Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) Day 8 (results, text-only results): 8-0 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho kyujo kyujo Kisenosato Y2 6-2 Takayasu O Goeido 6-2 Kakuryu drew the short straw among the three ailing yokozuna and is competing this basho, but so far it's been paying off - after his more than credible return to action two months ago this 8-0 start should be helping him keep any intai calls at bay for at least the rest of the year. While I figured he should be having a decent chance at doing well (mostly on the idea that "Kakuryu with legs and no hands > Kakuryu with hands and no legs", the latter being what he had for most of last year), I must admit he's been outperforming my expectations. That said, the zensho record might be flattering him a bit as he had already had a number of close calls. On the other hand, he has looked a touch less shaky than the ozeki duo, who can also count themselves fortunate to sport 6-2's after the middle Sunday. Presumably no kadoban worries for them for Natsu basho, but they'll have to step things up if they want to play a role in the yusho race. Speaking of which, the yusho arasoi after Day 8: 8-0 Y1e Kakuryu, M6e Kaisei 7-1 M16e Daiamami 6-2 Oe Takayasu, Ow Goeido, Sw Tochinoshin, Ke Ichinojo, M13e Daishomaru, M14e Ikioi, M17e Aoiyama (Won't be a regular feature here, but with the leaders unlikely to stay unbeaten for that much longer and so many quasi-contenders from very far down, I figured it's useful for the opening post.) Today's torikumi featured the awaited sekiwake duel, in which Tochinoshin overcame a mini-HNH by fellow ozeki promotion hopeful Mitakeumi and moved ahead to 6 wins. He's not looking as dominant as he did for his championship in January, but the way this basho is unfolding he's still very much in the mix, and if he can at least reach a yusho playoff he might be taking a two-basho shortcut to ozeki. Mitakeumi for his part looks headed for another small kachikoshi. Komusubi Ichinojo looks likely to stick in sanyaku, needing only two more shiroboshi for a winning record, and while he too doesn't look quite as in control as last time (and has had a pretty soft schedule for a komusubi so far), a breakout performance in week two could still seal a promotion to sekiwake and a possible ozeki run for May. Chiyotairyu on the other hand has had the usual komusubi torikumi barrage and finds himself close to makekoshi already, not that I imagine anyone is overly surprised by this for his return to sanyaku after 3+ years. Depending on whether or not Ichinojo forces a promotion there should be one or two sanyaku slots available after the basho. The maegashira-hitto Endo and Tamawashi are both on even records right now and have looked great at times and not so good at others, but with the hard part of the schedule already done for them, they both have an excellent shot at kachikoshi. Unbeaten yusho contender Kaisei is the next-best candidate right now, followed by Shohozan, who started off 5-0 but has picked up straight losses against the top 3 active rikishi (Kakuryu and the two ozeki) since. Fellow M4 Shodai is also 5-3 but hasn't even faced any sanyaku yet, so his record is a lot less impressive than Shohozan's. 5-3 Mitakeumi S Tochinoshin 6-2 6-2 Ichinojo K Chiyotairyu 1-7 4-4 Endo M1 Tamawashi 4-4(x) 0-8 Arawashi M2 Takarafuji 1-7 2-6 Kotoshogiku M3 Takakeisho 3-5 5-3 Shohozan M4 Shodai 5-3 3-5 Chiyomaru M5 8-0 Kaisei M6 4-4 Abi M7 M8 Daieisho 5-3 5-3 Okinoumi M9 M10 Chiyonokuni 5-3 M11 Yutakayama 5-3 M12 6-2 Daishomaru M13 Some unusual and unexpected names are populating the maegashira demotion table, although high-ranked Hokutofuji and Yoshikaze aren't in any real danger. However, somewhat worried should be Tochiozan who, while needing just 2 wins to be safe, has looked dreadful at times this past week and no future opponent looks like a gimme right now. Ever-present Nishikigi is again in the mix and I suppose it's nice to have at least one constant down here in the double-digit ranks. As always I have a feeling he'll pull himself together at the right time and avoid the trip to juryo. Sokokurai also needs four wins but his survival looks like a more iffy proposition to me, while Kotoyuki and Hidenoumi appear to be headed down before too long. Myogiryu is also in some danger, and it's a touch depressing how far he has fallen over the last couple of years, considering he's still only 31 years of age. Meanwhile things are looking pretty typical in juryo with few really strong contenders for promotion but lots of guys who can hope for some magic with a strong second week. Recently demoted veteran Takekaze appears to be following the usual pattern for such rikishi, in which the first demotion is still easily reversed, and he's the top candidate for a ticket to makuuchi right now. Kyokutaisei unluckily missed out on promotion last time, but has been keeping himself near balanced records throughout the week - a simple 8-7 will almost certainly secure the promotion this time. Among the rikishi further down my favourite has to be Sadanoumi who has continued with the return to form he showed in the second half of Hatsu basho. I'm also partial to 23-year-old Takanosho who appears to be steadily improving, is 6-2 at his career-high rank and looks set to pick up his third straight KK in juryo, although a promotion is probably still out of reach this time around. (Perhaps for the better; I doubt he could handle makuuchi already.) Former ozeki Terunofuji is having a tough time even in juryo, continuing his pattern of losing to pretty much anyone who can move in and secure a good grip on him, but at least he's now at a level where some rikishi aren't skilled enough to manage that, so a 4-4 record is the result at the halfway mark. M5 Onosho kyujo (?) M6 Hokutofuji 2-6 (1) M7 Yoshikaze 2-6 (1) M8 M9 Ryuden 3-5 (1)(1) 3-5 Chiyoshima M10(2) 3-5 Tochiozan M11(1) 4-4 Ishiura M12 Kotoyuki 0-7-1 (6) M13 Asanoyama 4-4 (2) M14 Nishikigi 3-5 (4)(4) 3-5 Sokokurai M15 Myogiryu 4-4 (3) M16 Hidenoumi 2-6 (6)(2) 6-2 Aoiyama M17 --- (4) 4-4 Kyokutaisei J1 Takekaze 6-2 (2)(7) 2-6 Aminishiki J2 Kyokushuho 3-5 (6)(6) 3-5 Meisei J3 Azumaryu 2-6 (7)(4) 6-2 Sadanoumi J4 Tokushoryu 3-5 (7)(4) 6-2 Gagamaru J5 Terunofuji 4-4 (6)(7) 4-4 Chiyonoo J6 Takanosho 6-2 (5) J7(6) 6-2 Kotoeko J8(7) 5-3 Seiro J9 Daishoho 5-3 (7) J10 Mitoryu 7-1 (6) ... J13 Akiseyama 6-2 (~) The odds are against Onosho avoiding the demotion to juryo, but it's not a done deal from M5 so I'll be question-marking him until we have a better idea about the balance between promotion and demotion candidates. The 7-strong crowd of promotees from makushita are occupying the bottom 4 ranks (alongside returned-to-action Takanoiwa), and the unlikely top performer has been Akiseyama who appears almost certain to get his 25th juryo tournament next time. Super-lucky debutants Takayoshitoshi and Enho are likely to be on the way back to makushita (or worse for Takayoshitoshi, who's been withdrawn from the tournament), while everybody else has a fighting chance but also a rather tough road in needing to go 4-3 the rest of the way. Takanoiwa for his part has looked about as well as one would expect after such a long layoff, as the opposition in low juryo arguably isn't soft enough to just walk over them even for a former mid-maegashira if he hasn't done much training. In what is making me very happy, both Ms1's Hakuyozan and Wakatakakage appear set to earn their juryo debuts after just missing out in last basho's promotion bonanza. No slots available yet so it's not "official", but 4 wins at the top rank ought to be enough this time given the likely 3 to 4 spots opening up eventually. This basho's outside contender is Ms13e Murata who is continuing his makushita pattern of "strong basho -> 3-4 -> strong basho -> etc.". (2) 2-6 Amakaze J7 Tsurugisho 2-6 (2) J8 Homarefuji 3-5 (2) J9(3) 3-5 Takagenji J10(4) 2-6 Yago J11 Shimanoumi 2-6 (4)(4) 3-5 Terutsuyoshi J12 Takanoiwa 4-4 (3)(4) 3-5 Tobizaru J13 Akiseyama 6-2 (1)(5) 3-5 Takayoshitoshi J14 Enho 2-6 (6) 4-0 Hakuyozan Ms1 Wakatakakage 4-1 2-2 Dewahayate Ms2 Daiseido 1-3 3-1 Tochihiryu Ms3 Asabenkei 3-1 1-3 Gokushindo Ms4 Tenkaiho 1-3 3-1 Chiyonoumi Ms5 Akua 2-2 ... 