Welcome to the live blog for the men’s competition at the 2020 American Cup, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

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6:33 pm. FINAL STANDINGS

1. Sam Mikulak, United States, 85.332
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 83.064
3. James Hall, Great Britain, 82.999
4. Shane Wiskus, United States, 82.797
5. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, 82.757
6. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, 82.439
7. Diogo Soares, Brazil, 81.298
8. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, 80.606
9. Nestor Abad, Spain, 80.581
10. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, 78.298
11. Hu Xuwei, China, 77.699
12. Andreas Toba, Germany, 77.130

6:27 pm. Shane Wiskus, United States, HB: Capable of getting on the podium with a hit routine here! Cassina, solid. Kolman, also great. Kovacs, beautiful. Blind change, one-arm front pirouette, Endo, stoop half, stalder, gorgeous hop full, double double layout comes off a little low and close but no problems getting it around, just a hop forward! He’s VERY happy with that!!! 13.733 (5.7, 8.033)

6:26 pm. Nestor Abad, Spain, FX: I think he did a piked double front and Randi to start, and then a 2.5 to front full? I just caught up with typing lol. Flairs into a split. Front double full is a bit low, big lunge out of it. 13.366 (5.3, 8.066)

6:25 pm. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, HB: HUGE Yamawaki half, one-arm pirouette with a little muscle out, off on his layout Tkachev sadly. Huge straddle Tkachev to straddle Tkachev to mixed grip. Front full pirouette, stalder, clean double double layout with a hop back. 12.233 (5.4, 6.833)

6:22 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, FX: Punches into a double front half-out, solid. 2.5 to double front is pretty freaking sweet. Front double full to front tuck full. Flairs, fabulous. 1.5 to front full, god he looks amazing right now! Triple full with two big steps back to hold onto the landing. 14.333 (5.9, 8.433)

6:20 pm. James Hall, Great Britain, HB: Kinda desperately need him to come in here for silver. I missed his first release but he got it, something Kovacsy I’m sure. Then a HARD fall onto his back on his Kovacs. MY GOD CAN WE HAVE NOTHING IN THIS LIFE???? Gets it this time, blind change to Yamawaki, stoop full is quite late, stoop half, hop full, double double layout with a step. Well, an ALMOST perfect day from him here. 12.400 (5.6, 6.800)

6:17 pm. Oleg with an 83.064 with two falls and an Oleg high bar is pretty good I guess. He’s ahead of Daiki Hashimoto by a couple of tenths.

6:16 pm. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, HB: Cassina, great. Kolman, also very good! Layout Tkachev, straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, stoop full, a little crooked, stoop half, a little short, straddle Tkachev, Rybalko, he’s killing the game! Floaty full-twisting double layout with a step. 14.141

6:14 pm. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, FX: Double double, front double full to barani, both pretty good. 2.5 to front full, low out of the punch and puts his hand down. OOF. Flairs then circles then a wide-arm press handstand. Huge triple full with a hop back. 12.766 (5.2, 7.566)

6:12 pm. Andreas Toba, Germany, HB: Endo, lost his leg form completely on his stoop half but gets it under control. Kolman, messy legs, layout Tkachev, straddle Tkachev, straddle Tkachev to mixed grip catches super close and I’m surprised he can cast out of it, but alas, he does! Double double layout, tucks his legs halfway through but still can’t get it around, falls forward onto his hands unfortunately. 11.133 (5.8, 5.333)

6:11 pm. Hu Xuwei, China, FX: I missed the first few passes but believe he hit all of them. Was pretty low on his double full side pass. Rough landing on his triple full at the end. 13.700 (5.8, 7.900)

6:09 pm Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, HB: Some leg separation on early pirouettes, layout Tkachev to straddle Tkachev is great, stalder to blind change to Endo full, almost over the bar on that one, stuck the double double layout. 13.333 (5.0, 8.333)

6:07 pm. Diogo Soares, Brazil, FX: Little hop back on the double double. 2.5 to barani, clean and solid. Front full to Rudi. Forward roll to straddle press handstand, rolls out into a split then presses from there into a handstand, a little short. Clean double full with a slight hop. Lovely triple full. WHAT A DAY. 13.633 (5.2, 8.433)

