Madison Chock and Evan Bates are on the first win streak of their 13-year partnership and are two titles from becoming the first U.S. ice dance couple in a decade to go undefeated for a calendar year.
They ride momentum into this week’s Grand Prix Finland, live on Peacock on Friday and Saturday.
So far in 2023, Chock and Bates won their fourth U.S. title in January, their third Four Continents title in February, their first world title in March and their fourth Skate America title in October.
This week, they are clear favorites against a field that also includes Canadians Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen, who were fifth at worlds.
Chock and Bates will qualify for December’s Grand Prix Final with a top-three finish this week. The Final takes the top six per discipline from the six-event Grand Prix Series and is often a preview of March’s worlds.
This season, Chock and Bates rank third in the world by best total score behind Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier and Italians Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri.
Chock and Bates will likely face both for the first time this season at the Final, where they could be bidding to become the first U.S. ice dancers to go undefeated in a calendar year since Meryl Davis and Charlie White in 2013.
Chock and Bates have four silver medals from past Finals. How they perform this week could determine if they will be favored to win it for the first time next month.
Also at Grand Prix Finland, two-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan is the women’s headliner, looking to go into the Final as the top seed.
Americans Amber Glenn or Starr Andrews can stake a claim as the second favorite to make the two-woman world team — which will be named after January’s nationals — behind reigning U.S. champion Isabeau Levito, who already qualified for the Final. Two-time U.S. champion Bradie Tennell is out for the season with a broken ankle.
The men’s and pairs’ events are headlined by Frenchman Kévin Aymoz (fourth in the world this season) and Italians Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii (second in the world), respectively.
Grand Prix Finland Broadcast Schedule
| Day | Event | Time (ET) | Platform |
| Friday | Men’s Short | 6-7:30 a.m. | Peacock |
| Pairs’ Short | 7:50-8:55 a.m. | Peacock | |
| Women’s Short | 10-11:30 a.m. | Peacock | |
| Rhythm Dance | 11:50 a.m.-1:10 p.m. | Peacock | |
| Saturday | Men’s Free | 5:30-7:20 a.m. | Peacock |
| Pairs’ Free | 7:40-9:35 a.m. | Peacock | |
| Women’s Free | 10:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. | Peacock | |
| Free Dance | 12:40-2:50 p.m. | Peacock | |
| Sunday | Exhibition Gala | 7-9:30 a.m. | Peacock |
| Highlights | 4-6 p.m.* | NBC |
*Delayed broadcast.