A good start to the final match-up between our two rivals. Clearly, there's a lot happening between these characters which needs to be bashed out between them, and this final gives the perfect time for them to do so. Overall, I think Shu's probably going to be okay for the whole of the final, but then the consequences of his actions will happen afterwards. My prediction is that our main character wins (it's a shounen and it's a first competition), but at least he's had a bit of character development given what he discovered about Shu in the episode prior and the emotional weight of that. Good luck with your arm, Shu, you're gonna need it.