6:06 pm. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, HB: Cassina, nice. Kolman, late twist but still gets it. Layout Tkachev, then straddle Tkachev, he’s almost doing Sam’s routine until that point! Yamawaki to Endo, that’s what I love to see. Hop full. Double double layout low with a hop. 14.225 (6.2, 8.025)

6:04 pm. ROTATION 5 STANDINGS

1. Sam Mikulak, United States, 70.999
2. James Hall, Great Britain, 70.599
3. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 70.298
4. Shane Wiskus, United States, 69.064
5. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, 68.532
6. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, 68.298
7. Diogo Soares, Brazil, 67.665
8. Lee Chih-Kai, Chinese Taipei, 67.273
9. Nestor Abad, Spain, 67.215
10. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, 66.065
11. Andreas Toba, Germany, 65.997
12. Hu Xuwei, China, 63.999

6:02 pm. Long wait for Sam’s score. James Hall was able to take Oleg Verniaiev, though!

6:00 pm. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, PB: HUGE straddle salto, brushed his feet on the mat, kinda missed a hand on the Bhavsar and loses his leg form a little, press handstand out of a pike sit, nice Tippelt, falls over on a handstand but pulls it back. Double front is stuck cold, excellent landing there! HUGE mega-watt smile. GOD I LOVE HIM. 13.466 (5.7, 7.766)

5:58 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, HB: Cassina, Kolman, layout Tkachev, straddle Tkachev to straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, REALLY has to muscle out of it and almost pauses on the bar but doesn’t have to because #STRONG, GREAT fight, one-arm pirouette, just a small hop back on the double double layout dismount. He’s happy with that! 14.033 (6.1, 7.933)

5:57 pm. James Hall, Great Britain, PB: Little salto up to handstand, salto half also nice. Came kind of quickly out of one of the transitions between the bars but better than falling. Big straddle salto with a super solid catch. Press handstand out of it, arched a handstand directly following that, good double front, maybe a little overrotated. Brinn Bevan cheering on the side, his hair is pink and he has a mustache so things are going great over there. 14.200 (6.1, 8.100)

5:55 pm. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, HB: Yamawaki half, Yamawaki, straddle Tkachev, arched the handstand out of it a bit, straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, stoop full is a little crooked, Endo is muscled, Endo half back to regular grip, hop full, tucked double double with a slight hop. Well, he stayed on! 12.866 (5.2, 7.666)

5:53 pm. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, PB: Tippelt at the start, sounded like he hit his feet before. Good transition between the bars. Great handstand before swinging through a little basket type of thing, more good pirouette transitions, just little hand adjustments. Good landing on the dismount. 13.900 (5.9, 8.000)

5:49 pm. Andreas Toba, Germany, PB: Really fancy, quick pirouette work at the beginning. Too bad I don’t know what I’m talking about in terms of skills but I know fancy work when I see it. I also know that this will be a lower D routine than one with lots of saltos. #LEARNING Nice pirouette onto the single rail, that he kips out of. Lost his leg form a bit on a transition, then a double pike with a tiny hop. 13.566 (5.3, 8.266)

5:47 pm. Hu Xuwei, China, HB: This poor soul needs our prayers for high bar more than anyone after the day he’s had. Liukin, nice! Layout Tkachev, straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, layout Tkachev to mixed grip to stoop full to Endo, good. Hop full, stalder, stuck double double. HUUUUUU XUWEIIIIIIII! That was great. Good job getting your life together. 14.000 (6.0, 8.000)

5:46 pm. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, PB: Solid on his pirouette elements, straddle salto to his arms, Tippelt, slow and stady, into an Ono I believe. Double front half-out, almost looked like he was gonna clip his feet on the bar as he kicked out of that twist but no issues other than just being a little low. 13.900 (5.4, 8.500)

5:44 pm. Diogo Soares, Brazil, HB: Mixed grip before his one-arm pirouette, nice. Stoop full, stoop half, nice. Layout Tkachev to mixed grip, layout Tkachev, straddle Tkachev, one-arm giant, stalder, full-twisting double layout stuck. He’s having a DAY! Difficulty still too “junior” to keep him in the mix against seniors but he looks fantastic. 13.600 (5.2, 8.400)

5:43 pm. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, PB: Salto to handstand, lovely, One-arm swing down back up  to handstand, another good pirouette, lost a handstand slightly after that but nothing severe. Tippelt, clean and solid. Big straddle salto to his arms, and a double pike with a slide back. 14.066

