Defending champions, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, were first after the short program, with Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy in second, and new Russian team, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, in third.
Savchenko and Szolkowy then won the long program to win their third World title, reclaiming the crown they lost in 2010 and setting a new record score in the long program and overall. They became Germany's second most successful pair at the event after Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier who won four World titles in the 1930s. Volosozhar and Trankov medaled after only a year together and at their first major international competition. Pang Qing and Tong Jian took the bronze.
In the short program, Eric Radford's nose was broken when Meagan Duhamel's elbow hit him on the descent from a twist, their first element, but they completed the program without a break; the pair were able to compete in the long program, and finished seventh overall.
