Crystal Skate

Remember the good old days when figure skating predictions were easy to make? Well, for the most part, those days are completely gone. What we're living at the moment are the even better days when medals are easy to grab for anyone with a technical prowess and convincing presentation. One of the disciplines where this is obvious is the men's. Cup of China 2017 wasn't any different. The podium was unexpected, so I've put together a few lines on how we got there. SHORT Max Aaron  finished the short on 5th place. His routine is set to Les Miserables , another programme that is part of a bunch of increasingly emotional choices we've seen from him in the past few seasons. There were a lot of big arm movements in the choreography, which I know some people don't like, but I'm always supportive of his attempts to up the artistry. Technically, his flying camel spin was a bit slow and he put a hand down on the triple Axel. His score: 83.11 . Keiji Tanaka  remind...

The man's event in Beijing doesn't seem set up to produce any major surprises, but past experience has taught us figure skating is often disguised as a certainty, only to end in shocking results. We start with someone I don't know skating to a song I've never heard of:  Grant Hochstein   and Due Tramonti  by Ludovico Einaudi. The music is beautiful and the presentation, delicate. Unfortunately, he messes up the quad and steps out of the triple Toeloop. His score: 74.27 . I don't know what happened When Michael Met Mozart , but when Nan Song  met Beijing 2015, he aced it. Love the intricate choreography and how it mirrors the many nuances of the music. The only mistake is doubling out of the triple Toeloop. He gets 76.46  points. It used to be that when a new Russian skater made his debut, alarm bells would ring in our heads. That's not the case here with Moris Kvitelashvili , who falls on the triple Axel and steps out of both the quad and the triple Toeloo...

Has anyone else noticed that some Grand Prix events are changing their name? You probably have, and you're probably already aware that it's because the sponsors are changing. So Hilton HHonors Skate America became Progressive Skate America, and the Lexus Cup of China has switched to the Audi Cup of China. The name change doesn't really have much importance unless you want to discuss finance and politics, which I really don't, but I thought I'd at least acknowledge it. Another change we'll witness this season in Beijing, where the competition is held, has to do with German pair skating. No, it doesn't concern Aliona Savchenko/Bruno Massot (both officially German skaters now), but another, less troubled pair: Mari Vartmann/Rubert Blommaert. The two got together at the beginning of the season, after splitting up with their former partners Aaron van Cleave and Annabelle Proelss. The rest of the pair rooster doesn't bring any surprises on the ice. Wenji...

Victory somehow seems sweeter when the winner is an underdog. That being said, the power of a superstar should never be underestimated. The fact that these two rules co-exist in figure skating, only makes the sport more thrilling. Who will take the lead in the men's short programme? Max Aaron  is having a particularly great start of the season. He's completely pulling off the tragedy of Nessun Dorma  and acing every single element. He may not be the most graceful of skaters, but I don't see that as a problem. Everyone has their own style, and I appreciate his efforts to improve his artistry. His score: 86.67 . The white top and black pants are becoming Max Aaron's trademark style Photograph: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images North America Russia's male skaters are struggling to catch up to the ladies' fame and ability right now. Aidan Pitkeev  is no different. He is good, even flawless technically at times, but he's just not feeling the music. His ca...

The odds are incredibly high for Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez and Denis Ten, who are currently occupying the three podium positions. While the Japanese will look to keep his World title, the Spanish will want to upgrade last season's bronze, going head-to-head against the Khazakh. Good luck! Maxim Kovtun 's problems with the quad Toeloop continue; they might need to have a chat because for whatever reason, he can't land it. He also steps out of the triple Axel, but otherwise his performance is on the up since yesterday. His score: 159.98 . Overall: 230.70 . Nam Nguyen, the event's underdog Source: Xiaolu Ghu/Getty Images Asia What a performance from Nam Nguyen ! The Canadian training alongside the top two contenders enjoys himself out there, which sends off a nice vibe to everyone watching. La Strada  is a story dominated by two opposite genres - comedy and tragedy - and he pulls both of them off fabulously. One detail of the choreography that gets my attentio...

The men's event is usually the most high-profile, and that does not change here, where we've got skaters like Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez and Denis Ten striving to get as high on the podium as they can. We're bound to get a show out of this short programme. Jason Brown, from the US, gets groovy Source: Xiaolu Ghu/Getty Images Asia China's poster boy Han Yan  makes him homeland proud with a programme set to If I Were a Rich Man . I've said before that this needs to be funnier, and I stand by it - perhaps mouthing the words or expressing the audible sighs that punctuate the song might help. He also steps out of the quad Toeloop. His score: 84.45 . Jason Brown  knows that costumes are an important part of the showmanship, which is why he always takes great care in choosing them. He's got so much going for him artistically, but until he lands a quad, he can't play with the 'big boys' at the top, I'm afraid. Love the triple Lutz jumped with...