5:41 pm. Nestor Abad, Spain, HB: Layout Tkachev, layout Tkachev to mixed grip, stoop half, straddle Tkachev right to a straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, nice. Rybalko to Endo to stoop, full-twisting double layout, maybe a tad low but really absorbed that stuck landing so I wouldn’t deduct for that tbh. 13.833 (5.6, 8.233)

5:38 pm. Shane Wiskus, United States, PB: “One skill at a time, just like at home!” Wise words from Sam yelling over at high bar. Lovely first handstand. Second is gorgeous too. Salto with a half twist catches his arm a bit but good recovery. Good straddle salto. Bhavsar I think had a kind of rough catch but again he recovers well. Tippelt is great. Nice high landing on the double front, small hop. 13.366 (5.6, 7.766)

5:35 pm. ROTATION 4 STANDINGS

1. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 57.432
2. Sam Mikulak, United States, 56.966
3. James Hall, Great Britain, 56.399
4. Shane Wiskus, United States, 56.399
5. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, 54.466
6. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, 54.398
7. Diogo Soares, Brazil, 54.065
8. Nestor Abad, Spain, 53.382
9. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, 53.373
10. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, 52.599
11. Andreas Toba, Germany, 52.431
12. Hu Xuwei, China, 49.999

5:33 pm. James Hall, Great Britain, VT: Kaz 1.5, fantastic! Step to the side OOB, but overall that was pretty solid and great in the air. 14.300 (5.2, 9.200, -0.1)

5:30 pm. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, PB: Apparently I’m all over the TV for p-bars. As it should be. Great handstand at the start, transitions seamlessly from one to two bars. Single rail hold tilts a bit but brings it back. Second transition between the bars is fantastic. Tippelt, gorgeous, then he goes between the bars again and flies off sideways ALMOST into the judges, which would have been preferable to just falling. GOD he’s pissed. Gets the transition this time. I can hear his exasperated breathing. Double front half-out was great. UGHHHHH. Way to murder my heart. 13.966 (6.4, 7.566)

5:28 pm. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, VT: A nice, manageable kaz full from him. Solid with a lunge back. 13.933 (4.8, 9.133)

5:26 pm. Hu Xuwei, China, PB: I keep calling this pommels. WHERE AM I. Wasn’t typing at the beginning but all was going relatively well until a transition between bars that caused him to tilt all the way over and off. Huge straddle salto. Fell on the bars on his tippelt LORD. Double pike dismount. 11.900 (5.7, 6.200)

5:25 pm. Andreas Toba, Germany, VT: Low kaz 1.5 but at least he doesn’t DIE. 13.766 (5.2, 8.666, -0.1)

5:22 pm. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, VT: Kaz 1.5, sits it. WELP. Vault is going GREAT. 13.200 (5.2, 8.000)

5:21 pm. Diogo Soares, Brazil, PB: The beginning goes well, SUPER nice handstand positions. Everything is super fluid and seamless until a transition between the rails just tilts a bit. Double pike stuck!!! Big smile on his face right before he lands, like he KNOWS it’s gonna be good. 13.766 (5.2, 8.566)

5:19 pm. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, VT: Kaz double, underrotated it, and comes down REALLY hard on his right ankle. Crashed. Looks okay after breathing for a second. 13.500 (5.6, 7.900)

5:17 pm. Nestor Abad, Spain, PB: One-arm pirouette is nice. God my view is unbelievable???? Muscled a handstand before another one-arm swing. Tippelt goes up nicely. The rest was nice, double front comes off a little low, though, and he sits it. He’s like 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 I hate my life 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 13.033 (5.6, 7.433)

5:16 pm. Shane Wiskus, United States, VT: Kaz 1.5, just a slight hop to the side. Knees were softer in the air than usual, maybe compensating for lower height off the table or something? He’s normally really tight in his knee form I think. 14.366 (5.2, 9.166)

5:15 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, PB: I wasn’t typing during this because I have an INSANE pommels view and wanted to film. He had a few handstands that went a bit off but overall a solid set, and he stuck his dismount. 14.666 (6.4, 8.266)

5:13 pm. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, VT: Handspring double front, big hop forward, but solid set. 14.033 (5.2, 9.133, -0.3)

