Crystal Skate

Six events, six countries, tens of talented skaters, and it's all wrapping up in a three-day final that is sure to be spectacular. Welcome to Barcelona and the 2015 figure skating Grand Prix Final! The boy's event is undoubtedly going to be the most thrilling. It reunites three great rivals for the first time in two years: Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez and Patrick Chan. After the Japanese's record-breaking performance in Nagano a couple of weeks ago, it's not hard to see the balance leaning in his favour. But you can never be sure of anything in figure skating, so let's see what happens: The fact that Daisuke Murakami  is the underdog here shows what a high level figure skating is at right now. Despite the hand on the ice on the triple Lutz and doubling out of the triple Toeloop, his artistry is sublime. The song is Bring Him Home  by Josh Groban. His score: 83.47 . Patrick Chan 's style is more relaxed than ever, but maybe that's a problem. Or maybe ...

In figure skating, exhibitions are like that nice glass of red wine one might enjoy at the end of a really pesky day of work. They're the long satisfied breath you let out or the triumphant fist bump in the air that means: 'I've done it!' Concurrently, they are also a way to show off. Sure, it's nice to be able to throw the rules out the window for a change and skate to whatever, in whatever, however you want it. But figure skaters like being in the spotlight, and what better time to shine than when there is nothing restraining you from showing your full potential? What that means is that some athletes will go to unbelievable lengths to put on a show, like when Adelina Sotnikova  did rhythmic gymnastics on ice,  or when Javier Fernandez  made a mix-tape to get us to get off our butts and join the gym.  These programmes were so good, they will never be forgotten. But they wouldn't have been as fantastic had they not benefited from some terrific costume choices....

The results of the men's short programme were quite surprising. Not only did half the world gasp in surprise at Yuzuru Hanyu's score, but they were also amazed by Daisuke Murakami's astonishing debuting performance. Still, all hope is not lost for any of the skaters trying to get to the final as Murakami cannot qualify. Who will most certainly qualify though is Takahito Mura. Let's see who joins him. It's hard to watch Joshua Farris 's free skate. He entirely loses his focus after the fall on the quad Toeloop, so the only good jump is the triple Axel from the very beginning. This is one of those moments when the feel of the music ( Schindler's List ) matches the skater's own state of mind for all the wrong reasons. His score: 111.53 . Overall: 169.88 . Ross Miner from the USA Photograph: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images Asia Ross Miner  fares better despite not being able to jump a quad either. His song is Romanza  by Andrea Boccelli, which gives him ...

Last time we saw Yuzuru Hanyu, he got our attention for all the wrong reasons. Let's hope this time skating in his home country helps him get over the nasty incident in China, because if it doesn't, his own countryman, Takahito Mura, will hurry to snatch the lead from him. Jeremy Ten 's start of the competition is not pristine. He struggles with the triple Axel and falls on the triple Flip. His score: 65.81 . South Korea's Jim Seo Kim Photograph: Kevin Lee/Getty Images Asia From the hairdo to the name, Daisuke Murakami  is a look-alike of his more famous countryman, Daisuke Takahashi. His style though is not as well defined as Takahashi's, but he is perfect technically, and his future looks good. He gets 79.68  points. Whenever Ivan Righini  skates, we have a show on our hands. His Michael Jackson routine always gets the crowd going and rightly so. On a technical level though, he has a hand down on the triple Axel and one of the spins. His score: 70.27 ....