Grand Prix Final 2023: Malinin, Uno, Kagiyama separated by just three points - How to watch the men's free skate live
American Ilia Malinin and the two-time reigning world champ Uno Shoma lead in Beijing heading into the men's free skate, set for Saturday (9 December) night.
Figure Skating
It's set to be must-see skating Saturday night in Beijing.
Top stars Ilia Malinin, Uno Shoma, and Kagiyama Yuma are separated by just over three points after the men's short program at the 2023 Grand Prix Final in the Chinese capital, with the men's free skate set for Saturday (9 December) at 20:27 local time (+8 GMT).
Malinin, the 19-year-old American, made more history in the short, landing a quadruple Axel in that segment for the first time ever to edge Uno 106.90 to 106.02 points. Kagiyama rounds out the top three with 103.72.
The trio heads into the free skate with just 3.18 points between them - the slimmest of majors in what promises to be a point-gobbling long program.
"For the free program, I want to stay [calm] under pressure and stay in the mindset to believe and succeed no matter what," Malinin said after the short.
Will he try to the quad Axel again there?
"Hopefully," he added. "It's going to depend on how I'm feeling that day but it's something to look [forward] to."
Malinin has wrestled with doing the quad Axel this season, leaving it out of his programs at both of his Grand Prix assignments. He told Olympics.com recently that he believes the jump should be worth more - especially as he's the lone skater to complete it in history.
To tune into the free, American fans can watch live on the NBC streaming platform Peacock, while the ISU provides tune-in info here for all territories.
Grand Prix Final 2023: Schedule & how to watch men's free skate live
Beijing is in Chinese Standard Time (CST +8 GMT).
Saturday 9 December
20:27 Men's free skate
CCTV is broadcasting the Final for fans in the People's Republic of China, while action is on SBS in the Republic of Korea, TV Asahi in Japan, Eurosport in Great Britain, CBC in Canada and SBS in Australia.
Some territories can access the ISU's YouTube stream, as well. Get all the tune-in info you need here.