One of the deepest ice dance fields we’ve ever seen at a Grand Prix event, there will be teams here who you wouldn’t expect to be in the bottom half to end up there. And so Finlandia Trophy is going to be intriguing both for the very competitive fight among the teams and for the implications on Grand Prix Final qualification. There are still four spots left to claim for the Final—the most of any of the disciplines—and all eyes will be on that bronze medal spot here.
2025 Finlandia Trophy predictions
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GOLD Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Guillaume Cizeron FRA - With a win in France to start their Grand Prix series debut as a team, Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron want to bookend the series with another win on their way to the Final. They had an error in the rhythm dance in France, which they will surely look to avoid here. The biggest question will be how their total score stacks up against the rest of the competition this season.
SILVER Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier CAN - The biggest question for Gilles/Poirier is how they will stack up against Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron in their first head-to-head meeting. It’s unusual to have the top of the top teams face off in Grand Prix events outside of the Final, but this season has been anything but typical. There were elements from their programs that they will have wanted to make adjustments to since Skate Canada—what improvements will we see this week?
BRONZE Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik USA - Of the teams this season, Zingas/Kolesnik have been perhaps the biggest surprise in terms of scores and placements. Their silver at Cup of China behind Madison Chock/Evan Bates came with a personal best score of 202 points, making them one of only six teams to break 200 so far this season on the Grand Prix. Their placement and score this week will not only be an indication of whether they qualify for the Final (podium is necessary), but they will also provide a glimpse into where they stand for the Olympic berth.
4. Olivia Smart/Tim Dieck ESP - A fall in the rhythm dance at Cup of China kept them from being competitive for the podium there, and they will certainly want to clean that up this week at Finlandia. The key to their fight for the podium will be levels and how clean their steps and turns are, especially relative to Zingas/Kolesnik. They could be the spoilers to Zingas/Kolesnik’s chances at the Final.
5. Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin GEO - The third team that looks to be competitive for the bronze, Davis/Smolkin continue to make improvements to their overall skating and has some of the best material of their career this season. Their rhythm dance is also a standout among the sea of 90s music, and the changes they made during the season have made that program stronger.
6. Natalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler CZE - Fourth at NHK Trophy, the Taschlers left wanting more from their free dance, and that will be important this week as they face this deep field here.
7. Oona Brown/Gage Brown USA - Their Godfather free dance has become a favorite among skating fans this season, and it was very well received last week at Skate America, where they were sixth. A stronger rhythm dance than last week will do a lot for their placement here.
8. Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani USA - Sixth at NHK Trophy, the Shibutanis made their comeback at that event with glimpses of greatness and also rust from being out of competition for almost eight years and skating under rules they aren’t used to. Their rhythm dance stands out in its choreography.
9. Yuka Orihara/Juho Pirinen FIN - Eighth at NHK Trophy, they had issues on their twizzles in their rhythm dance that left them in tenth place going into the free. They will need to avoid mistakes like that here among this field.
10. Phebe Bekker/James Hernandez GBR - A late substitute after Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis withdrew due to injury, Bekker/Hernandez are going back-to-back in their Grand Prix appearances after finishing eighth last week at Skate America.