29 athletes competed in the men's short program, which ETV+ covered from 4.45 p.m. Thursday. 24 of these were to advance to the free skate event on Saturday.

Aleksander Selevko, 24, took silver at the European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania two years ago and is among the favorites, having already taken second place at the Grand Prix stage in Canada and set a new PB in the short program of 91.28 points.

His younger brother Mihhail has been struggling since late last year with issues resulting from replacement blades and boots.

At last year's European Championships in Tallinn, the pair were among the top ten, with Mihhail placing seventh and Aleksander ninth.

The Selevko brothers were up in the penultimate platoon in the short program, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Other names to watch out for were defending champ Lucas Birgig (Switzerland).

On the night, Mihhail Selevko skated for 88.28 points, also a PB.

"In fact, I was very nervous beforehand, but once I started the program, I calmed down and felt fresh. I actually felt fresh all week," he said post competition.
"I really love this program, it is very close to my heart," he continued. "And I love skating to it, which certainly helps. I try to maintain focus and take one element at a time."

Aleksandr Selevko did even better with 88.71 points, though little below the 91.28 points he posted in November at Skate Canada.

"I am very satisfied. It wasn't perfect, but it was a clean program and I think I did quite well, because the pressure was high. This is the last qualifying competition for us. So it was difficult," Aleksandr said.

Georgia's Nika Egadze scored 91.28 points to win the short program.

The free skate event will be held on Saturday.

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