4-0 Murata Ms13 With only 7 unbeaten rikishi in makushita they have elected to forego the Hakuyozan-Murata matchup for now and sent Hakuyozan into juryo instead. Coincidentally the opponent they picked is Takayoshitoshi, so that'll be a freebie for the yusho co-leader. Explanation of symbols used: numbers = wins needed until favourable outcome (getting promoted / not getting demoted) o = favourable outcome achieved x = favourable outcome definitely missed ~ = favourable outcome missed "by the numbers", but still achievable through banzuke luck Edited March 19, 2018 by Asashosakari 11 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocks 1,809 Posted March 19, 2018 Yes it appears almost certain Hakuyozan and Wakatakakage will get promoted. Interesting contrast. Hakuyozan has taken a little over 4 years to navigate makushita and reach juryo. Wakatakakage's came all the way from SD100TD in 1 year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) Juryo yusho race: 7-1 Mitoryu 6-2 Takekaze, Sadanoumi, Gagamaru, Takanosho, Kotoeko, Akiseyama 5-3 Seiro, Daishoho J10w Mitoryu has pretty much beaten up on all the other low-rankers so far, but I'm still seeing enough holes in his sumo that I'm not sure he'll be able to defend the lead once he gets put against some of the higher-ranked/better-skilled contenders. Based on nothing in particular I'm going to go with Akiseyama Takekaze as my yusho pick at this point, but it's juryo so anything can happen, of course. Zero head-to-head meetings among these 9 contenders tomorrow, so the shakeup potential is pretty big. Lower division yusho races (Day 7/8 results and links to video where available, plus some unusual scheduling in low jonokuchi, where ex-makushita Kenho first knocked off a 3-0 opponent in his delayed third bout at 2-0, and then left the race himself against a 2-1 aite): 4-0 Ms1e Hakuyozan (Takadagawa) 4-0 Ms13e Murata (Takasago) 4-0 Ms23e Fujiazuma (Tamanoi) 4-0 Ms25e Ryusei (Kagamiyama) 4-0 Ms33w Takemasa (Onomatsu) 4-0 Ms44e Nakazono (Nishonoseki) 4-0 Ms53e Higonojo (Kise) 4-0 Sd1e Nankairiki (Kise) 4-0 Sd11e Yamatoarashi (Shikoroyama) 4-0 Sd20e Saidaiji (Irumagawa) 4-0 Sd26w Hisanotora (Dewanoumi) 4-0 Sd32e Wakanofuji (Nishonoseki) 4-0 Sd43w Ryutsukasa (Irumagawa) 4-0 Sd47w Onokura (Miyagino) 4-0 Sd62w Asadaimon (Takasago) 4-0 Sd66e Ohata (Tokitsukaze) 4-0 Sd76w Toryu (Shikoroyama) 4-0 Sd83w Okinoiwa (Hakkaku) 4-0 Sd94w Dewaizumi (Dewanoumi) 4-0 Sd100Td Kizakiumi (Kise) 4-0 Jd12e Nishiyama (Onoe) 4-0 Jd20w Ariake (Isenoumi) 4-0 Jd26e Akashiryu (Tagonoura) 4-0 Jd30e Tetsuyuzan (Onomatsu) 4-0 Jd42w Tsukahara (Kasugano) 4-0 Jd47w Iko (Tamanoi) 4-0 Jd58e Akitoba (Minato) 4-0 Jd64w Terumichi (Isegahama) 4-0 Jd78e Yoshoyama (Tokitsukaze) 4-0 Jd81w Kotomanabe (Sadogatake) 4-0 Jd87w Hokutoryu (Tamanoi) 4-0 Jd101e Jingu (Hakkaku) 4-0 Jk1w Kayatoiwa (Minato) 4-0 Jk18e Naya (Otake) It's early days with the usual 30+ yusho contenders, but I have to say that there aren't a whole lot of the commonly expected names in there. Astounding to see 31-year-old Ryusei at 4-0 again, already the 4th time he has done it in the last 12 tournaments. Hakuyozan and Murata ought to be the favourites for the makushita yusho though for obvious reasons. Last basho's sandanme yusho winner Kaisho wasn't a factor at all, having gone 0-4 thus far. (His playoff opponent Tochikodai missed the first six days and is 0-1-3.) None of the sandanme contenders look severely underranked based on their latest tournament results, which arguably makes rookie tsukidashi Kizakiumi the automatic frontrunner simply because he has no recent history to justify his position at Sd100. He might actually have his toughest opponent today already, when he's facing jonidan Nishiyama who has been a regular at the Ms-Sd border that finds himself down here after a disastrous 1-6, 0-1-6 pair of results that's certainly not indicative of his current skills. The Hatsu jonokuchi yusho playoff pair Kototebakari and Tsukahara met again, right in their first match of the tournament, and Tsukahara once again prevailed to eliminate Kototebakari from the race early this time. Tsukahara has remained unbeaten and might be one of the main contenders next to Nishiyama. Also in the mix should be veteran Tetsuyuzan who was in makushita as recently as six months ago before two missed tournaments dropped him to jonidan. And then there's freshly joined Mongolian Yoshoyama who struggled to just a 4-3 in jonokuchi last time, but thanks to that middling record he is now in a banzuke area with a rather creampuff selection of opponents, so the 4-0 isn't a big surprise. The least expected name in the jonidan race might be Akashiryu who went 6-0 (and eventually 6-1) last time after previously finding the same banzuke section pretty tough going, and is now 4-0 against vastly better competition. And finally the jonokuchi race is down to 26-year-old sandanme regular Kayatoiwa (formerly Hamaminato) who dropped after back-to-back kyujo, and well-hyped rookie Naya, grandson of late yokozuna Taiho. The numbers have worked out such that they're not meeting yet in round 5, so Kayatoiwa goes against the lowest jonidan 4-0 while Naya has a 3-1 opponent. The early yusho decider in this division was arguably the Day 5 matchup between Naya and equally hyped Hoshoryu, ex-Asashoryu's nephew. Edited March 19, 2018 by Asashosakari 7 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) 36 former sekitori in Haru basho - well, 35 after Osunaarashi's untimely intai. Loads of guys in the Ms6-Ms15 extended promotion zone this time around, although none have managed to stay in the race to this point. Two lower-ranked ones are 4-0 in makushita with Fujiazuma and Higonojo. On the flipside, recent top divisioner Toyohibiki is 0-4 (big loss of power due to his arrhythmia issues in January?), as is Asahisho. Can you believe it's been some 5 years since Asahisho's brief forays into makuuchi? And still only 28 years old... Notes in the opening post in the basho banzuke thread. Day 8's birthday boy Takaryu got to celebrate with a shiroboshi. Record Rank Shikona Heya Age Out 2-2 Ms2e Dewahayate Dewanoumi 29 10 1-3 Ms2w Daiseido Kise 25 2 3-1 Ms3e Tochihiryu Kasugano 30 1 3-1 Ms3w Asabenkei Takasago 29 9 1-3 Ms4w Tenkaiho Onoe 33 11 2-2 Ms5w Akua Tatsunami 27 1 intai Ms6e Osunaarashi Otake 26 1 2-2 Ms7w Kitaharima Yamahibiki 31 3 2-2 Ms8e Kizenryu Kise 32 1 1-3 Ms8w Yamaguchi Miyagino 28 1 0-4 Ms9e Toyohibiki Sakaigawa 33 1 3-1 Ms9w Jokoryu Kise 29 11 1-2-1 Ms10e Kagamio Kagamiyama 30 11 kyujo Ms10w Ura Kise 25 1 1-3 Ms14e Nionoumi Yamahibiki 31 28 2-2 Ms14w Satoyama Onoe 36 4 1-3 Ms15e Tokushinho Kise 33 14 2-2 Ms15w Oiwato Hakkaku 36 26 2-2 Ms18w Keitenkai Onomatsu 28 33 2-2 Ms21e Sakigake Shibatayama 31 19 0-4 Ms22e Asahisho Tomozuna 28 5 4-0 Ms23e Fujiazuma Tamanoi 30 6 1-3 Ms24w Amuru Onomatsu 34 7 2-2 Ms29w Sagatsukasa Irumagawa 36 24 3-1 Ms30e Chiyoarashi Kokonoe 26 28 2-2 Ms32w Takaryu Kise 26 16 3-1 Ms35w Toyonoshima Tokitsukaze 34 9 2-2 Ms49w Chiyootori Kokonoe 25 2 4-0 Ms53e Higonojo Kise 33 23 3-1 Ms56w Masunoyama Chiganoura 27 18 2-2 Sd13w Kotomisen Sadogatake 34 26 2-2 Sd33e Hitenryu Tatsunami 33 39 2-2 Sd35w Dairaido Takadagawa 37 69 2-2 Sd41e Yoshiazuma Tamanoi 40 21 3-1 Sd42e Kaonishiki Azumazeki 39 39 kyujo Jd90w Masakaze Oguruma 34 32 I wonder if we'll be seeing Masakaze on the dohyo again... Edited March 19, 2018 by Asashosakari 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bumpkin 438 Posted March 19, 2018 Ms35w Toyonoshima is 3-1. Yeah! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawabata 270 Posted March 19, 2018 5 hours ago, Bumpkin said: Ms35w Toyonoshima is 3-1. Yeah! Yeah great to see Toyonoshima back in business I actually thought he was still kyujo until I noticed a video pop up on youtube yesterday. Very pleasant surprise to watch him get a win Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 19, 2018 Day 9 (results, text-only results): 9-0 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho kyujo kyujo Kisenosato Y2 7-2 Takayasu O Goeido 6-3 The basho's makuuchi yusho leader looked well in control of his opponent today and easily proceeded to pick up his 9th win. I am, of course, talking about Kaisei against Ryuden here, because yokozuna Kakuryu's sumo was anything but "in control" of Shodai and he got awfully lucky to remain unbeaten. Pursuer Daiamami wasn't able to deal with Asanoyama's relentless pushing and fell to his second loss, and suddenly the leading duo is two wins clear of the field. The luck ran out for Goeido as well as a little bit of bad footwork was enough for Chiyomaru to get the shiroboshi in his very first matchup against an ozeki. Meanwhile, Takayasu HNH'ed his way to an easy victory over Chiyotairyu, sending the komusubi to makekoshi. Incidentally, Goeido was the only loser among yesterday's big 6-2 crowd, with the other half dozen rikishi all joining Daiamami in the new 7-2 pursuit group. That group includes sekiwake Tochinoshin as well as komusubi Ichinojo, who both looked strong in their wins over Shohozan and Takakeisho respectively. Mitakeumi, however, was vanquished by a very spirited Kotoshogiku, who finally won over the sekiwake again after dropping their last five matches to him. Last not least Day 9 saw the meeting of the two M1-ranked rikishi, where Tamawashi made very short and impressive work of Endo to move ahead in the promotion sweepstakes. 