The Channel One Cup 2025 ended with the victory of the blue team of captain Anna Shcherbakova, with a score of 101 points. Alina Zagitova's "Reds" took second place - 95 points, and Alexander Trusova's "Whites" closed the top three - 92 points.
Over the two days of competition, the Traktor Ice Arena in Chelyabinsk,
where the fifth Channel One Cup was held, was visited by 12 thousand spectators. In terms of the intensity of emotions, this was perhaps one of the most exciting tournaments. Despite the end of the season, all participants tried to give their best, and the format of team competitions added tension that did not let go of the participants of the tournament until the end.
On the second day of the Cup, free programs were presented by dance duets, girls and men. Between the performances of pairs and singles, team relays were announced, and the team captains had to calculate everything in advance so as not to make a mistake with the performers and competently involve those who skated the competitive programs.
Dancing on ice
All three dance couples gave some of the best performances of the season in terms of emotion.
Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Maxim Nekrasov earned 124.25 points and brought the “blue” team 10 points.
Elizaveta Pasechnik and Dario Cirisano came in second with 118.54 points, adding 9 points to the “whites”.
Ekaterina Mironova - Evgeniy Ustenko with 113.80 points came in third. The "red" team had 8 points.
After the first round of the second day of the team tournament, the “blues” continued to lead with 68 points, the “reds” were second with 61 points and the “whites” were third with 51 points.
Team relay races
The sports part of the cup tournament was diluted with cheerful team relay races, where seemingly the simplest things – “flashlights”, “snakes” became a tricky “obstacle course”. The first competition, which was called that, was won by the “blues”, the “whites” were second, the “reds” – third.
In the second round, the solo jump relay, the "reds" managed to pull ahead. Sofia Vazhnova, Ksenia Gushchina, Anna Frolova, Elizaveta Andreeva, Daniil Samsonov, Gleb Lutfullin, Lev Lazarev and Mark Kondratyuk made their triples and quadruples in 1 minute 10 seconds!
"The Blues" -- Daria Sadkova, Alina Gorbacheva, Nikolai Kolesnikov, Sofia Muravyova, Ksenia Sinitsyna, Petr Gumennik, Nikolai Ugozhaev and Vlad Dikidzhi completed the task in 1 minute 13 seconds.
The "Whites" -- Dmitry Aliev, Sofia Akateva, Nikita Sarnovsky, Veronika Yametova, Alisa Dvoeglazova, Elena Kostyleva, Makar Ignatov and Evgeny Semenenko -- lost to second place by only one hundredth - 1 minute 14 seconds!
The final round of the competition was the relay race of steps. And in the sum of three types, the "blue" team retained the lead - 7 points, the "white" team came in second - 6 points, the "red" team - third 5 points.
After the team relay competition, the overall score remained in favor of the “blue” team – 75 points, the “red” team – second – 66 points, the white – third – 57 points.
Singles Skating. Women. Free Skating
The women's competition was won by Alisa Dvoeglazova , who skated a free program with three quadruples - a lutz and two toe loops, and was second in a cascade with a double toe loop. The athlete from Alexandra Trusovoy's team received 160.66 points and added 10 points to the "whites".
Elena Kostyleva , also representing the "white" team, jumped two triple axels, the first in a cascade with a triple toe loop, made three "quads" - a solo toe loop, two salchows - in combination with a double axel and in a cascade - Euler - triple salchow. At the end of the performance, the winner of the Junior Russian Grand Prix Final made a mistake on a triple lutz, earned 160.33 points and 9 points in the piggy bank of Alexandra Trusova.
Elizaveta Andreeva from the "red" team performed her free skate with a triple axel and three quadruples for the first time in competition - a solo toe loop and two salchows in a cascade with a triple toe loop and in combination with two "doubles". The judges scored the performance 158.51 points. The skater brought her team 8 points.
Darya Sadkova pulled herself together and skated a program with two quadruple toe loops, the first in a cascade with a double toe loop. The total was 157.21 points and 7 points for the "blue" team.
After an uneven start to the season, Ksenia Sinitsyna demonstrated a worthy performance on the Chelyabinsk ice. The athlete came in fifth with 141.66 points and 6 points for the "blue" team.
Ksenia Gushchina closed the top six, making an unfortunate mistake in her performance – 117.95 points. And the “red” team received 5 points.
After the women's tournament, the "blues" were in the lead - 88 points, the "reds" were behind by 9 - 79 points and the "whites" by 12 - 76 points. The intrigue of the tournament remained...
Singles Skating. Men. Free Skating
The winner of the men's competition was Lev Lazarev from the "red" team, who scored 178.35 points.
Makar Ignatov from the "white" team went for five quads for the first time this season - a flip, a ritberger, a salchow and two toe loops, earning 174.27 points. As Alexandra Trusova said after the competition, the Chelyabinsk ice was lucky for the couple, because it was here, at the test skates before the Olympics in Beijing, that Sasha jumped five quads for the first time!
-- I was saying throughout the broadcast that the Chelyabinsk ice is good for us. Unfortunately, they didn't give me a microphone to say this to the whole arena. The Chelyabinsk ice helps us, apparently it's a family thing, -- said Alexandra Trusova, Makar Ignatov's wife, at a press conference after the tournament.
Nikolai Kolesnikov from the Blue Team fought desperately, skating a free program with a triple axel, quadruple salchows and two toe loops – 173.31 points.
Nikita Sarnovsky from the "white" team is fourth - 164.48. But Nikita still has the Russian Senior Championship in Kazan ahead of him.
Daniil Samsonov – “Reds” – fifth – 163.02 points.
Nikolay Ugozhaev - "blue" - sixth - 147.80 points. Apparently, the fact that the guys already knew that the other two "blue" teams would not catch up played a role.
