Here he is, comfortable winner of the short

A "nailed-in" (certain) favourite to win the free

but it's how he wins it that they're interested in, that we're interested in

The reigning Olympic champion

Still only 21 years of age

This is "Hope and Legacy" for this superstar from Sendai

Yuzuru Hanyu

Now Yuzuru has 4 quads scheduled, here's the first, the loop

Yup, got back on axis and landed it

First time a quad loop has been successfully landed at Grand Prix level

Amazing

Now for the salchow

Oh yes, no problem at all

Triple flip

Now he lines up for two more quads

Down on the quad sal' it should have been in combination

Straight down the other end of the rink for a quad toe loop

No problem at all

Oh yes, triple axel triple toe loop

Triple axel, just a double salchow

"But who's counting"? (nobody cares)

And a triple lutz "for good measure" (in addition)

Well it's not just the Japanese who adore him

And yes it did have a mistake or two

But he is so adorable that I think people by now have forgotten that he made the mistakes

And just concentrate on the magnificent skating that we've seen

There isn't a bigger star in Japan than this guy

Not should there be

He is...well... I mean you said it a couple of days ago Simon...

...Probably the best male skater there has ever been

I'm sure some would argue with that, but it's difficult to

He is extraordinary

Justr look at the number of teddies and flowers being tossed onto the ice

It's going to take them a bit of time...

Yeah

...to clear all that up, they're going to need all the young skaters out there

Look at them, all of their hands full

I'm glad to see him really lapping this up (enjoying it)

I do like that he occasionally shows us that he's human...

Just throws in the odd fall here and there...

...because we need to be reminded occasionally...

Yeah, it's true

...that he is a human being

I mean, the quad loop... I can't tell you how difficult that quad loop is

And it's a very brave thing for him to do, to spend time working on the quad loop

Because it's going to be so difficult to ever put that in combination

So it's actually not a very efficient jump for him to invest his time in

But it is so spectacular, and he is so good, why not?

I mean obviously there was the one big error on the quad salchow

when the fact that he was unable to get the combination on that, means that he performed the quad salchow on its own twice

so he will get actually very few marks for that second quad salchow

But it's not really about marks is it?

It's not about marks

Haha, you see Brian Orser there in the background, delighted

This... the quad loop, the first time ever landed at this level of competition

He's done it before, just not at Grand Prix level

Just OK on the rotation, does so well, such strength to get that free leg back and into the "check" position

There the first quad salchow

And the transitions in and out of them, there's no huge "wind up" (preparation)

He's doing these enormous elements and there's no huge "build-up" to them

And that's just amazing

His spins, always fantastic, he's got great flexibility

This the quad toe loop, I mean that's just so easy for him, isn't it?

It looks it

Wonderful landing position, deep in the knee

He doesn't look strong, but he is, he is so strong

Yes, he looks delicate

He does, and that.. it's just such a winning combination

To have the subtlety and the grace and the elegance through the choreography...

But the strength, the core strength...

Good in all positions in the spins

This very difficult

And just lovely touches like this

We had an Ina Bauer before the triple lutz, thrown in right at the end of the program

Fantastic distribution of elements

He'll get 10% uplift for a couple of the quads, because he threw them in near the end of the routine

Just amazing

So he's going to be in the Grand Prix final, and you can of course watch that exclusively on Eurosport

Only got 2nd place in Skate Canada, it seems incomprehensible, but that was the reality

Patrick Chan beat him

But he'll be the favourite going into the Grand Prix final

Trains alongside of course, Javier Fernandez who himself has won two Grand Prixs this year

Well his best ever 219, so he's "off" that

But that's what he'll be aiming for

Really good marks for presentation, of course there would be

And still Nathan Chen to go, but he (Hanyu) has won, that's for sure

And a celebration for the crowd here in Sapporo

He's adorable, isn't he?

He is

But he doesn't have to "work at it" (he is naturally adorable)

Orser: that's awesome

53 points in front of the rest of the field