Cup of China didn't come out the way I expected at all. Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov beat Sui and Han to win the event. They had two throw quads, and pretty strong programs. Kavaguti and Smirnov have kept their freeskate from last year. They won by next to nothing, but still managed to beat out Sui and Han, which suggests they've got a chance of challenging Duhamel and Radford this season.
Wenjing Sui and Cong Han though, didn't do the second quad they can do. They did the quad twist but not the quad throw. Apparently she had an ankle injury, which is why they didn't do the throw quad they are more than capable of doing.
The rest of the pairs was okay, but not amazing, but it's Cup of China, and considering, the competition overall was pretty good.
Javier Fernandez won the Cup of China, and I don't think anyone is surprised. He skated well, but he was blown out of the water by a Chinese skater very few people saw coming.
Boyang Jin got the silver here. He has amazing jumps, including a quad lutz, and not in the way Adam Rippon has a quad lutz, he does it cleanly, and in combination with a triple toe. He had four quads in the free and two in the short. There has been a debate over whether skaters will need three quads to succeed, but with Boyang Jin on the scene, they may need four. His skating skills are not amazing, but with four good quads, it's a little forgivable. He's still new to the senior scene, so his skating skills will likely come up to try to match up with Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan. All of his technical elements are pretty strong, and with some work on the skating skills and choreography, he'd be the top man in the world pretty easily.
Han Yan ended up in third, but his short program was a disaster. He managed to make up some ground in the free, but he surely would have liked better placement here. Even in the short, he was saved a little by the PCSs. His TES actually had him in 7th, which is usually his strong suit.
Sergei Voronov had the same problem as Han Yan, but with the free instead of the short. He was 3rd in the short, but 8th in the free. His technical score, like with Han Yan is absolutely his strong suit, but was second to worst in the free. He had a pretty high PCS, but I don't really get it. I don't see strong skating skills, there aren't a whole lot of transitions, and the choreography isn't great.
Mao Asada made her first appearance at a major event this season. She skated okay, but not exceptionally. The triple axel in the free was great, much better than some of the men at the senior level, but her free fell apart after that a little. She seemed to be so preoccupied with the triple axel that the rest of the program wasn't really there. It was still a good start to her season, and things are looking very good for her at worlds.
Rika Hongo finished in second, behind Mao Asada, but actually won the freeskate. She skated very well, and I enjoy her skating more than I have in the past. Initially, I thought the free was a terrible choice for her, but it was a whole lot better than I had expected. I'm still not entirely sure about Riverdance for her, but it is really not bad. She's skating very well, especially compared to the Russian ladies who largely dominated the field last season.
Elena Radionova had a pretty disastrous short program, but finished third overall, with the second best free. The Titanic program is really not good. She is a very energetic, upbeat skater, if a little wild, and so the dramatic, slow, tragic story of Titanic doesn't work for her. The program isn't structured great, and I could more than do without the sexy Leo voice over the music. I have no clue why sexy Leo voice is a thing this season, but it needs to die sooner than later. Time to scrap the program and start over, especially for Radionova.
By the end of the weekend, the ice dance event was very small. Two teams had to withdraw at some point.
Yue Cong and Zhuoming Sun had to withdraw before the short dance and did not compete at all. I don't know why they withdrew from the event, but them withdrawing was overshadowed significantly by the other team that withdrew.
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker had to withdraw during the warmup for the free. Apparently, Kaitlin had food poisoning and wasn't able to skate. Their short dance was good, but not exceptional.
Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Ziganshin got bronze in China and they have made significant strides since pairing up. They are one of the only teams that has been extremely successful in the last year after pairing up following the Olympics. They're skating well, but they will have to watch out for their former partners Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, who did far better than I could have anticipated at Skate America.
Chock and Bates, surprisingly, did not win the Cup of China, coming in second to Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte. Chock and Bates skated well, but they do not have the technical ability and basic skating skills expected from the world's top teams. Madison in particular could use some more time on the skating skills, she certainly sells the skating, but does not have the skills to match her performance level.
Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte made a comeback at their first Grand Prix this season after a disappointing season following their victory at worlds in 2014. Their programs are not the most exciting or original, but there is no denying she sells the program as well as Madison Chock, but they have better skating skills overall.
The 2015 Grand Prix circuit is going to be full of exciting showdowns. Almost all of the grand prix assignments have been announced already.
One of the most exciting events will be the men's event at Skate Canada. Right away there is going to be a showdown between Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan. Skate Canada will be Chan's first major event in a long time.