5-4 Mitakeumi S Tochinoshin 7-2 7-2 Ichinojo K Chiyotairyu 1-8 (x) 4-5 Endo M1 Tamawashi 5-4 M2 Takarafuji 1-8 (x) 3-6 Kotoshogiku M3 Takakeisho 3-6 5-4 Shohozan M4 Shodai 5-4 4-5 Chiyomaru M5 9-0 Kaisei M6 5-4 Abi M7 M8 Daieisho 5-4 5-4 Okinoumi M9 M10 Chiyonokuni 5-4 (x) M11 Yutakayama 6-3 M12 7-2 Daishomaru M13 Day 10 is the start of the meaty part of the intra-sanyaku schedule, and serves up sekiwake Tochinoshin against ozeki Goeido. Most people probably won't take much convincing that the Georgian might actually be the favourite here. Elsewhere in high-ranker action it's Shodai and Chiyomaru getting thrown further to the wolves as they meet Takayasu and Kakuryu, while Mitakeumi goes against Shohozan (on a four-bout losing streak since his own foray into sanyaku action began). Yusho co-leader Kaisei receives his first joi opponent of probably several to come, facing Ichinojo. Hokutofuji and Yoshikaze should be all clear of demotion concerns now after winning their Day 9 matchups with Kokonoe pair Chiyoshoma and Chiyonokuni, though neither looked particularly convincing. Tochiozan had another bout where he seemed okay for a little while but then lost in rather depressing-looking fashion, and his physical issues this basho appear to go deeper than just the shoulder problem that caused him to miss part of the January tournament. Hidenoumi squandered one of his best remaining opportunities for a shiroboshi today, as he appeared to be able to keep control of Aminishiki up from juryo, but the veteran smartly sped up the bout at one point which was enough to take charge and dispatch Hidenoumi to the outside. He'll now need to win all remaining matches to stay in the top division. The same goes for Kotoyuki who had to battle Ikioi twice, losing the rematch rather decisively. M15 duo Sokokurai and Myogiryu were both on the losing end of matchups with 6-2 pair Aoiyama and Daishomaru, while Nishikigi prevailed against Ishiura in a meeting of demotion candidates. Over in juryo it's looking a bit more sunny for top-ranked Kyokutaisei after he used his superior mobility to forge an easy win over Gagamaru to go 5-4. Fellow J1 Takekaze had similarly little trouble with Terunofuji and now needs just one more shiroboshi for KK and a likely return to the first division. Sadanoumi also improved to 7-2 with impressive sumo to remain the #3 contender for promotion. M5 Onosho kyujo (?) M6 Hokutofuji 3-6 (o) M7 Yoshikaze 3-6 (o) M8 M9 Ryuden 3-6 (1) (1) 3-6 Chiyoshima M10 (2) 3-6 Tochiozan M11 (1) 4-5 Ishiura M12 Kotoyuki 0-8-1 (6) M13 Asanoyama 5-4 (1) M14 Nishikigi 4-5 (3) (4) 3-6 Sokokurai M15 Myogiryu 4-5 (3) M16 Hidenoumi 2-7 (6) (1) 7-2 Aoiyama M17 --- (3) 5-4 Kyokutaisei J1 Takekaze 7-2 (1) (6) 3-6 Aminishiki J2 Kyokushuho 4-5 (5) (5) 4-5 Meisei J3 Azumaryu 2-7 (~) (3) 7-2 Sadanoumi J4 Tokushoryu 3-6 (~) (4) 6-3 Gagamaru J5 Terunofuji 4-5 (6) (~) 4-5 Chiyonoo J6 Takanosho 7-2 (4) J7 (5) 7-2 Kotoeko J8 (6) 6-3 Seiro J9 Daishoho 5-4 (~) J10 Mitoryu 7-2 (6) ... J13 Akiseyama 6-3 (x) An intriguing visitor from juryo will be filling in tomorrow's schedule as KK-seeking Takekaze meets makuuchi yusho pursuer Aoiyama. Hidenoumi's survival will be at stake against Asanoyama (who could save himself here altogether). Major demotion candidates Kotoyuki and Sokokurai have been paired up, while another head-to-head bout in this group will be fought between Myogiryu and Ishiura. And in juryo Kyokutaisei will hope to make further inroads in his promotion quest against Terunofuji. Takanoiwa had one of his best showings of the basho today and his victory over Mitoryu served to put some suspense into the yusho race. The only other T* rikishi successful down here today was Takagenji, while Terutsuyoshi (against Takagenji), Tobizaru, Tsurugisho and Takayoshitoshi (due to his withdrawal) all picked up black stars. Further intra-candidate action saw the J11's pick up crucial wins, as Yago prevailed in the big-man battle against Akiseyama and Shimanoumi beat Homarefuji. Both do still need to go 3-3 the rest of the way. Bottom-ranked Enho pulled off a four (five? six?) alarm henka against Daishoho but his position remains precarious even after that victory. And finally the day also saw a rather hapless loss by Amakaze who arguably hasn't looked too good for several basho now but seems to be even worse this time. He'll probably find the necessary two more wins somehow, but considering his lack of form I also wouldn't be that shocked if he's in the demotion picture come the final weekend. Makushita-joi saw lots of contenders facing off today, with the big winner of the day being Asabenkei who clinched kachikoshi against Tochihiryu in the 3-1 matchup. At 2-2 it was Dewahayate succeeding against Akua, and at 1-3 Gokushindo sent Daiseido to makekoshi. Elsewhere Chiyonoumi failed to KK against lower-ranked Jokoryu, and Hakuyozan of course picked up his 5th win by fusensho in his juryo "appearance". Murata also improved to 5-0 and remains in the promotion mix. (2) 2-7 Amakaze J7 Tsurugisho 2-7 (2) J8 Homarefuji 3-6 (2) J9 (2) 4-5 Takagenji J10 (3) 3-6 Yago J11 Shimanoumi 3-6 (3) (4) 3-6 Terutsuyoshi J12 Takanoiwa 5-4 (2) (4) 3-6 Tobizaru J13 Akiseyama 6-3 (1) (5) 3-6 Takayoshitoshi J14 Enho 3-6 (5) 5-0 Hakuyozan Ms1 Wakatakakage 4-1 3-2 Dewahayate Ms2 Daiseido 1-4 (x) 3-2 Tochihiryu Ms3 Asabenkei 4-1 2-3 Gokushindo Ms4 Tenkaiho 1-3 3-2 Chiyonoumi Ms5 Akua 2-3 ... 5-0 Murata Ms13 Tomorrow's juryo torikumi starts off with three important matchups in the demotion race, namely Tobizaru-Enho, Yago-Terutsuyoshi and Takagenji-Shimanoumi, and later on there's also Takanoiwa-Homarefuji on the schedule. 4 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 20, 2018 Juryo yusho race: 7-2 Takekaze, Sadanoumi, Takanosho, Kotoeko, Mitoryu 6-3 Gagamaru, Seiro, Akiseyama 5-4 Kyokutaisei, Daishoho, Takanoiwa Well, that didn't take long. Mitoryu dropped the ball in today's matchup with Takanoiwa, and 4 of his 6 pursuers took the opportunity to join him at the top of the standings; only Gagamaru and Akiseyama failed to do so. We've got all KK-trending rikishi within two wins of the lead again, but unlike last basho it's not such a huge crowd as there are actually loads of juryo rikishi in MK territory right now (including no less than 9 on 3-6 records). After today's torikumi avoided direct meetings among the yusho candidates it'll be somewhat different tomorrow, with: J9e Seiro (6-3) - J9w Daishoho (5-4) J8e Kotoeko (7-2) - J13w Akiseyama (6-3) J4e Sadanoumi (7-2) - J6w Takanosho (7-2) Takekaze goes up to makuuchi as mentioned earlier, and Mitoryu gets the cheapest opponent of the day in 2-7 Tsurugisho. Lower division yusho races (Day 9 results and links to video where available, plus Hakuyozan's free win in juryo): 5-0 Ms1e Hakuyozan (Takadagawa)5-0 Ms13e Murata (Takasago) 4-1 Ms23e Fujiazuma (Tamanoi)5-0 Ms25e Ryusei (Kagamiyama) 4-1 Ms33w Takemasa (Onomatsu) 4-1 Ms44e Nakazono (Nishonoseki)5-0 Ms53e Higonojo (Kise) 5-0 Sd1e Nankairiki (Kise) 4-1 Sd11e Yamatoarashi (Shikoroyama) 4-1 Sd20e Saidaiji (Irumagawa)5-0 Sd26w Hisanotora (Dewanoumi)5-0 Sd32e Wakanofuji (Nishonoseki) 4-1 Sd43w Ryutsukasa (Irumagawa)5-0 Sd47w Onokura (Miyagino) 4-1 Sd62w Asadaimon (Takasago)5-0 Sd66e Ohata (Tokitsukaze) 4-1 Sd76w Toryu (Shikoroyama) 4-1 Sd83w Okinoiwa (Hakkaku)5-0 Sd94w Dewaizumi (Dewanoumi)5-0 Sd100Td Kizakiumi (Kise) 4-1 Jd12e Nishiyama (Onoe)5-0 Jd20w Ariake (Isenoumi) 4-1 Jd26e Akashiryu (Tagonoura) 4-1 Jd30e Tetsuyuzan (Onomatsu)5-0 Jd42w Tsukahara (Kasugano)5-0 Jd47w Iko (Tamanoi) 4-1 Jd58e Akitoba (Minato) 4-1 Jd64w Terumichi (Isegahama)5-0 Jd78e Yoshoyama (Tokitsukaze)5-0 Jd81w Kotomanabe (Sadogatake) 4-1 Jd87w Hokutoryu (Tamanoi) 4-1 Jd101e Jingu (Hakkaku) 5-0 Jk1w Kayatoiwa (Minato)5-0 Jk18e Naya (Otake) As is customary these days during the second week, all yusho-relevant matches were fought right on the first day of action. In makushita that meant that Murata, Ryusei and Higonojo joined Hakuyozan at 5-0, all of them in fairly decisive fashion. This one should be playing down to a winner in regular style now, although of course the possibility exists that they might test a 6-0 Murata against somebody other than the lower-half winner. It's usually bad news for the jonidan race if its members have to face other-division opponents at both the top and the bottom, and this basho proved no exception so the 12-strong field of contenders has now been reduced to just 5 after Nishiyama proved no match to Kizakiumi in sandanme and Jingu wasn't able to hold off jonokuchi visitor Kayatoiwa. The latter is joined by Naya who beat his 3-1 opponent Osumifuji easily. They should be meeting on Day 11 now to decide the division's sole 6-0 record. Sandanme features 7 unbeaten rikishi after today. Nankairiki, Ohata and Dewaizumi had to battle hard for their rensho, the other four went over their opponents with little trouble. Still hard to spot a genuine favourite, but I'm leaning towards Nankairiki on experience grounds and of course still Kizakiumi on his collegiate pedigree. (Intriguing to have the first and the last rikishi in the division here in the race - would make for a nice playoff matchup.) The odd number of contenders should mean that Kizakiumi is getting yet another jonidan opponent for round 6 in Ariake, who should be of mid-to-low sandanme quality arguably making Kizakiumi the favourite again. If Ariake gets eliminated we're likely headed down the road of a standard four-rikishi shootout here as well, perhaps playing down to Tsukahara-Yoshoyama as the most interesting straight Day 13 decider. 