| Place | Skater | Country | CD1 | CD2 | OD | FD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Anjelika Krylova / Oleg Ovsiannikov | RUS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2. | Marina Anissina / Gwendal Peizerat | FRA | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3. | Shae-Lynn Bourne / Victor Kraatz | CAN | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4. | Irina Lobacheva / Ilia Averbukh | RUS | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5. | Barbara Fusar-Poli / Maurizio Margaglio | ITA | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 6. | Elizabeth Punsalan / Jerod Swallow | USA | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 7. | Irina Romanova / Igor Yaroshenko | UKR | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| 8. | Margarita Drobiazko / Povilas Vanagas | LIT | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 9. | Kati Winkler / Rene Lohse | GER | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 10. | Tatjana Navka / Nikolai Morozov | BLR | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| 11. | Sylwia Nowak / Sebastian Kowlasinski | POL | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| 12. | Katerina Mrazova / Martin Simecek | CZE | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| 13. | Elena Grushina / Ruslan Goncharov | UKR | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 14. | Galit Chait / Sergey Sakhnovsky | ISR | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| 15. | Anna Semenovich / Vladimir Fedorov | RUS | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 |
| 16. | Diane Gerencser / Pasquale Camerlengo | ITA | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| 17. | Albena Denkova / Maxim Stayviski | BUL | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| 18. | Isabelle Delobel / Olivier Shoenfelder | FRA | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 |
| 19. | Chantal Lefebvre / Michel Brunet | CAN | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| 20. | Zuzana Merzova / Tomas Morbacher | SVK | 21 | 20 | 21 | 20 |
| 21. | Angelika Fuehring / Bruno Ellinger | AUT | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| 22. | Elizaveta Stekolnikova / Dmitry Kazarlyga | KZK | 20 | 21 | 20 | 24 |
| 23. | Charlotte Clements / Gary Shortland | GBR | 24 | 25 | 23 | 22 |
| 24. | Dominique Deniaud / Martial Jaffredo | FRA | 23 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| 25. | Jessica Joseph / Charles Butler | USA | 26 | 24 | 25 | |
| 26. | Eliane Hugentobler / Daniel Hugentobler | SWI | 28 | 28 | 26 | |
| 27. | Xenia Smetanenko / Samuel Gezalian | ARM | 27 | 26 | 27 | |
| 28. | Aya Kawai / Hiroshi Tanaka | JPN | 25 | 27 | 28 | |
| 29. | Kornelia Barany / Andre Rosnik | HUN | 29 | 29 | 29 | |
| 30. | Margarita Fourer / Timothy Heinecke | AUS | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Krylova & Ovsiannikov won the free dance on a 7-2 split of the panel, with the minority of the panel favoring Bourne & Kraatz. Anissina & Peizerat skated a passionate "Romeo and Juliet" for the silver medal.
Bourne & Kraatz performed "Riverdance" with energy and enthusiasm to the ecstatic cheering of the audience which included a large contingent of their countrymen. After their performance Bourne said "That's the best we have ever skated the free dance. That's a great way to end the season, skating in Minneapolis in front of such a great crowd . ... I am happy with our skate, that was the main thing, I don't even really care if we have a medal or not for this performance because it was one of the best we've done."
Before the start of the free dancing there was some speculation that the judges might drop Bourne & Kraatz into fourth place behind Lobacheva & Averbukh as "punishment" for the comments they and their coach, Natalia Dubova, made during the Olympics regarding the judging of that event. But their wasn't any hint of that in the marks with all nine judges placing the Canadians above Lobacheva & Averbukh, and three of the judges having them in first or second.
Lobacheva & Averbukh skated a capable but tame free dance to "Jesus Christ Superstar" for a fourth place finish, while the Italian team of Fusar-Poli & Margaglio held fifth place over Punsalan & Swallow. With a 6th place result and a dnq from Joseph & Butler, the U.S. qualified two couples for next year's Championships.
The original dance broke the ties from the compulsory dances and set the stage for the final showdown in the free dance tomorrow.
Krylova & Ovsiannikov continue to sail easily towards the gold medal, while Anissina & Peizerat claimed sole possession of second place and seem destined for the silver here. They received all nine second place ordinals while Bourne & Kraatz had five thirds, three fourths and a fifth.
On a 6-3 split of the panel, Fusar-Poli & Margaglio moved ahead of Punsalan & Swallow, who dropped to sixth place after the OD. The second U.S. team of Joseph & Butler failed to move up one place, remained in 25th place, and were eliminated from the competition. Butler has been competing this week with injured right ankle and while recovering from bronchitis. Butler first injured the ankle just before U.S. Nationals, and reinjured it the day after returning from the Olympic Games in Nagano.
After the controversy at the Olympic Games, curiosity was high going onto the compulsory dances to see if any movement would show up in the placements here. Would Krylova & Ovsiannikov be handed first place, how would Bourne & Kraatz fare against Anissina & Peizerat, would Punsalan & Swallow remain mired behind Fusar-Poli & Margaglio, were some of the questions on peoples minds at the start of the dance event.
Krylova & Ovisiannikov won the first dance, the Golden Waltz easily, and held on to also win the second, the Silver Samba despite an obvious stumble by Ovsiannikov in the first pattern. The error cost them only one first place ordinal, and a noticeable buzz went through the audience, which appeared to be expecting a harsher penalty.
Canadian fans were elated after the first dance in which Bourne & Kraatz were placed second, but were quickly deflated in the second dance in which Anissina and Peizerat were placed ahead of them. The French and Canadian teams ended the day tied, and despite what happens tomorrow, the silver and bronze medals will no doubt be decided in the free dance.
Punsalan & Swallow had two good skates, with the Silver Samba particularly well done. They placed ahead of the Italian team that beat than in Nagano, and it looks hopeful that they can hold fifth here.
Joseph & Butler started off today with a Golden Waltz skated in slow motion, and with a 26th place result it looked like they might be destined to be eliminated after the Original Dance. (Only the top 24 teams after the OD skate the free dance.) They perked up in the Silver Samba, however, where they placed 24th, for a 25th place finish after the CDs. Their OD is considered strong enough to at least hold 24th place, so they have a good shot to move up the one spot needed to dodge the elimination bullet.