to Gracie etc. was super moving and special; seeing her happy and at peace with herself made me smile

- Russian ID teams - both not being exactly my cup of tea, but I appreciate certain flavour they brought into this season, especially Stepanova/Bukin who definitely made a statement with their programs and got an attention

- Matteo Rizzo - I fell in love with his skating this season and that cheerful, enthusiastic demeanour he exudes, really seeming to enjoy every moment he skates/performs

- Evgenia/Vladimir having their best skates at Worlds and ending season on a high note

- of course Yuzuru proving how special figure in this sport he is, the impact of his FS was enormous for me and the fact he still feels motivated and eager to push himself is truly commanding

- Lilah & Lewis making such great debut at Worlds, being hopefully just the beginning of their career

 

[NoNameFace]

I got so many feels reading this. I re-lived the program through your words. Thank you and Beatrice (NoNameFace) for eloquently expressing what we felt

Got called out, thanks again GGFan! My pleasure

 

[jersey1302]

Top 5 in no particular order..
Nathan Chen SP
Fear Gibson FD
Medvedeva proving everyone she still belongs
Weaver Poje FD
Sui Han FS

 

[CoyoteChris]

First maybe I'll get off my chest one thing I really did not like - it was scoring/judging. Too many cases of overinflating scores, too many underscored skaters, leaving bitterness over great experience watching FS usually is.

)

I agree as others do but I have to ponder if we all are thinking about which skaters were overscored and underscored? Just sayin'.

 

[NoNameFace]

I agree as others do but I have to ponder if we all are thinking about which skaters were overscored and underscored? Just sayin'.

I am not sure about it, it could depend on our personal favourites, one is often too far gone to admit that scoring/judging of the performance of their fave was off, especially in a positive way. My main issue is as usual lately: creating too large point gaps (especially by excessive use of GOE) and gluing TES with PCS, this one especially in singles as I lost faith completely thst ID will ever separate PCS from reputation/politics.

 

[Yossalu]

1. Nathan's everything
2. Aymoz's SP
3. Sui & Han's FP
4. Satoko's FP
5. Waking up for the last two groups of the free dance even though I told myself I had to skip it in favor of sleep because I got to enjoy Piper & Paul, Madi & Evan, the CanDanians, Guignard & Fabbri, Stepanova & Bukin, and above all else Gabi & Guillaume (not to mention the others, as well as the ones I caught up with later). I can't choose just one program.

Honorable mention is getting to watch some of the younger skaters who are not in the mix and imagining their futures. Fear & Gibson and Boikova & Kozlovskii are of course ones everyone eyes, as well they should, but I also loved watching Vladimir Litvintsev and Yi Christy Leung.

I was also glad to watch the uncles like Alexei Bychenko, Michal Březina, and Alexander Majorov, aunties like Daša Grm, and the simply incredible Zoe Jones.