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lackmaker 437 Posted March 20, 2018 8 hours ago, Asashosakari said: test a 6-0 Murata against somebody other than the lower-half winner. Why would this be? Is it to prevent an easy route to promotion? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 20, 2018 7 hours ago, lackmaker said: Why would this be? Is it to prevent an easy route to promotion? Yes, though they seem to have moved away from that practice; the last time it happened was about five years ago. (Time flies.) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 20, 2018 Day 10 (results, text-only results): 10-0 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho kyujo kyujo Kisenosato Y2 8-2 Takayasu O Goeido 7-3 A much better showing for yokozuna Kakuryu today, including actual work on opponent Chiyomaru's mawashi, so perhaps his pre-basho finger/hand issues have abated. Kaisei-Ichinojo in the other yusho-relevant bout unsurprisingly turned into the Big Lean after a brief flurry of offense, but it was the komusubi who eventually walked away with the shiroboshi, handing Kaisei his first loss of the tournament. The big pursuers group was greatly demolished by today's action, with only ozeki Takayasu joining Ichinojo in getting his kachikoshi while the other 5 (ex-)contenders fell to 7-3. It's still not out of the question, but with every day that passes with another Kakuryu victory it's becoming less likely that the yusho line will still drop to 12-3. Both ozeki made short work of their opponents today, but while Takyasu showed strong sumo against Shodai it was a massive henka that helped Goeido beat sekiwake Tochinoshin. I wonder if he'd have pulled that anywhere except in front of his home crowd? Things didn't go any better for the other sekiwake across the aisle as Mitakeumi dropped to 5-5 in a frantic match with Shohozan. With the top three still to come (plus Chiyomaru and perhaps Kaisei), he seriously has to be concerned about his KK chances now. The M1 pair is even at 5-5 again after Endo easily prevailed over Arawashi and Tamawashi was blasted off the dohyo by the dominant version of Chiyotairyu, so their race for the possible sanyaku promotion remains heated. The M3's Kotoshogiku and Takakeisho both fell to 3-7 today, however, and are unlikely to play a role now. 5-5 Mitakeumi S Tochinoshin 7-3 8-2 Ichinojo K Chiyotairyu 2-8 (x) 5-5 Endo M1 Tamawashi 5-5 M2 3-7 Kotoshogiku M3 Takakeisho 3-7 6-4 Shohozan M4 Shodai 5-5 4-6 Chiyomaru M5 9-1 Kaisei M6 6-4 Abi M7 M8 Daieisho 5-5 (x) 6-4 Okinoumi M9 M10 M11 Yutakayama 7-3 M12 (x) 7-3 Daishomaru M13 Day 11 finally gives us two intra-sanyaku bouts after the depleted high ranks meant that the first 10 days' torikumi had to make do with just one. While West komusubi Chiyotairyu was done with his 6 sanyaku matchups by Day 9, Ichinojo on the East side still has 3 to go at this late date (that hasn't happened too often of late). Anyway, he's starting off his personal crunch time against leader Kakuryu in what's surely anticipated as the day's highlight bout, although the other sanyaku pairing of ozeki Takayasu against sekiwake Tochinoshin also looks very promising. Chiyoshoma, Ishiura and Asanoyama should be greenlighted (greenlit?) for another top division appearance in May after today's schedule saw fairly convincing victories for all of them. Tochiozan also finally had a good performance again and won for the first time in five days. Kotoyuki had arguably his best shot at his first win of the basho as his aite was Sokokurai whom he'd beaten the last five times, but it wasn't to be, and he's now demotable by the numbers. Hidenoumi (losing to Asanoyama) joins him in this predicament after today, and while both may still be able to save themselves, it's not like either has looked capable of reeling off five straight wins now, so juryo it'll be for them in Natsu. After today's results it looks like the remaining suspense will come courtesy of Nishikigi, Sokokurai and Myogiyu who all need a 3-2 finish to be safe. Visiting Takekaze rolled back the years and beat maegashira Aoiyama in decisive fashion today, clinching his kachikoshi and the likely return to makuuchi in the process. Fellow J1 Kyokutaisei strangely didn't really seem to know how to deal with Terunofuji despite all and sundry putting down the blueprint for it since Day 1, and so he drops to 5-5. Sadanoumi and Takanosho met in a matchup of yusho co-leaders, and veteran Sadanoumi added to his recent strong showings with another emphatic victory to be KK and remain a strong contender for promotion, now "officially" the #2 behind Takekaze. Kyokushuho and Meisei have quietly played themselves back into contention with 3-day winning streaks. M5 Onosho kyujo (?) ... M9 Ryuden 3-7 (1) (o) 4-6 Chiyoshima M10 (1) 4-6 Tochiozan M11 (o) 5-5 Ishiura M12 Kotoyuki 0-9-1 (~) M13 Asanoyama 6-4 (o) M14 Nishikigi 4-6 (3) (3) 4-6 Sokokurai M15 Myogiryu 4-6 (3) M16 Hidenoumi 2-8 (~) (1) 7-3 Aoiyama M17 --- (3) 5-5 Kyokutaisei J1 Takekaze 8-2 (o) (5) 4-6 Aminishiki J2 Kyokushuho 5-5 (4) (4) 5-5 Meisei J3 Azumaryu 3-7 (~) (2) 8-2 Sadanoumi J4 Tokushoryu 3-7 (x) (4) 6-4 Gagamaru J5 Terunofuji 5-5 (5) (x) 4-6 Chiyonoo J6 Takanosho 7-3 (4) J7 (5) 7-3 Kotoeko J8 (~) 6-4 Seiro J9 Daishoho 6-4 (~) J10 Mitoryu 8-2 (5) Kyokutaisei makes his third makuuchi appearance of the basho tomorrow, and if he wants to earn promotion it would be a good idea to finally win one of them; the opponent will be Daiamami. As for our demotion candidates: Myogiryu stays in the early part of the torikumi and faces Asanoyama, but Nishikigi and Sokokurai will have to contend against higher-ranked (and largely well-performing) Daieisho and Okinoumi. Tobizaru prevailed over Enho in the miniature (sorry) bout that opened today's juryo torikumi, and the latter now stands just one loss away from a trip back to makushita. Small soldier #3 Terutsuyoshi scored about an 8.5 on the Satoyama Submarining Scale before making an ill-advised attempt to lift (!) big Yago and was promptly rewarded with a kuroboshi. The third demotee matchup of the day saw Shimanoumi weather about two seconds worth of offense from Takagenji before securing an easy victory, and bout #4 had Homarefuji beating Takanoiwa in a meeting of silver mawashi. Further Day 11 action ended with losses for Amakaze and Tsurugisho (who had Mitoryu back near the tawara actually), while Akiseyama was successful (in a so very Akiseyama bout) and should be safe for more juryo in May now. Congrats! Of course, the question is: Is juryo ready for more Akiseyama? Not much activity on the makushita side as nearly everybody had already been on the dohyo on Day 11 (or 10 in Wakatakakage's case), but Tenkaiho did manage to avoid the makekoshi, sending last basho's sekitori Yamaguchi to 1-4 instead. (2) 2-8 Amakaze J7 Tsurugisho 2-8 (2) J8 Homarefuji 4-6 (1) J9 (2) 4-6 Takagenji J10 (2) 4-6 Yago J11 Shimanoumi 4-6 (2) (4) 3-7 Terutsuyoshi J12 Takanoiwa 5-5 (2) (3) 4-6 Tobizaru J13 Akiseyama 7-3 (o) (5) 3-6-1 Takayoshitoshi J14 Enho 3-7 (5) 5-0 Hakuyozan Ms1 Wakatakakage 4-1 3-2 Dewahayate Ms2 3-2 Tochihiryu Ms3 Asabenkei 4-1 2-3 Gokushindo Ms4 Tenkaiho 2-3 3-2 Chiyonoumi Ms5 Akua 2-3 ... 5-0 Murata Ms13 Three more head-to-head meetings of juryo rikishi at risk are on the slate for tomorrow with Enho-Shimanoumi, Terutsuyoshi-Tsurugisho and Amakaze-Takagenji. And in makushita it's the yusho pre-decider between Hakuyozan and Murata. Intra-top 5 action will take place between Wakatakakage and Asabenkei (4-1), Dewahayate and Chiyonoumi (3-2), as well as Gokushindo and Akua (2-3). Tochihiryu and Tenkaiho will also be competing, against opponents from below Ms5, so as usual the promotion race should be quite a bit clearer once Day 11 has concluded. 