In a field featuring world champions, Olympic medalists, and rising rivals, Madison Chock and Evan Bates delivered with authority, topping both the rhythm dance and free dance to win their third consecutive Grand Prix Final title. The American duo finished with 220.42 points, building a comfortable lead with a crisp, confident Lenny Kravitz rhythm dance, then sealing gold with their theatrical Paint It, Black free — a program framed around matador and bull imagery, sharpened by intricate skirt work, attack, and control.

Chock and Bates, three-time world champions, Olympic team gold medalists, and one of the most decorated American ice dance teams in history, continue to look every bit like Milan Cortina 2026 favorites. Training out of Montreal, and skating in what could be their final competitive season, they leave Nagoya with momentum, poise, and the sense of a legacy still being written.

Silver went to newly-formed French pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who scored 214.25, after Fournier Beaudry suffered a shock fall when catching her blade on her skirt, and a separate deduction for an extended lift. Only in their first year together, the duo quickly have climbed, with Cizeron returning to competition after winning Olympic gold and five world titles with Gabriella Papadakis, and Fournier Beaudry rebuilding after a turbulent end to her last partnership. Their free dance to The Whale showed incredible skill and edge-work with Cizeron’s signature softness and long lines, paired with Fournier Beaudry’s strength and musical clarity, still a work in refinement, but already medal-ready. They look like the clearest challengers to the Americans as the Olympic cycle progresses.

The bronze medal was settled by less than six hundredths of a point. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson rallied with a spirited Scottish free dance to score 208.81, just edging Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier who finished fourth at 208.75. Fear and Gibson brought crowd electricity and full-throttle personality, performing with a looseness that builds from year to year. For Britain’s first world medalists in 41 years, this podium is another step toward a real Olympic contention narrative.

Gilles and Poirier, the reigning world silver medalists, skated with their signature lyricism and emotional sweep in Vincent Reimagined, though some levels and technical calls held them back just enough to miss the podium by 0.06 points. With refinement, this program could grow into something special.

In 5th, Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius continued their landmark season, scoring 199.61 in their first Grand Prix Final. Reed’s long journey — from Vancouver 2010 to finally regaining Olympic eligibility after citizenship challenges — makes this finish meaningful beyond ranking. Their club-inspired free dance radiated energy and connection, signaling Lithuania will arrive in Milan ready to compete.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik rounded out the field in sixth with 193.61, a milestone appearance in their first Final after breakout silver and bronze Grand Prix finishes. Still early in their partnership arc and steadily rising, the U.S. pair gained invaluable top-tier experience amid a lineup that could mirror the Olympic final itself.

As expected, the Grand Prix Final offered a clarity as top teams went head-to-head for the first and last time until the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games. Chock and Bates remain the standard, the French are closing fast, and the pack behind them is deep enough that fractions may decide the next podiums. If this Final was a preview of Milan, the race for ice-dance supremacy just is heating up.