5:09 pm. ROTATION 3 STANDINGS

1. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 43.466
2. Sam Mikulak, United States, 42.300
3. James Hall, Great Britain, 42.099
4. Shane Wiskus, United States, 41.332
5. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, 40.966
6. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, 40.465
7. Nestor Abad, Spain, 40.349
8. Diogo Soares, Brazil, 40.299
9. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, 40.173
10. Andreas Toba, Germany, 38.665
11. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, 38.566
12. Hu Xuwei, China, 38.099

5:07 pm. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, SR: I missed the beginning. Swinging a bit in his pike sit, pressed to handstand, BEAUTIFUL handstand there. GOD he should teach a clinic here. Double pike to double tuck to handstand, PERFECTION. Double double with a step. 13.566 (4.6, 8.966)

5:06 pm. Hu Xuwei, China, VT: Completely crashed his kaz full. Literally didn’t see the beginning of that at all, just saw him come super low off the table and was like YIKES GOODBYE. 12.300 (4.8, 7.800, -0.3)

5:04 pm. Andreas Toba, Germany, SR: Maltese, to inverted hang to maltese, pretty good. To iron cross. Double tuck to double pike to straddle planche, a little tentative there. Inverted hang to handstand, really nice work on these handstands. Full-twisting double layout with a small hop for some DISMOUNT VARIETY! 13.633 (5.8, 7.833)

5:03 pm. Diogo Soares, Brazil, VT: Yurchenko double, chest slightly forward, small hop. 13.966 (4.8, 9.166)

5:02 pm. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, SR: Inverted hang to maltese to iron cross. Kind of weird muscly  move into the next iron cross. Double tuck to straddle planche, bends his elbows and adjusts. SUPER arched on the handstand after. Double pike to handstand is better, shoulder angle is off though, and he starts to sway again. Double double low with a step forward. 13.066 (5.3, 7.766)

4:58 pm. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, SR: Iron cross, chin nod. Inverted hang, swings to iron cross. Straddle planche, hips are REALLY high and the extension isn’t super cute. Handstand, second handstand with slightly bent elbows that he has to muscle out of, double pike to double tuck to pike sit, good. Muscled handstand, super arched and he’s swaying a bit. Double double, feet are stuck, adjustment in the chest. 13.900 (5.3, 8.600)

4:57 pm. Nestor Abad, Spain, VT: Kaz full with a hop, clapped for himself, as you should. Form in the air was tight, just a little low on the landing with a step to the side. 13.833 (4.8, 9.083)

4:55 pm. Shane Wiskus, United States, SR: Inverted hang to maltese, through to iron cross, nice. Inverted hang down to pike, swings up to his double tuck to double pike to straddle planche, beautiful straddle, hips maybe a little high? Arched his handstand a tiny bit after that. The second was fab. Step back on the dismount, I couldn’t see but I assume a double double. 13.866 (5.4, 8.466)

4:54 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, VT: Kaz 1.5, looked really great in the air, a little back in the landing and he has to take a hop, but that was really solid. I saw him sit a couple earlier today. Someone in the crowd just yelled YOU LOOK GREAT SAM!!! lmaoooooo 14.400 (5.2, 9.200)

4:52 pm. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, SR: Maltese, swings to inverted hang to maltese. Planche, straight from head to toe, but then falls over in his handstand out of it and has to press back up. Next handstand is better. Double pike to double tuck to pike sit. Press to handstand, swinging a bit. Double double, a hair under rotated with a step back. 13.200 (5.2, 8.000)

4:51 pm. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, VT: Dragulescu, SO high on the landing!!! That was fabulous. Small step to the side. 14.800 (5.6, 9.200)

4:50 pm. James Hall, Great Britain, SR: Maltese, his arms look hyperextended! Iron cross, saltos through to straddle planche, pike sit up to handstand, pretty steady there. Second handstand, bum arches over a tiny bit but he’s fighting it. Third handstand is way more arched but again fights it. Sticks the double double with his chest slightly down. That’s three good ones for James! 14.133 (5.6, 8.533)

4:46 pm. ROTATION 2 STANDINGS

1. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 28.666
2. James Hall, Great Britain, 27.966
3. Sam Mikulak, United States, 27.900
4. Shane Wiskus, United States, 27.466
5. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, 27.107
6. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, 27.066
7. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, 26.899
8. Nestor Abad, Spain, 26.466
9. Diogo Soares, Brazil, 26.333
10. Hu Xuwei, China, 25.799
11. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, 25.366
12. Andreas Toba, Germany, 25.032