5 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) Juryo yusho race: 8-2 Takekaze, Sadanoumi, Mitoryu 7-3 Takanosho, Kotoeko, Akiseyama 6-4 Gagamaru, Seiro, Daishoho Mitoryu had to survive a mini-scare against Tsurugisho but in the end he did win and moved up to kachikoshi. Sadanoumi and Takekaze were also successful as mentioned earlier, but Takanosho and Kotoeko had to yield (to Sadanoumi and Akiseyama respectively), and drop into the new 7-3 pursuers group alongside Akiseyama. Gagamaru and Seiro missed the opportunity to stay close in the race and have fallen to the third tier now. Tomorrow's intra-action and other bouts involving these top 9: J4e Sadanoumi (8-2) - J8e Kotoeko (7-3) J5e Gagamaru (6-4) - J1w Takekaze (8-2) J13e Tobizaru (4-6) - J10w Mitoryu (8-2) J12w Takanoiwa (5-5) - J9w Daishoho (6-4) J9e Seiro (6-4) - J11e Yago (4-6) J13w Akiseyama (7-3) - J8w Homarefuji (4-6) J6w Takanosho (7-3) - J2w Kyokushuho (5-5) Lower division yusho races: 5-0 Ms1e Hakuyozan (Takadagawa) 5-0 Ms13e Murata (Takasago) 5-0 Ms25e Ryusei (Kagamiyama) 5-0 Ms53e Higonojo (Kise) 5-0 Sd1e Nankairiki (Kise) 5-0 Sd26w Hisanotora (Dewanoumi) 5-0 Sd32e Wakanofuji (Nishonoseki) 5-0 Sd47w Onokura (Miyagino) 5-0 Sd66e Ohata (Tokitsukaze) 5-0 Sd94w Dewaizumi (Dewanoumi) 5-0 Sd100Td Kizakiumi (Kise) 5-0 Jd20w Ariake (Isenoumi) 5-0 Jd42w Tsukahara (Kasugano) 5-0 Jd47w Iko (Tamanoi) 5-0 Jd78e Yoshoyama (Tokitsukaze) 5-0 Jd81w Kotomanabe (Sadogatake) 5-0 Jk1w Kayatoiwa (Minato) 5-0 Jk18e Naya (Otake) Nothing new today, of course, since everybody already competed on Day 9. The Day 11 torikumi has delivered no surprises, it's just the expected 9 pairings down the rankings. (The previously missing video links to the Day 9 sandanme matches have been added, by the way, if you want to catch up on those.) Edited March 20, 2018 by Asashosakari 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 20, 2018 The former sekitori through Day 10. new KK: Asabenkei, Jokoryu, Toyonoshima, Masunoyama new MK: Daiseido, Yamaguchi, Kagamio, Amuru Record Rank Shikona Heya Age Out 3-2 Ms2e Dewahayate Dewanoumi 29 10 1-4 Ms2w Daiseido Kise 25 2 3-2 Ms3e Tochihiryu Kasugano 30 1 4-1 Ms3w Asabenkei Takasago 29 9 2-3 Ms4w Tenkaiho Onoe 33 11 2-3 Ms5w Akua Tatsunami 27 1 intai Ms6e Osunaarashi Otake 26 1 3-2 Ms7w Kitaharima Yamahibiki 31 3 3-2 Ms8e Kizenryu Kise 32 1 1-4 Ms8w Yamaguchi Miyagino 28 1 0-5 Ms9e Toyohibiki Sakaigawa 33 1 4-1 Ms9w Jokoryu Kise 29 11 1-2-2 Ms10e Kagamio Kagamiyama 30 11 kyujo Ms10w Ura Kise 25 1 2-3 Ms14e Nionoumi Yamahibiki 31 28 2-3 Ms14w Satoyama Onoe 36 4 2-3 Ms15e Tokushinho Kise 33 14 2-3 Ms15w Oiwato Hakkaku 36 26 2-3 Ms18w Keitenkai Onomatsu 28 33 2-3 Ms21e Sakigake Shibatayama 31 19 1-4 Ms22e Asahisho Tomozuna 28 5 4-1 Ms23e Fujiazuma Tamanoi 30 6 1-4 Ms24w Amuru Onomatsu 34 7 2-3 Ms29w Sagatsukasa Irumagawa 36 24 3-2 Ms30e Chiyoarashi Kokonoe 26 28 3-2 Ms32w Takaryu Kise 26 16 4-1 Ms35w Toyonoshima Tokitsukaze 34 9 2-3 Ms49w Chiyootori Kokonoe 25 2 5-0 Ms53e Higonojo Kise 33 23 4-1 Ms56w Masunoyama Chiganoura 27 18 2-3 Sd13w Kotomisen Sadogatake 34 26 3-2 Sd33e Hitenryu Tatsunami 33 39 3-2 Sd35w Dairaido Takadagawa 37 69 2-3 Sd41e Yoshiazuma Tamanoi 40 21 3-2 Sd42e Kaonishiki Azumazeki 39 39 kyujo Jd90w Masakaze Oguruma 34 32 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocks 1,809 Posted March 20, 2018 Joker!!!! Don't let up! A couple more wins and he should be right there for promotion in July with a KK in May. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 21, 2018 (edited) Juryo yusho race: 8-3 Takekaze, Sadanoumi, Kotoeko, Mitoryu, Akiseyama 7-4 Gagamaru, Takanosho, Daishoho 6-5 Kyokutaisei, Kyokushuho, Meisei, Terunofuji, Seiro Now we're talking. Day 11 presented the juryo division at its very best, i.e. with all leaders losing. Sadanoumi fell victim to a henka by Kotoeko, Mitoryu was unceremoniously pushed back and out by 65 kg lighter Tobizaru, and Takekaze found no point of attack on Gagamaru's bulk. That wipeout has allowed newly KK Kotoeko and Akiseyama to rejoin the lead, and we can probably set the most likely yusho score at 11-4 now. Takanosho was the only pursuer not to win today (semi-henka by Kyokushuho) and has to be content staying in group two for now. We're entering the hot phase of the yusho race here now and the schedulers are facilitating it for Day 12 with lots of direct meetings among that baker's dozen of contenders: J13w Akiseyama (8-3) - J9w Daishoho (7-4) J4e Sadanoumi (8-3) - J5w Terunofuji (6-5) J3e Meisei (6-5) - J5e Gagamaru (7-4) J8e Kotoeko (8-3) - J2w Kyokushuho (6-5) J1e Kyokutaisei (6-5) - J6w Takanosho (7-4) The remaining three will be facing these opponents: J12e Terutsuyoshi (4-7) - J10w Mitoryu (8-3) J2e Aminishiki (5-6) - J9e Seiro (6-5) J6e Chiyonoo (4-7) - J1w Takekaze (8-3) The five leaders are from different stables and none of them has met more than 2 of the others yet, so there's plenty of potential to match them up on the final three days. Of course, it's anybody's guess how many of them will still be leading tomorrow... Lower division yusho races (Day 11 results and links to video where available - OAO for now, Abema hopefully later): 6-0 Ms1e Hakuyozan (Takadagawa) 5-1 Ms13e Murata (Takasago) 5-1 Ms25e Ryusei (Kagamiyama)6-0 Ms53e Higonojo (Kise) 5-1 Sd1e Nankairiki (Kise)6-0 Sd26w Hisanotora (Dewanoumi)6-0 Sd32e Wakanofuji (Nishonoseki) 5-1 Sd47w Onokura (Miyagino)6-0 Sd66e Ohata (Tokitsukaze) 5-1 Sd94w Dewaizumi (Dewanoumi)6-0 Sd100Td Kizakiumi (Kise) 5-1 Jd20w Ariake (Isenoumi)6-0 Jd42w Tsukahara (Kasugano) 5-1 Jd47w Iko (Tamanoi)6-0 Jd78e Yoshoyama (Tokitsukaze) 5-1 Jd81w Kotomanabe (Sadogatake) 5-1 Jk1w Kayatoiwa (Minato)6-0 Jk18e Naya (Otake) Unfortunately it looks like One And Only didn't cover what was by far the most spectacular of the 9 bouts - Wakanofuji and Onokura tossed each other off the dohyo in synchronous fashion in their initial matchup, necessitating a rematch, which then finished similarly closely and required another mono-ii to decide. (If you have Abema access, it's at 3:25:30 and 3:28:30.) Anyway, the first four matches of the various divisional tourneys were arguably all won by the big favourites, and none of them had to work very hard for it either. That leaves us with Naya as the sole unbeaten rikishi in jonokuchi - likely bad news for some low-ranked 5-1 sacrificial lamb in jonidan on Day 13 - and just two remaining contenders in jonidan. Should be a very anticipated decider between Tsukahara and Yoshoyama there. The wide open sandanme race sees four candidates still standing, which means the eventual winner will have to prevail on both Day 13 and Day 15. It's a rather strange collection of rikishi at 6-0. Hisanotora, one of the survivors of the old Tagonoura-beya, recently turned 29, has previously spent 10 tournaments in makushita and gone as high as Ms25, though his last kachikoshi in the division is now almost three years in the past. Wakanofuji is barely any younger at 28 but has never even been to makushita - in fact, today's 6th win has clinched the debut for him. He has been in the upper half of sandanme almost exclusively for the last four years. The complete opposite is Ohata at just 21 years of age, whose entire career isn't four years long yet and who is definitely somebody to watch for the future. Briefly in makushita last year, he's coming off four straight makekoshi at the moment. And finally of course Kizakiumi, the high school and college star freshly turned professional. He's certainly at least of high-makushita caliber already even without any professional-grade training and he should be the favourite here among the four contenders, but we've seen enough makushita division yusho deciders in which near-juryo quality rikishi were upset by much lower-ranked guys, so even with that assumed skill difference it's not like the next (up to) two matches will be a walkover for Kizakiumi. And speaking of makushita, this one's now also going to a straight Day 13 decider after top-ranked Hakuyozan dispatched of Murata, who will have to spend a little more time in the unsalaried ranks. Hakuyozan's opponent will be Higonojo who rushed Ryusei off the dohyo after a brief thrusting duel. Ryusei has missed out on his third makushita yusho decider in the last couple of years (won Nagoya 2016, lost Nagoya 2017), while 33-year-old Higonojo has the opportunity to become the third-oldest makushita yusho winner in the six-basho era (behind Oiwato and Jumonji). Edited March 21, 2018 by Asashosakari 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 21, 2018 (edited) Day 11 (results, text-only results): 11-0 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho kyujo kyujo Kisenosato Y2 9-2 Takayasu O Goeido 8-3 Having shown strong yotsu-zumo already yesterday, albeit only against outclassed Chiyomaru, yokozuna Kakuryu went one better and did it again against powerful komusubi Ichinojo today to secure his first-ever 11-0 record and more importantly remain in the lead for the