69th 4-Hills-Tournament - who will get into the flow?

The 69th 4-Hills-Tournament is just around the corner and it's as exciting as barely ever before, even if it hasn't started yet. Can Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud continue his incredible winning streak? Can Markus Eisenbichler present himself in his best shape in the first two home competitions of the winter? Will Karl Geiger be fit again in time after his Covid-19 infection? Can Kamil Stoch follow up on his performances from Engelberg?

Ski Jumping is a sport which is not really good for sports betting, as it is extremely hard to predict who's going to win the next competition. Winning streaks, like the one of Halvor Egner Granerud, are the exception, but still, they happen from time to time. Halvor Enger Granerud started this streak basically from zero. Not even the 24-year-old himself can explain why it's going that well for him right now. "I don't make extremely good jumps, the jumps are stable, but they are not outstanding", he explained after his fifth win in a row. Everything simply works out for him at the moment and nobody really knows why and how long it will last.

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi had a similar streak two year's ago, Domen Prevc of Slovenia surprisingly won four competitions and started the 4-Hills-Tournament as the overall World Cup leader and top favorite. Prevc's streak ended with the opening event of the 4-Hills-Tournament. He was 26th in Oberstdorf, the dream of the overall title was over. In the end, Prevc finished in a good ninth place in the overall ranking. The 4-Hills-Tournament has its own rules.

So far, Granerud didn't have any pressure at all, he earned his five wins in a row with extreme consistency, but somehow they also just happened. He didn't have to think about it for one second, he has never been home to spend time with family and friends and let his success sink in. Now comes the 4-Hills-Tournament and with it the question of whether Granerud will be able to just not care about the pressure. If yes, then the Norwegian will be very hard to beat.

Domen Prevc was not able to do it in 2016, Ryoyu Kobayashi made it look easy in 2018/19. Kobayashi won all four competitions of the 4-Hills-Tournament, he claimed one win after the other. At the end of the season, he had won 13 competitions and the overall World Cup title.

Markus Eisenbicher: the fighter
As always, the opener in Oberstdorf will be key. Markus Eisenbichler is the main opponent of the Norwegian. If Eisenbichler can beat Granerud in Oberstdorf, then the pressure would be on the Norwegian, a new situation for him this winter. Eisenbichler is a fighter, nothing motivates him more than his own good performances. After his second jump on Sunday in Oberstdorf, Eisenbichler is now in the perfect position for the start of the 4-Hills-Tournament. It was an amazing jump.

Will Karl Geiger be fit?
For Karl Geiger, the new Ski Flying World Champion and Dad, it is about being fit, first and foremost. According to Geiger, he is symptom-free so far, after his Covid-19 diagnosis before the World Cup in Engelberg. The Oberstdorf-native now hopes that he will be able to compete in the opening event of the 4-Hills-Tournament. If he would be able to take part in Oberstdorf it can be considered a success, no matter the result, because Covid-19 is not just like the flu most of the time and it's not that easy to get back to normal after just a couple of days.

Top contender: Kamil Stoch
Poland's Kamil Stoch is one of the top contenders at the 4-Hills-Tournament. The three-time Olympic champion has already won the overall title twice (2016/17 and 2017/18). The 33-year-old is extremely experienced and planned to be in top shape for the 4-Hills-Tournament. His results from Engelberg last weekend (2nd and 7th) say a lot.

Are there others who might have a chance to win the 4-Hills-Tournament? Sure: Yukiya Sato (JPN) and Piotr Zyla (POL). The cool Japanese is not lacking much to possibly dominate the field. The experts say that he just has to find his ideal position in the flight and then he can be among the best - the very best. Sato is training in Oberstdorf with the Japanese team this week, they are not going home over the Christmas break, it would be too complicated. This might be an advantage for Sato. Piotr Zyla of Poland is on a similar level. The 33-year-old fan favorite is in his best shape ever and everything goes well for him, he can win the 69th 4-Hills-Tournament.

And then there are various other strong athletes, but honestly, we don't think they can beat those mentioned above at the 69th 4-Hills-Tournament. But the 4-Hills-Tournament has its own rules, just remember Thomas Diethart, who surprised everyone when he took the overall title 2013/14.