Getty Nathan Chen will look to repeat as the Grand Prix Final champion.
Nathan Chen will look to win his second consecutive Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final this weekend in Vancouver, Canada.
In the United States, coverage of the Grand Prix Final will be on NBC Sports Network (Friday at 11:30 p.m. ET; Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET) and NBC (Sunday at 4 p.m. ET). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of that coverage on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services.
NBC Sports Network and NBC (live in most markets) are both included in the main Fubo package, which has 75-plus channels and is largely tailored towards sports. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Grand Prix Final on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch any day’s coverage of the Grand Prix Final up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including NBC Sports Network and NBC (live in most markets). You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Grand Prix Final on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
NBC Sports Network and NBC (live in some markets) are included in the “Sling Blue” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of both, and you can then watch a live stream of the Grand Prix Final on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Preview
Five Americans will compete in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: Chen, who won team bronze at the 2018 Olympics, and two decorated pairs of ice dancers. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue took silver at the World Championships earlier this year, and Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker won gold in the 2018 Four Continents Championships in Taipei.
The 19-year-old Chen has won gold in five consecutive Grand Prix events. Last season, he won the 2017 Rostelecom Cup in Moscow and 2017 Skate America in Lake Placid, New York, before claiming gold in the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. He’s the third American male to win a singles Grand Prix Final, and the first since Evan Lycasek in 2009.
This season, he repeated as the Skate America champion. After falling in his short program at Internationaux de France in Grenoble, the teenager landed three quadruple jumps in the free skate to claim gold in his fifth consecutive Grand Prix event.
In the middle of his wildly successful run, Chen moved across the country from Southern California to New Haven, Connecticut, to attend Yale University. The freshman FaceTimes with his coach Rafael Arutunian during practice sessions.
“What Nathan Chen has done this season is incredible,” Chen’s Team USA teammate Adam Rippon said of Chen’s attending Yale while competing, according to NBC Sports. “He seems to have this new challenge but is able to balance it so well. As a skater and as a teenager, right now this is developmentally where he should be. Sure, we all want him to keep winning, but he’s stepping out on his own and that will benefit him as he heads towards Beijing 2022.”
Rippon isn’t the only decorated American skater impressed by Chen’s juggling school and competition.
“It’s incredible to think of the things that Nathan is tackling right now,” Ben Agosto, an ice dancer who claimed silver at the 2006 Olympics, told TeamUSA.org. “I was watching him at Skate America and I had a pretty good feeling he’s setting up for a jump and in the back of his head he’s saying, ‘I have a midterm coming up.’ It’s such a different head space to be in. He’s now exposed to these incredible new ideas and people who are talking about exciting and important things. I think it’s great he’s taking advantage of that opportunity while he can. I think he’s doing a great job at maintaining a certain level of competitiveness.”
Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, who took gold in men’s singles at the last two Olympics, had to withdraw from the Grand Prix Final due to a leg injury.
“It’s going to be a good competition regardless if Hanyu is here,” Chen told the Associated Press. “He’s a big aspect in figure skating, but I just have to focus on myself. I can only control what I can control.”
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