yusho. Pursuer Kaisei had the day off after his opponent Takakeisho withdrew from the tournament and stays one win behind, while third place is now down to ozeki Takayasu only after Ichinojo's loss. Takayasu for his part enjoyed a rather messy victory over defending champion Tochinoshin which arguably didn't do this anticipated bout justice. Fellow ozeki Goeido is kachikoshi after today, showing strong sumo in defeating Shodai for a change. However, trailing Kakuryu by three wins it looks like his role has already been reduced to that of spoiler at most, and it remains to be seen how much effort he's going to put into his last four bouts. One who can't afford to slack off is sekiwake Mitakeumi who's in a major spot of bother after dropping his fourth straight match today, three of them having come against maegashira opponents. They're sparing him Kaisei tomorrow and have put him against the default choice Shodai for his last maegashira match instead, but with Kakuryu/Takayasu/Goeido to come afterwards and at least two wins needed there, his first makekoshi in 8 tournaments is now a very real possibility, potentially even with a drop straight to the M ranks. Top-ranked maegashira Endo and Tamawashi had identical results for only the third time after Days 1 and 5, as they improved to 6-5 by defeating Takarafuji and Kotoshogiku respectively. The latter joined his withdrawn M3 counterpart Takakeisho in falling to makekoshi; it's Kotoshogiku's 5th MK in 7 tournaments since he lost his ozeki position, and barring a strong finish (probably 3-1 required) he will find himself out of the joi-jin roundrobin for the first time in 9 years next time. 5-6 Mitakeumi S Tochinoshin 7-4 8-3 Ichinojo K Chiyotairyu 2-9 (x) 6-5 Endo M1 Tamawashi 6-5 M2(x) 3-8 Kotoshogiku M3 Takakeisho 3-8 (x) 6-5 Shohozan M4 Shodai 5-6 5-6 Chiyomaru M5 10-1 Kaisei M6 6-5 Abi M7 M8(x) 6-5 Okinoumi M9 M10 M11 Yutakayama 8-3 Two matchups between sanyaku-rankers again tomorrow, this time it'll be Kakuryu-Tochinoshin and Goeido-Ichinojo. Takayasu will hope to maintain his yusho chances against Chiyomaru, and Kaisei meets sanyaku-chasing Endo. The endangered trio at M14/15 only managed one shiroboshi between them today - that one went to Sokokurai in a close (and mono-ii'ed) decision against Okinoumi, but he seemed to hurt his foot or ankle in the finish to the match, so his chances of hanging on to his top division spot might actually be worse now... Myogiryu is in big trouble after losing for the third consecutive day, this time to Asanoyama, and Nishikigi has a lot of work to do as well after Daieisho defeated him rather easily today. (But Nishikigi can at least harbour some hopes of survival at 6-9, while Myogiryu is almost assuredly too low for that and will need all three numerically prescribed wins.) Meanwhile it's now definitely curtains for both Kotoyuki and and Hidenoumi after another loss has left both of them impossible to keep in the maegashira ranks. Ryuden on the other hand ought to be safe thanks to today's victory over rather hapless-looking Yoshikaze, and Aoiyama in the last maegashira spot secured his kachikoshi and will definitely move up. The disaster day for the juryo frontrunners was already touched upon earlier, and while Takekaze's promotion hopes weren't materially affected by today's loss, it was rather worse news for Sadanoumi who had to watch the competition close in. Most importantly, Kyokutaisei finally managed to beat a top division opponent (Daiamami) after he'd previously lost two such matchups in January and two more this month (Edit: and one back in May last year), and at 6-5 he just needs to finish 2-2 to secure his makuuchi debut. Kyokushuho and Meisei stretched their winning streaks to four and are very much in the mix now as well. M5 Onosho kyujo (?) ... M9 Ryuden 4-7 (o) M10(1) 4-7 Tochiozan M11 M12 Kotoyuki 0-10-1 (x) M13 M14 Nishikigi 4-7 (3)(2) 5-6 Sokokurai M15 Myogiryu 4-7 (3) M16 Hidenoumi 2-9 (x)(o) 8-3 Aoiyama M17 --- (2) 6-5 Kyokutaisei J1 Takekaze 8-3 (o)(4) 5-6 Aminishiki J2 Kyokushuho 6-5 (3)(3) 6-5 Meisei J3 Azumaryu 3-8 (x)(2) 8-3 Sadanoumi J4(3) 7-4 Gagamaru J5 Terunofuji 6-5 (4) J6 Takanosho 7-4 (4) J7(4) 8-3 Kotoeko J8(x) 6-5 Seiro J9 Daishoho 7-4 (~) J10 Mitoryu 8-3 (~) With Takakeisho's departure there's now no need for any maegashira-juryo pairings, and as already mentioned there are a whole bunch of Day 12 matchups among the better-performing juryo rikishi, so the promotion race will likely be reconfigured significantly again. On the makuuchi side the schedule features Sokokurai against Ryuden (if he can compete...), Nishikigi versus Kagayaki, and Myogiryu meeting Chiyoshoma. It was a foregone conclusion following his withdrawal from the competition, but Takayoshitoshi is now "officially" on the way back to makushita, and so is Enho after falling to makekoshi against Shimanoumi. It was the third win in a row for the Kise-beya rikishi and his chances of staying in juryo look promising now. Takagenji and Yago were successful as well and also need just one more successful day to survive. Terutsuyoshi improved his record to 4-7 but remains the most troubled candidate among those who aren't already certain to go down. Amakaze found himself defeated for the fourth straight day against Takagenji, Tsurugisho even for the fifth against Terutsuyoshi, and their outlook is increasingly bleak. They still "only" need to finish the basho 2-2, but based on what they've shown throughout the tournament that's going to be a big ask, especially for Amakaze whose losses have largely been very one-sided. With two juryo slots now guaranteed to be available we can congratulate 22-year-old Hakuyozan on his upcoming sekitori debut. (He's turning 23 between basho so it's an excellent birthday gift to himself, to boot.) For good measure he also won his bout against Murata today to remain unbeaten and maintain his chance to be the first top-ranked makushita yusho winner since 2013. The race for slot #2 is wide open and while Wakatakakage is still the frontrunner courtesy of his Ms1 ranking, he didn't help himself today by losing to his main competitor Asabenkei. Tochihiryu defeated Ms7w Kitaharima and earned his kachikoshi, while Dewahayate fell to a henka by Chiyonoumi and now definitely needs to win his final bout to have any chance of promotion. Last not least, Akua sent Gokushindo to MK to maintain his own kachikoshi hopes, although a promotion appears to be out of reach this basho, and Tenkaiho also went makekoshi against Ms7e Kizaki. Whew, lots of action for one day. (2) 2-9 Amakaze J7 Tsurugisho 2-9 (2) J8 Homarefuji 4-7 (1) J9(1) 5-6 Takagenji J10(1) 5-6 Yago J11 Shimanoumi 5-6 (1)(3) 4-7 Terutsuyoshi J12 Takanoiwa 5-6 (2)(2) 5-6 Tobizaru J13(x) 3-6-2 Takayoshitoshi J14 Enho 3-8 (x) (o) 6-0 Hakuyozan Ms1 Wakatakakage 4-2 3-3 Dewahayate Ms2 4-2 Tochihiryu Ms3 Asabenkei 5-1(x) 2-4 Gokushindo Ms4 Tenkaiho 2-4 (x) 4-2 Chiyonoumi Ms5 Akua 3-3 ...(x) 5-1 Murata Ms13 It's looking likely that one juryo guy (or possibly two) will end up accompanying the J14 duo, but even so there's a chance that there will be an excess of makushitans with credible promotion records this basho, so nobody outside of Hakuyozan should feel safe yet. As there's now a need to fill in a spot in the schedule down here due to Takakeisho's exit, one contender will be getting his 7th bout early; it's Dewahayate who has been drafted into action against Tobizaru for tomorrow. Dewahayate previously beat Akiseyama in juryo back on Day 3. We still have 9 guys battling against demotion and 4 of them have been paired up for Day 12: It's Yago against Tsurugisho, and a crucial matchup between Takanoiwa and Amakaze, who both are two wins short of safety. Edited March 23, 2018 by Asashosakari 6 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bettega 431 Posted March 22, 2018 And Kaisei need 2 more wins to force an extra K slot, right? Only 2 fusen more Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) Ex-sekitori through Day 12. new KK: Tochihiryu, Kizenryu, Chiyoarashi, Hitenryu, Dairaido new MK: Dewahayate, Tenkaiho, Nionoumi, Satoyama, Tokushinho, Kotomisen Record Rank Shikona Heya Age Out 3-4 Ms2e Dewahayate Dewanoumi 29 10 1-5 Ms2w Daiseido Kise 25 2 4-2 Ms3e Tochihiryu Kasugano 30 1 5-1 Ms3w Asabenkei Takasago 29 9 2-4 Ms4w Tenkaiho Onoe 33 11 3-3 Ms5w Akua Tatsunami 27 1 intai Ms6e Osunaarashi Otake 26 1 3-3 Ms7w Kitaharima Yamahibiki 31 3 4-2 Ms8e Kizenryu Kise 32 1 2-4 Ms8w Yamaguchi Miyagino 28 1 1-5 Ms9e Toyohibiki Sakaigawa 33 1 5-1 Ms9w Jokoryu Kise 29 11 1-2-3 Ms10e Kagamio Kagamiyama 30 11 kyujo Ms10w Ura Kise 25 1 2-4 Ms14e Nionoumi Yamahibiki 31 28 2-4 Ms14w Satoyama Onoe 36 4 2-4 Ms15e Tokushinho Kise 33 14 3-3 Ms15w Oiwato Hakkaku 36 26 3-3 Ms18w Keitenkai Onomatsu 28 33 3-3 Ms21e Sakigake