-- Let me remind you, we were on a team with Petr Gumennik. And we couldn't not know the score. That's the first thing. Secondly, before the bows, before the announcement, I see our two Kolyas standing and looking at us sarcastically. And Ugozhaev is like: "Well, we've already won, right?" I say: "Kolya, go ahead and do this - don't relax ahead of time." We tried to calm them down. Unfortunately, Kolya Ugozhaev didn't do very well today, and the second Nikolai became our talisman, our little star, who worked, -- Dmitry Evgenyev said at the press conference.
"Kolya Ugozhaev showed himself brilliantly in all the challenges. Absolutely everyone on the team contributed to the victory," added the captain of the "blues" Anna Shcherbakova.
Following two days of competition, the "blues" won the "Channel One Cup 2025", scoring 101 points and receiving a check for 10 million rubles. Anna Shcherbakova won her third victory on the "captain's bridge" and became the most titled "helmsman"!
Alina Zagitova's "Red" team finished second with 95 points. The guys were presented with a check for 7 million rubles.
Alexandra Trusova's "Whites", for Sasha this was her debut as captain, took third place - 92 points and a check for 5 million rubles.
At the press conference after the end of the team tournament, all the captains praised their teams and the opposing teams, who managed to impose such an interesting rivalry and struggle over the course of two days.
-- Now I'm a little bit exhausted, because there were so many emotions today. We were worried about absolutely everyone, about everyone who performed today. I want to say "a huge thank you" to the teams for the rivalry, for the interesting fight. And, of course, I want to say "thank you" to the guys from my team. I congratulate them all, because absolutely everyone amazed us with their skating today, everyone fought! Everyone was great, everyone gave it 100%! This is their victory! - said the captain of the "blues" Anna Shcherbakova.
-- We won silver – took second place. I want to say a huge thank you to my team for that fight and the huge contribution they made for all of us. I also want to thank the opposing teams. And to say that all the guys are great, they gave it their all at the moment.
Unfortunately, I think this will be the last "Channel One Cup" for me. That's how it works out. And I'm very glad that I got such emotions during the period that I participated in these competitions, -- commented the captain of the "reds" Alina Zagitova.
-- I got huge emotions! "Thank you" to my team, to the opposing teams. It was really cool, I liked everything! Great guys, everyone tried, everyone gave it their all. Probably a special "thank you" to the junior girls, who just tore, fought for every element, tried to skate cleanly. I think that for them this is a huge plus: they tried to perform in such competitions, -- summed up the captain of the "whites" Alexandra Trusova.
When asked who had it harder at the tournament: those who were performing for the first time or those who had already participated. Who was the main fighter in each team, the captains answered as follows:
-- I think we can't single out anyone. No one fell on our team. It's very difficult to single out anyone. The girls skated their programs cleanly. The guys struggled. I think it was harder and more exciting for those who participated for the first time. Those who were not participating for the first time were calmer. But the emotions were brighter for those who participated for the first time, -- admitted Anna Shcherbakova .
-- Mark with his short program just raised everyone's spirits and lit up this arena, everyone clapped in unison, -- began Alina Zagitova, embarrassing Mark, who was sitting next to her, who said that everyone had made their contribution to the team. -- Yes, everyone lit up! Everyone was in a good mood. For me, that's the most important thing!
-- We tried to support the debutant guys, explain the nuances to them: preserving energy and strength. All this is a collective effort, -- added Mark Kondratyuk.
-- I think it was more difficult for the juniors than for the already adult and experienced athletes. I can't single out anyone. All our guys fought to the end. It was clear all two days that they were trying hard in all the challenges and relays. It was very interesting and cool! -- said Alexandra Trusova.
-- For me, it was a debut. There was such a great team. Very interesting, an unusual format of the competition. Jumping relays, challenges - this is not at our classic tournaments. I want to say "thank you" to everyone. Everyone fought, everyone tried, -- said debutant of the adult Cup Alisa Dvoeglazova.
Answering the question about what role their previous experience as captains played, Anna Shcherbakova and Alina Zagitova said:
-- In a sense, it does. You know a little more: what will happen and how it will happen, where to cheer someone up, where to calm someone down. But each Cup is new, different, various. These are always bright emotions, something is new, -- said Anna Shcherbakova.
-- As the most experienced captain, I can say that all the "Channel One Cups" are always different and unique, with their own nuances. We simply tried to support the guys in their choice, and I trusted the team in choosing the elements and programs. I created a group where we all communicated, the chat was called "Don Quixote". The name was invented by Dima Kozlovsky, -- said Alina Zagitova.
Journalists asked Alina to clarify her words that this could be her last tournament where she played as a captain. What is the reason and is it connected with the hate she receives in the comments?
-- I've already gotten used to the fact that many people analyze all my words, my entire appearance, my behavior. This is nothing new for me. I have immunity to this. I just decided that enough is enough. We need to make way for the young. Here is my successor, my heir (gestures at Mark Kondratyuk). I will trust him, I recommend him, -- answered Alina Zagitova.
…But no matter how events unfold in the future, one thing can already be said for sure - the Channel One Cup 2025 has become history. The team tournament, which had many show elements, confirmed its reputation as the most "adrenaline-fueled", exciting and in many ways unpredictable start of the season.
At the same time, it should be noted that the sports component of the competition played an important role. Despite experiments with content, successes and disappointments, in the end, each of the participants in this Cup won over themselves and in any case gained a huge experience.
And the way the captains and teams “fraternized” after the awards ceremony, congratulating each other, became the most striking and at the same time touching final chord of this Cup!
Olga ERMOLINA
Photo by Yulia KOMAROVA
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