4:44 pm. Andreas Toba, Germany, PH: Scissors to handstand, slightly short. Hip angle is pretty closed on almost everything. But a hit routine! 13.266 (5.7, 7.566)

4:42 pm. Diogo Soares, Brazil, SR: Straddle planche, to pike sit, pressed to handstand, just slight sway in his back. Double pike to double tuck up to handstand, arched way over, all of his handstands are a bit archy, but none of them go completely over at least. Double double with a hop. 13.233 (4.6, 8.633)

4:41 pm. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, PH: Love how he jumps right up into his handstand for his mount. Flairs start out GREAT but then he whacks his leg on the horse while coming through LORD HAVE MERCY. Back on, flairs for literally everything, his bum is like a solid two feet above the horse, as a short-armed person I’m like damn. The rest was gorgeous, god that fall killed me. 13.941 (6.3, 7.641)

4:38 pm. Nestor Abad, Spain, SR: Straddle planche, angle looks a little wonky, brings it right to a planche then down to a maltese, GOD that’s great, BEYOND insane control needed to do that. Maltese to inverted pike, swings up to handstand, double pike to handstand, shaky and a bit arched, then a double double with a step. 13.766 (5.4, 8.366)

4:36 pm. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, PH: Flairs to start are superb, SO FAST, and he transitions so well out of them. Super floaty on his single pommel work. Was SO low on his travels, the kind where you’re like, really low to the horse and have your arms spread like, across the entire thing? But he couldn’t get out of that position, basically, and flew off the end. Back on, more flairs, this time whilst traveling, and they’re very nice. Legs a little wonky in his dismount but almost no hesitation getting to handstand. Bummer about the fall. 13.400 (6.3, 7.100)

4:33 pm. Shane Wiskus, United States, PH: I wasn’t typing during his…a hit routine, he got kinda low early on and looked like his legs were basically touching the horse but no major problems throughout. 13.433 (5.0, 8.433)

4:30 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, SR: Inverted hang to maltese, nice straight body line there. Down to inverted pike up to a planche pressed through to iron cross, very nice. Double tuck to iron cross, a little swing there. Rolls through pike to handstand, then double pike to handstand, pretty solid. Swinging a lot on the next handstand. SAILED down in that double double, MY GOODNESS!!! That was a beautiful dismount. 14.100 (5.4, 8.700)

4:29 pm. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, PH: Scissor up to handstand for a little pirouette which is a little iffy but no major issues. Legs barely clear the pommels at one moment and that seems to throw him off, tries to bring them together but he can’t keep the momentum going and has to hop off the end. Finishes strong. 11.733 (5.0, 6.733)

4:28 pm. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, SR: Maltese to inverted pike to maltese to iron cross, rolls through to his saltos up to a straddle planche. Super shaky at the start of a handstand and then a little arched in the next. Great double double dismount, though. I’d call that a win for Oleg on rings. 14.133 (5.7, 8.433)

4:26 pm. James Hall, Great Britain, PH: Got the opening business out of the way pretty well. Legs come pretty far apart on some of his swings and overall he’s just not the tightest here but he’s getting through. Solid routine. 14.000 (6.0, 8.000)

4:24 pm. Hu Xuwei, China, SR: Maltese swings into inverted hang, flexing his traps, you love to see it. Up to a planche, swings through to iron cross. I looked away for a second but I think he did saltos into an iron cross, double double dismount with a step back. 13.733 (5.7, 8.033)

4:23 pm. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, PH: Wasn’t typing at the beginning but everything looked fine to me. Slow and steady in his pirouettes, that was nice. Just slight leg separation into the dismount. Overall fine! 12.933 (5.0, 7.933)

4:21 pm. ROTATION 1 STANDINGS

1. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 14.533
2. Shane Wiskus, United States, 14.033
3. James Hall, Great Britain, 13.966
4. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, 13.966
5. Sam Mikulak, United States, 13.800
6. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, 13.666
7. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, 13.633
8. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, 13.166
9. Diogo Soares, Brazil, 13.100
10. Nestor Abad, Spain, 12.700
11. Hu Xuwei, China, 12.066
12. Andreas Toba, Germany, 11.766

