Russian teenager Artur Gachinsky was a surprise third on his world championship debut in Moscow on Thursday, where Canada's Patrick Chan collected a record score for the second day in a row.
Chan, 20, captured his first global title at the World Figure Skating Championships on Thursday and received another world record mark of 187.96 for a near-flawless free program to become the first Canadian male to win the crown since Jeffrey Buttle triumphed in Sweden in 2008.
Japan's Takahiko Kozuka, who was sixth going into the free skate, took silver with an inspired routine.
Fellow Japanese Nobunari Oda, second at the start of the day, slumped to sixth.
Kozuka's silver was his best result in a major competition, and he was motivated to give Japan something to cheer for after last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami forced the championships to be moved from Tokyo to Moscow.
"All I wanted to do is skate my best, and I'm glad I was able to bring some good news back home," said the 22-year-old, whose previous best result at the world championships was sixth in 2009.
With former world and Olympic gold medalist Yevgeny Plushenko serving an indefinite ban, the home crowd's hopes were pinned on Gachinsky, and the 17-year-old was equal to the task.
"Of course, I was quite nervous before the competition," said the Muscovite, who is coached by Plushenko's mentor Alexei Mishin. "But as soon as I came on to the ice the nerves were gone, and I was able to show my skills to the fullest."
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