Cup of China - Men's Short

Peitong Chen (China): Bad costume... wow. Big double axel to start, and a triple lutz-triple toe combination, the latter of which was underrotated. Spin could have more speed. Managed to hang onto his triple flip, and had semi interesting footwork. Overall, it was alright technically, but all of his spins were really slow, and Peitong didn't leave much of an impression. He is in desperate need of more muchness. 28.75 TE 26.10 PCS = 54.85 Total 

Jinlin Guan (China): Fall on an attempted quad toe. That's a shame. He already has more presence than Chen and he's barely started the program! Triple flip-double toe was good, and a spin with good speed, along with decent positions. Double axel was fine, and I like the footwork; there's some life in it. Shaky camel position, but his sit change sit is well done. Too bad he doesn't have a triple axel in here... definitely would have helped, along with transitions. I did enjoy him though. 36.16 TE 29.79 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 64.95 Total

Ross Miner (United States): He held onto his triple axel ,but had a huge lean foward on the takeoff. I'm surprised he stayed on his feet! Triple lutz-triple toe, fine. Nice spread eagle, and then nice triple flip. Nice spins, but I hate the A-Frame positions SO much. His footwork is alright, but his upper body and arms on the twizzles make me crazy- he looks stiff and unsure. Slow spin at the end. 36.29 TE 30.81 PCS = 67.10 Total

 Peter Liebers (Germany): Triple flip-triple toe good. Fall on the triple axel afterward, which wasn't surprising because of the bad takeoff. Nice spin, and good to see some transitions. I liked his footwork, but he traveled on that last spin. Better than I expected from him, even with the fall. 30.92 TE 29.86 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 59.78 Total


Jialiang Wu (China): Triple lutz- incredibly crooked double toe. Fallout on the following triple axel, maybe two footed? Triple loop was fine though, as well as the following spin. Second spin, eh. Footwork was nice, but slow. The twist position in his ending spin was good. Not a whole lot of presence or attack in this program. I definitely prefer his free program. 30.04 TE 27.72 PCS = 57.76
Tatsuki Machida (Japan): Great triple axel to start, and the triple flip-triple toe was good too (though they edge-called the former. Camel spin was okay, great speed on the second spin. He's really trying to sell this program. Triple lutz, two footed and underrotated. Good flying sit and really nice footwork, though the end started to fizzle out somewhat. 33.16 TE 33.62 PCS = 66.78 Total I thought he should probably have the lead at that point, though the lutz...

Brandon Mroz (United States):Quad toe-triple toe to open, former of which I suspected might be slightly underrotated. Tilted forward on the triple axel and subsequently. I hate his catch-foot spin position. Landed the triple lutz, but it wasn't great. His death drop was nice, but it lost speed at t he end. Okay spin at the end. I wasn't very enticed by this program. I do think the music is better for Brandon than his infamous Mambo sort program last season, but I still don't think it suits him very well. 38.51 TE 31.33 PCS = 69.84 Total

Sergei Voronov (Russia): Strange costume. Some kind of gangster thing possibly? Fallout on quad toe and tacked a single toe onto the end. Triple axel was fine, and very nice triple loop too. First toe spins were alright. Cracked on the drama for the footwork, which is reminiscent of Plushenko, albeit with a little bit less arm waving and no "sexy" hip wiggling. 34.77 TE 33.93 PCS = 68.70 Total

Samuel Contesti (Italy): Already in character before he reached center ice. Triple lutz-triple toe, two-footed and underrotated triple toe (though it seems they didn't call it... weird.). Fallout on the triple axel after slipping on the entrance.Seems to be channeling Ryan Bradley in this program, entertaintment-wise and unfortunately, the jump problems too. One and a half flip. Dang.  I like the footwork, and would love to see this program skated cleanly. Slow spins at the end unfortunately.  Also, his coach has an absolutely insane mustache. Wow. 27.14 TE 33.46 PCS = 60.60 Total

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): Good triple lutz-triple toe to start, as well as a nice triple axel! Lovely death drop, and a nice triple flip to boot. Camel spin did slow a lot, probably due to a change of edge. Really, really pretty footwork and an excellent split jump. Finished the program off well with a great ending spin. Very nice short program, though I have to agree with many in saying that Takahiko could be more expressive. But overall, I really enjoyed it. Plus, he really does have a sweet smile. 41.30 TE 36.10 PCs = 77.40 Total

Brian Joubert (France):Quad toe-triple toe, the former of which I thought was a little underrotated, but otherwise, good. Fallout on the following triple axel. Interesting variation on an upright spin, it reminded me of one that Sasha Cohen used to do. Good triple lutz, as well as on the sit change sit spin. Alright footwork, but still very much in Brian's style, which I'm not too keen on these days. Last spin was okayish, and the flamenco kind of works for him, but I wish he would embrace the character fully. Brian was absolutely buried in stuffed animals in the kiss and cry, and held onto them for awhile, much to my amusement. It was a cute moment. 37.79 TE 37.01 PCS = 74.80 Total

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): Huge triple flip on his triple flip-triple toe combination, but he had to fight for the toe (the flip was edge-called too.. hm.). Yet another triple axel fallout, but a really great triple lutz soon after. Okay camel spin, and the footwork was fine, but I expected more from him. He isn't playing up the music (Singin' in the Rain) as much as I've seen him do in the past with other programs. Slow sit spin, but the second spin was better. 33.76 TE 36.55 PCS = 70.31 Total