Shibatayama 31 19 1-5 Ms22e Asahisho Tomozuna 28 5 5-1 Ms23e Fujiazuma Tamanoi 30 6 2-4 Ms24w Amuru Onomatsu 34 7 3-3 Ms29w Sagatsukasa Irumagawa 36 24 4-2 Ms30e Chiyoarashi Kokonoe 26 28 3-3 Ms32w Takaryu Kise 26 16 5-1 Ms35w Toyonoshima Tokitsukaze 34 9 3-3 Ms49w Chiyootori Kokonoe 25 2 6-0 Ms53e Higonojo Kise 33 23 4-2 Ms56w Masunoyama Chiganoura 27 18 2-4 Sd13w Kotomisen Sadogatake 34 26 4-2 Sd33e Hitenryu Tatsunami 33 39 4-2 Sd35w Dairaido Takadagawa 37 69 3-3 Sd41e Yoshiazuma Tamanoi 40 21 3-3 Sd42e Kaonishiki Azumazeki 39 39 kyujo Jd90w Masakaze Oguruma 34 32 Kotomisen hasn't been makekoshi this low on the banzuke since Nagoya 2008. Edited March 22, 2018 by Asashosakari Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qwerry 25 Posted March 22, 2018 8 hours ago, bettega said: And Kaisei need 2 more wins to force an extra K slot, right? Only 2 fusen more Not a chance for extra K slot on this bacho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) Juryo yusho race: 9-3 Sadanoumi, Kotoeko, Akiseyama 8-4 Takekaze, (Mitoryu) 7-5 Kyokutaisei, Meisei, Gagamaru, Takanosho, Seiro, Daishoho This time it was the pursuers' turn to be wiped out completely, so the list of the major contenders now consists of yesterday's 5 leaders, albeit not with all of them in the top spot anymore after Takekaze was defeated by Chiyonoo and Mitoryu had to withdraw from the basho altogether due to a foot injury. I'm not sure if anybody really expected Sadanoumi, Kotoeko or Akiseyama to be in the lead at this point, let alone all three. The big 7-5 group made up of three Day 12 winners and the 3 fallen pursuers continues to give chase, but of course they'll have to hope that none of the leaders do better than 1-2 on the basho home stretch. They're not skimping on head-to-head matchups for tomorrow, including one outright battle between two leaders: J4e Sadanoumi (9-3) - J13w Akiseyama (9-3) J6w Takanosho (7-5) - J1w Takekaze (8-4) J1e Kyokutaisei (7-5) - J8e Kotoeko (9-3) It's the only 9-3 pairing still available, and Sadanoumi will be done facing the other three top guys after that. Takekaze-Kotoeko and Takekaze-Akiseyama are still possible for the remaining days. The rest of the relevant torikumi: J9e Seiro (7-5) - J12e Terutsuyoshi (5-7) J5e Gagamaru (7-5) - J10e Takagenji (5-7) J2e Aminishiki (5-7) - J9w Daishoho (7-5) J3e Meisei (7-5) - M15w Myogiryu (4-8) Lower division yusho races: 6-0 Ms1e Hakuyozan (Takadagawa) 6-0 Ms53e Higonojo (Kise) 6-0 Sd26w Hisanotora (Dewanoumi) 6-0 Sd32e Wakanofuji (Nishonoseki) 6-0 Sd66e Ohata (Tokitsukaze) 6-0 Sd100Td Kizakiumi (Kise) 6-0 Jd42w Tsukahara (Kasugano) 6-0 Jd78e Yoshoyama (Tokitsukaze) 6-0 Jk18e Naya (Otake) Only one surprise in the final-round scheduling for the yusho candidates: Naya doesn't face a 5-1 from jonidan, but rather one of the six rikishi with that record in jonokuchi. That hasn't happened in quite a while. The other five are also in action tomorrow, to prepare for the unlikely possibility that Naya falters and a 6-1 playoff has to take place. In any case, these are the matchups: Jk19w Hoshoryu (5-1) - Jk8w Osumifuji (4-2) Jk19e Unzendake (5-1) - Jk7w Shinfuji (5-1) Jk18e Naya (6-0) - Jk2w Asahio (5-1) Jk18w Nakanishi (5-1) - Jk1w Kayatoiwa (5-1) Somewhat of a tough break for Osumifuji who already played fill-in for Naya's schedule at 3-1 without actually having been part of the yusho race. If Asahio (previous career results: 3-4, 3-4) somehow upsets Naya we'll get a 4- or 5-rikishi playoff. The other divisional leaders are matched up in order, so makushita and jonidan will see their championships decided while sandanme plays down to its two playoff participants. Edited March 22, 2018 by Asashosakari 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) Day 12 (results, text-only results): 11-1 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho kyujo kyujo Kisenosato Y2 9-3 Takayasu O Goeido 9-3 Everything seemed to be going Kakuryu's way - Kaisei received an awkward hit shortly after the tachiai and quickly lost to Endo, Takayasu was sent on the run by the newly upgraded version of Chiyomaru, and with the schedulers' decision to set up Kakuryu-Kaisei it looked like even a Day 13 yusho was conceivable for the yokozuna. That is, until Tochinoshin brought the form that had netted him the Emperor's Cup two months ago and proceeded to defeat the leader for only the second time in 23 meetings. So in the end not much has changed in the yusho race: It's Kakuryu one win ahead of Kaisei and two of Takayasu, who however has company now at 9-3 by fellow ozeki Goeido as well as low-ranked maegashira duo Daishomaru and Ikioi. Tochinoshin for his part is now kachikoshi and while he's very unlikely to play a role in the yusho decision, he arguably has another big goal to attain as double-digit wins ought to lead into a full-fledged ozeki run for Natsu basho. He might even do it as Sekiwake East; incumbent Mitakeumi had arguably his best match since he started losing five days ago, but it still wasn't enough to prevent Shodai's beautiful shitatenage victory after a lengthy tussle between the two. Ichinojo looks set to inherit the open sekiwake position if Mitakeumi can't win three straight now, but seemed to be in battery saver mode today and lost feebly to Goeido. With 10 wins and a sekiwake promotion he'd arguably be on (somewhat of) an ozeki run as well, but at this point I'm not sure he'll get those two wins needed. Meanwhile the race for the promotion(s) into sanyaku continues to be hotly contested. Endo and Tamawashi (against Takarafuji) moved up to 7-5 today and it's looking increasingly likely that this area of the banzuke will be tricky for the committee. Mitakeumi could arguably "help" things if he falls below 7-8 and gets demoted straight to the maegashira ranks. Kaisei remains the big wildcard here; they've been very averse to creating additional sanyaku slots, but one wonders what they will do if Kaisei, say, gets into a yusho playoff at 13-2 or 12-3. 5-7 Mitakeumi S Tochinoshin 8-4 8-4 Ichinojo K Chiyotairyu 3-9 (x) 7-5 Endo M1 Tamawashi 7-5 M2 M3 6-6 Shohozan M4 Shodai 6-6 6-6 Chiyomaru M5 10-2 Kaisei M6 7-5 Abi M7 ... M11 Yutakayama 8-4 (x) As mentioned the schedule committee has made the unusual decision to pair up Kakuryu with pursuer Kaisei for tomorrow, scrapping his regular torikumi with Mitakeumi in the process. While a move that most fans will be applauding, one probably has to conclude that they simply don't quite trust Kakuryu to bring this one home - I doubt they would have bothered breaking up the standard schedule if it was Hakuho leading the race. Anyway, it's a massive chance for Kaisei to move into the joint lead, and of course it would also bring Takayasu and Goeido back into the mix. Or rather, Takayasu or Goeido as they're also meeting tomorrow and the loser ought to be out of contention for good. Lower sanyaku Mitakeumi, Tochinoshin and Ichinojo will face a trio of 6-6 opponents in Hokutofuji, Shodai and Shohozan. It remains to be seen if Mitakeumi's substitution is a one-day thing or if Kaisei is also taking over his Day 14 and/or Day 15 match(es) with Takayasu and Goeido. Sokokurai had to leave the tournament with a foot injury as it was feared after his Day 11 bout, and he will now be joining Kotoyuki and Hidenoumi on the way to juryo. Those two were matched up today, and it has to be said: Kotoyuki is fighting hard with everything he has on every day, but it's just not going anywhere. So it was today, too, and Hidenoumi eventually walked away with the shiroboshi, not that it's going to do much besides cushion his fall. Tochiozan had a good chance to clinch his final safety win today against out-of-sorts Yoshikaze, but it also wasn't to be. Myogiryu looked very much like a juryo rikishi against Chiyoshoma and will now need to win all remaining matches to avoid the demotion. Nishikigi on the other hand executed an absolutely booming one-handed pushdown on big Kagayaki and just might be adding another successful chapter to his how-to-avoid-getting-demoted tightrope act if he can keep that up. With a minimum of three top division slots available for Natsu, the race for promotion is starting in earnest now. Kyokutaisei took a major step towards his makuuchi debut in a strong win over Takanosho, and just needs one more over the final three days. Yusho co-leader Sadanoumi also appears to be on the way back to the maegashira ranks following an injury-marred six months after defeating Terunofuji today. Meisei streaked to his 5th win in a row, today with an impressive performance against fellow promotion candidate (and much larger) Gagamaru and has become the #4 contender for the moment. Lots of others continue to be on the outskirts of the race and might be able to hope for promotion by winning all 3 bouts still to come, although some will also need to rely on other results going their way. M5 Onosho kyujo (?) ...