Abramenko, a veteran of the aerials circuit, became the first-ever Ukrainian to win a World Cup crown in any freestyle discipline with his success during the 2015 to 2016 campaign.

The 28-year-old, a Junior World Championships silver medallist in 2006, put in a series of consistent displays on his way to the top of the podium last year but is likely to face even stiffer competition this time around.

American Mac Bohonnon, winner of the crystal globe in 2015, endured a difficult campaign last season and is expected to come back with a bang, while home skier Qi Guangpu is also set to be in contention.

On the women’s side, Ashley Caldwell of the United States, who competed at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver at the age of 17, will be aiming to secure her second consecutive overall title.

Considered the current best in the world, the American has achieved seven podiums in the past 10 World Cup events and may take some beating in the upcoming campaign.

Others who will harbour hopes of being crowned as overall champion in the aerials discipline include Australia’s Danielle Scott, who was second last year, and Xin Zhang of China.

The weekend in the Jilin Province will follow in the recent tradition established at the season-opening Beijing competition over the past several seasons, with one traditional Aerials World Cup event tomorrow, followed by the popular team competition the following day.

A total of seven aerials events are due to be held across the season in spread out across Asia, Europe and North America.

Action begins with qualification before the finals are held, while the team competition concludes the event on Sunday (December 18).

The qualification jump in the team event will also count towards athlete’s overall World Cup score.