It's no secret that after scoring medals out of the blue both at the 2013 Worlds and the Olympics, Denis Ten has become one of the golden boys of figure skating. Still, he has yet to win a gold medal or even climb on the podium of the Four Continents Championships. This is his chance to do both things at the same time. THE SHORT PROGRAMME One of Joshua Farris' more peculiar spin positions Photograph: Chung Stung-Jun / Getty Images Asia I love Joshua Farris ' Give Me Love  routine, but an Ed Sheeran song is challenging to compete on. Because of the nature of the music, he has to work extra to make it look less like an exhibition and more like a serious programme. He does it though by acing every single element and going into some original spin positions, the likes of which you only see in the ladies' event. Great job! His score: 84.29 . Despite being fifth at Japan's Nationals, Takahito Mura  is his country's best chance at the gold in Seoul. He's...

It looks like the men's event will follow the pattern of unpredictability this Grand Prix competition has set for itself. As such, the Olympic champion is on second, last year's winner is on third and the leader is Maxim Kovtun, who might just make up for the silver medal he got last year in Beijing. Keiji Tanaka  proves my point about Bychenko's strange La Traviata  costume by wearing a spot on outfit. Unfortunately everything else is unsatisfactory. He falls on the quad Salchow, but his tendency of getting too close to the barrier endangers a couple of other jumps as well. His score: 132.44 . Overall: 189.26 . Yi Wang does one too many single jumps today and falls on the quad Salchow. He ends up with a very low technical score which overshadows the presentation. He gets 103.63  points. Overall: 160.92 . Jin Seo Kims  joins the ranks of skaters who aren't able to jump everything as planned, but the major mistake is the fall on the second triple Axel. Pr...

There are rare occasions in figure skating when a champion is the not the most celebrated skater in his own country. This is bound to be one of them, as the crowd in Shanghai will surely be torn between rooting for last year's winner, Han Yan, and the one skater everyone in the world adores: Yuzuru Hanyu. But before we get to them, there's plenty of other potential future champions to keep an eye on. A fine start from Yuhang Guan , who skates on Bon Voyage  and Conquest of Paradise . This is his first important senior competition and it's a flawless performance. He doesn't even try to jump the triple Axel though, just a double, which will hurt him technically. His score: 63.69 . Richard Dornbush is slightly under-graded by the judges Photograph: Feng Li/Getty Images Asia Yi Wang 's formal uniform fits his waltz theme perfectly. His low spins need a bit more practice, but he is quite flexible and has no problems with the high ones. Technically though, he...

MEN Peter Liebers delivered an almost flawless programme. He had only two tiny mistakes on the second Triple Axel and on the Triple Flip. His interpretation was patched, showing only when he didn't have jumps to do. His score: 131.46 . Overall: 200.80 Nan Song has a bright future ahead of him. Technically his routine was almost perfect, although he lacked a quad jump. The silly mistake was tripping during one of the transitions. As for his presentation, he expressed the pain in Enio Moriccone's  The Mission  very well. He obtained  128.12  points. Overall:  196.80 Maxim Kovtun 's rendition of Tchaikovski's Piano Concerto no. 1  had something majestic about it. He only jumped two quads, not three as he had planned, which is still impressive. His score: 156.81 . Overall: 238.65 Han Yan  couldn't control the pressure all the way through. He had a dodgy landing on the Triple Axel and tripped out of the Triple Flip, ending up falling. These mistak...

MEN The first out of three Chinese skaters, Yi Wang  skated on A Beautiful Storm . Overall, it was a good, enjoyable skate, but he double-footed the Triple Axel and singled the second Triple Flip. His score: 63.27 . As beautiful as the music was, Peter Liebers'  routine lacked smoothness. The jumps were perfect though, except for the Triple Toeloop. He got 69.34  points. China's national champion, Nan Song , brought his inner rock star on ice, skating beautifully on Guitar Concerto . Unfortunately, his Quad Toeloop was messy and the Triple Toeloop ended up being a Single. His score: 68.68 . Maxim Kovtun  proves he's worth a lot to the Russian team with two perfectly landed quads and a 'spot on' interpretation. His silly fall at the end was a mistake that took us all by surprise. He got 81.84  points. Charming, funny and in perfect control of his elements, Han Yan  probably had the best skate he's had so far in his entire life. The music was Viper'...