4:17 pm. Lee Chih-Kai, Taiwan, FX: He stepped so gingerly onto the  floor. Double double, solid landing. Front full to front double full with a hop. 2.5, comes out of it super low, into a front tuck, which is pretty seated…I don’t think his bum touched but it’s close. Flairs get applause because obviously. Wide-arm press handstand is good in my book. Clean double full. Triple full, a little short, some ankle form. 13.166 (5.5, 7.666)

4:15 pm. Nestor Abad, Spain, FX: Scissors, press up to handstand is a little slow and he looks like he gets a wee bit stuck coming back down to the horse. Gets super stuck in his pirouettes but again brings it back under control. Handstand up to the dismount, fine. Good fight and he’s laughing, hahaha. 12.700 (4.9, 7.800)

4:13 pm. Daiki Hashimoto, Japan, FX: Double double, opens up SO early but comes in too far forward and still winds up short, hop forward. Front full to Randi, also a little short, lunge out of it. Okay I didn’t count the twists in the next pass. 2.5 to front full or front double full? Then a 1.5 to Rudi, and a double full. Triple full with a big hop forward. 13.666 (6.0, 7.666)

4:12 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, PH: Good scissor work into his swing. Nice control on his pirouettes. Hips get a little low at times but nothing to throw him off. Legs are BARELY clearing the two pommels, LORD lmao. Then he completely flops down from handstand into the dismount, hahaha. A solid B. 13.800 (5.9, 7.900)

4:09 pm. Shane Wiskus, United States, FX: Double front half-out with a hop back. Double double, small hop forward. 2.5 to front full, a little low with the knees but fine for MAG I think. Front double full to barani, great. Double full, clean and floaty. Finishes with a triple full, a little low with a hop forward. 14.033 (5.8, 8.233)

4:05 pm. Rene Cournoyer, Canada, FX: Double double, stuck cold. Okay boys! Front layout to piked double front with a hop forward. Front full to front double full, steps to control the landing. 1.5 to Rudi. Love the wide-arm press out of a split for his strength business. Double full. Full-in with a step back to finish, heel just slides out-of-bounds. 13.733 (5.7, 8.133, -0.1)

4:03 pm. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, PH: Scissors to handstand back to scissors almost right into a one-hand swing. Fluid so far. Gets a little stuck in a pirouette but recovers well. Single pommel work is solid and SO quick-twitch with his hands. Legs come apart on a traveling element, but he seamlessly brings it all back together and finishes with a solid dismount. 14.533 (6.5, 8.033)

4:01 pm. James Hall, Great Britain, FX: DAMN, stuck the crap out of that double double. Arabian double front half-out, also CRUSHED the landing!!! Front double full to barani, pretty clean and solid. Rudi side pass, a little chest down. 2.5 to front layout, another perfect landing. Layout was maybe a little weirdly arched. Came up really high in his triple full but didn’t get a ton of distance, ended up a little low but that was a hell of a statement routine. 13.966 (5.8, 8.166)

4:00 pm. Hu Xuwei, China, PB: Lost his rhythm on a handstand pirouette and came off. The rest was pretty nice, had strong extension throughout. Just leg separation going up into the dismount, which looked a little rushed. 12.066 (5.5, 6.566)

3:58 pm. Pablo Brägger, Switzerland, FX: Randi to start, not bad. Double double with a little hop back. 1.5 to front double full, the 1.5 was so slow and floaty and then he spun the crap out of that double, damn. Arabian double front half-out, solid. 2.5 to front full. Finishes with a really nice triple full. OKAY BRO. 13.966 (6.0, 8.066, -0.1 ND)

3:55 pm. Diogo Soares, Brazil, PH: Big senior international debut for this kid! Scissor element right to his single pommel work, pretty. smooth. He’s overall petty solid and efficient here, honestly no real mistakes until he just muscles the dismount a little bit, a very good start! He’s my secret hope for a podium spot. Would love to see that happen for him. 13.100 (5.2, 7.900)

3:53 pm. Andreas Toba, Germany, FX: Double front is pretty low but he keeps it up. Hop back. 1.5 to Rudi I think after that. 2.5 to front tuck, some form issues throughout. Good double full. I’m pretending whatever nonsense DJ MATTY MATT is blasting in the arena is his chosen floor music. Ugh, triple full, underrotated and to his knees. 11.766 (4.9, 8.866)

3:51 pm. The men are beginning their touch warm-up! Let’s see if I’ll be able to count these floor twists.