Trophee Bompard- Men

Shoma Uno won the short program, and it's still not clear if this will be the final result, but I have a feeling it will, or you would hope they would have said something by now. I really like him, as most people reading this blog will know. I would like to fix his extension on his landing, but that might just be the only thing I would fix in his skating. I really like his programs, and I love the way he skates.

Maxim Kovtun benefited as well from just skating the short, because he tends to be more successful in the short than the free. I'm not such a fan of Kovtun, the Russian style is really not my thing, and his technical elements are not nearly good enough to make up for the lack of skating skills, transitions, and choreography.

Daisuke Murakami will probably be fighting Shoma Uno for the second spot at worlds (we all know the first will be going to Yuzuru Hanyu). He also skated well, and I like him a lot. He's not quite as consistent as Shoma Uno, but he's definitely one of the best Japanese men.

Denis Ten has been a hot mess. Not that that's anything new. He's usually a hot mess for most of the season. He's not nearly as bad in the short as the free, so like Uno and Kovtun, and Murakami to an extent, he did benefit a little from not skating the free.

Patrick Chan definitely did not benefit from just skating the short. He got nothing from the combo in the short, he did a double double combo. The triple axel also got a negative GOE, and so he was left in 5th and didn't have any chance to make a recovery.

European Championships- Men

Javier Fernandez is one of the skaters in the men's event who has been one of my favourites, however I might be biased with his training in Toronto and the North American style to his skating. However, as great as his short program is, when the jumps don't work he loses some of the performance quality.

There is a huge difference in this skater and the one we saw at some of the grand prix events. However, his style is still my preference, and when the jumps work he is a force to be reckoned with.

Maxim Kovtun is not one of the skaters I prefer. The Russian style is certainly not my favourite, however of the Russian skaters, Kovtun is not my least favourite. Like many of the men this season, he isn't particularly consistent, and unfortunately, with his style of skating, when the jumps aren't there, there isn't a whole lot left to make up for it. Even with the significant mistakes in Kovtun's short program, the technical score was still significantly higher than the program component score, leaving him in fourth going into the freeskate.

Kovtun's freeskate brought him up significantly. He had significantly fewer mistakes and the ones he did make did not have as great an impact on his overall score.

Sergei Voronov and Alexei Bychenko are two other skaters who are not my favourites, but when their jumps are good, they have the ability to certainly make the podium here and depending on the way others skate, could stand that chance at worlds. Bychenko made a signifiant comeback after a 7th place finish in the short to finish fourth overall, and Voronov slipped from 2nd to 3rd in the freeskate. However, their programs lack the artistry of some of the other men, and can begin to feel like jump drills rather than fully formed programs.