WARNING for those who haven’t seen the results for semi-finals: This post has the semi-finalists who made it to finals in it
Here’s the order for 1a finals (just putting it here to analyze):
Matouš Tomeš, Peter Pong Si Yee, Petr Aminev, Masahiro Terada, Marcus Koh, Andrew Maider, Václav Kroutil, Iori Yamaki, Yusuke Otsuka, Zach Gormley, Izuru Hasumi, Shinya Kido, Takeshi Matsuura, Paul Kerbel, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Gentry Stein, Ahmad Kharisma, Carlos Braun, and János Karancz.
Here is the same list with all the people who are not considered top contenders out of it: Peter Pong Si Yee, Marcus Koh, Iori Yamaki, Zach Gormley, Shinya Kido, Takeshi Matsuura, Paul Kerbel, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Gentry Stein, Ahmad Kharisma, Carlos Braun, and János Karancz.
Let’s see. Peter Pong Si Yee (not sure if he’s considered a top contender): Good, but he hasn’t scored that well at his recent contests. Marcus Koh: I consider him a possibility, he’s a previous world champion, unfortunately I don’t think he has been making many new tricks (I could be wrong). Iori Yamaki: He’s a good player, but I don’t think his tricks will be good enough to give him a win; look at his freestyle last year; it’s good but he got 16th; it might happen again. Zach Gormley: I think he has a decent chance, but he has to clean up. Shinya Kido: I think he’ll place high, but I don’t think he’ll win, because he hasn’t changed much over the years, and he hasn’t been getting that close to winning at worlds. Takeshi Matsuura: a big yes for him; he’s been improving in 1a so fast; and his semi-final probably contains very little of his final, so you can expect something big. Paul Kerbel: I think he’ll place high, but I do not think he’ll win; he does have a chance though, as he showed in his EYYC routine. Hiroyuki Suzuki: of course! Don’t think I need to explain. Gentry Stein: after winning nationals and semis, I’m feeling more confident in him, and he might have more tricks up his sleeve. Ahmad Kharisma: He will definitely place high, but I don’t see him winning, because he hasn’t improved that much since last year. Carlos Braun: I don’t think so; he has cool tricks, but worlds judging isn’t the same as EYYC’s judging. János Karancz: maybe, but his routines haven’t been as clean this year; if he has a really clean routine he has a good chance.
So in the end, my top 3 are (in no particular order) Hiroyuki Suzuki, Gentry Stein, and Takeshi Matsuura.
You guys probably disagree with a lot of these opinions, and no doubt think this post was corny/cheesy, but this was just my way of analyzing. Sorry for being boring.
janos surprised us all last year!