(1) 4-8 Tochiozan M11 M12 Kotoyuki 0-11-1 (x) M13 M14 Nishikigi 5-7 (2)(x) 5-7 Sokokurai M15 Myogiryu 4-8 (3) M16 Hidenoumi 3-9 (x) M17 --- (1) 7-5 Kyokutaisei J1 Takekaze 8-4 (o)(~) 5-7 Aminishiki J2 Kyokushuho 6-6 (3)(2) 7-5 Meisei J3(1) 9-3 Sadanoumi J4(3) 7-5 Gagamaru J5 Terunofuji 6-6 (~) J6 Takanosho 7-5 (~) J7(3) 9-3 Kotoeko J8 J9 Daishoho 7-5 (x) J10 Mitoryu 8-4 (x) Sokokurai being gone means the exchange bouts between the two sekitori divisions are back on, and tomorrow's it's Meisei's second go of the tournament. Ironically enough, his first trip up was on Day 6 against...Sokokurai, in a losing effort. This time he's facing Myogiryu. Nishikigi for his part is going against Kotoyuki in what might be a matchup that's very appreciated by him. (Even irrespective of Kotoyuki's current struggles - Nishikigi leads their H2H 4-1.) Kyokutaisei can clinch his promotion over on the juryo side, but he'll have to deal with yusho-leading Kotoeko, and Sadanoumi meets fellow co-leader Akiseyama. All in all, lots of intrigue in that schedule. High-ranked demotion candidates Amakaze and Tsurugisho met lower-positioned Takanoiwa and Yago today, and the best way to describe their matches is probably: awkward, but successful. It was high time for a white star for both of them, and their survival chances look significantly better now than they did 24 hours ago. Takanoiwa's took a big hit, however (pun not intended), and he will now need to go 2-1 to close out the basho if he wants to stay in the paid ranks. Outside of those two head-to-head matchups it was largely a good day for the at-risk rikishi: Most troubled Terutsuyoshi had the easiest time after opponent Mitoryu was forced to withdraw with a heel injury he sustained yesterday. Homarefuji and Shimanoumi were shuffled up the timetable to face high-ranked but underperforming Tokushoryu and Azumaryu, and both navigated those tasks successfully to secure their juryo survival. Tobizaru was also victorious and killed makushita hopeful Dewahayate's promotion hopes in the process, so no 4th turn at juryo for the 29-year-old. And finally, the sole non-H2H loser of the day was Takagenji who was felled by a nifty ashitori by Enho that concluded a rather hectic bout. No action in makushita after everybody relevant for promotion had already been active on Day 11. (1) 3-9 Amakaze J7 Tsurugisho 3-9 (1) J8 Homarefuji 5-7 (o) J9(1) 5-7 Takagenji J10(1) 5-7 Yago J11 Shimanoumi 6-6 (o)(2) 5-7 Terutsuyoshi J12 Takanoiwa 5-7 (2)(1) 6-6 Tobizaru J13(x) 3-6-3 Takayoshitoshi J14 Enho 4-8 (x) (o) 6-0 Hakuyozan Ms1 Wakatakakage 4-2(x) 3-4 Dewahayate Ms2 4-2 Tochihiryu Ms3 Asabenkei 5-1 Ms4 4-2 Chiyonoumi Ms5 Akua 3-3 No changes here with the two sekitori withdrawals - one crossover bout remains mandatory for each day's juryo schedule. It appears that all 5 remaining hopefuls are being held back to make juryo appearances; Wakatakakage, Asabenkei and Akua will definitely be showing up (as their potential makushita opponents have been assigned otherwise), Tochihiryu and Chiyonoumi could also be paired up directly if they're not needed as fill-ins. However, given that the current situation points towards a shortage of demotable juryo rikishi, I suspect all five will be getting their chances to help pull somebody down or die trying (so to speak). Wakatakakage takes the first turn, in any case, going against Takanoiwa tomorrow. Elsewhere in demotee action the Day 13 schedule serves up Amakaze-Tobizaru, the winner of which should be safe. Yago and Takagenji are being sent to the upper half and will face Terunofuji and Gagamaru, while Terutsuyoshi goes against KK-seeking Seiro and Tsurugisho meets Enho. Edited March 22, 2018 by Asashosakari 9 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) Day 13 (results, text-only results): 12-1 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho kyujo kyujo Kisenosato Y2 10-3 Takayasu O Goeido 9-4 Today's musubi no ichiban between leader Kakuryu and pursuer Kaisei turned out to be the proverbial damp squib and ended in an immediate slapdown victory for the yokozuna. Kakuryu is now two wins ahead of a trio consisting of ozeki Takayasu, Kaisei and Ikioi, all of whom will have to rely on outside help to have any chance of getting into a Day 15 playoff. Takayasu is part of that group thanks to prevailing over Goeido in the basho's ozeki duel. Coming off last tournament's 12-3 record and with double digits this time, one can probably say that he has finally 'arrived' as ozeki after a bit of a rough start last year. Having dropped to 5-7 with five straight losses, Mitakeumi had to begin his late-basho quest for kachikoshi today. While he was spared the yokozuna meeting - not the most ego-boosting thing to happen to a sekiwake though - he did receive a very spirited challenge from Hokutofuji whose basho has gone pretty much the opposite way with a dreadful start and a much improved second week. The sekiwake came through in the end and can still hope to remain in sanyaku (with one win) or even as sekiwake (with two). Shodai presumably won't be The Next Ozeki, but today he demonstrated what had earned him the appellation a little over a year ago. Weathering Tochinoshin's thrusting barrage for a bit, he eventually broke through and quickly marched the West Sekiwake out of the dohyo. Tochinoshin will need to win both remaining matches to reach double-digits, which would be a much better look for an ozeki run than having one basho that was out of sanyaku followed by another that was sub-10. Komusubi Ichinojo meanwhile had another forgettable dohyo appearance against Shohozan and down at 8-5 he has squandered the chance to outright force a promotion to sekiwake (as 11-4 is usually required for that). He's now entirely at the mercy of Mitakeumi's final two torikumi to decide whether he'll be komusubi or sekiwake next time. Endo is in his 7th tournament against a full joi-jin schedule, and at last he has cracked the KK line with today's very impressive victory over Chiyomaru. Tamawashi ran into a sudden burst of energy from Yoshikaze and wasn't able to keep up, and finds himself 7-6 now. 6-7 Mitakeumi S Tochinoshin 8-5 8-5 Ichinojo K Chiyotairyu 3-10 (x) 8-5 Endo M1 Tamawashi 7-6 M2 M3 7-6 Shohozan M4 Shodai 7-6(x) 6-7 Chiyomaru M5 10-3 Kaisei M6(x) 8-5 Abi M7 I've (x)'ed Abi despite him winning today as he now can't possibly get a top 2 position in the promotion queue with both Endo and Kaisei guaranteed to be ahead of him. I've not (o)'ed Endo for now as, while M1e tends to get a lot of preferential treatment in sanyaku promotions, I suspect the one comparison it still can't win is with a better M1w. So, as long as Tamawashi can finish with more wins than Endo, I'll reserve judgement on who's taking Chiyotairyu's spot. Mitakeumi's involuntary walkabout has turned out to be limited to just Day 13, and he'll now need to finish his basho fighting both ozeki, starting with Takayasu tomorrow. Kakuryu will be able to clinch the title against Goeido, assuming his three pursuers haven't already all done him the favour of losing beforehand. Meisei's second visit to makuuchi ended exactly the same way as his first did - in a yoritaoshi loss. Opponent Myogiryu kept up his last chances of not falling back to juryo with that victory. Nishikigi wasn't so fortunate as Kotoyuki managed to overcome their head-to-head history and his general Haru basho malaise to finally score his first win of the tournament. Nishikigi now needs to have one successful day to have any shot at survival at all, and potentially has to win twice. Our final demotion contender Tochiozan was back to looking completely out of, well, everything and was easily defeated by Takarafuji. The juryo side managed to even up the tally of up and down slots today. Courtesy of Kyokutaisei's promotion-clinching kachikoshi (congrats!) and Sadanoumi's 10th win, all three currently available spots are now arguably spoken for. It remains to be seen what else is going to happen on both sides of the divisional boundary on the final weekend (and what they're going to do with Onosho). Kyokushuho, Gagamaru and Kotoeko were the latest to fall out of numerical contention, and only Meisei still has a chance of securing promotion under his own power. The rest will have to hope for two more shiroboshi and a favourable banzuke alignment. M5 Onosho kyujo (?) ...(1) 4-9 Tochiozan M11 M12 Kotoyuki 1-11-1 (x) M13 M14 Nishikigi 5-8 (2)(x) 5-7-1 Sokokurai M15 Myogiryu 5-8 (2) M16 Hidenoumi 3-10 (x) M17 --- (o) 8-5 Kyokutaisei J1 Takekaze 8-5 (o)(~) 6-7 Aminishiki J2 Kyokushuho 6-7 (~)(2) 7-6 Meisei J3(o) 10-3 Sadanoumi J4(~) 7-6 Gagamaru J5 Terunofuji 6-7 (x) J6 Takanosho 8-5 (~) J7(~) 9-4 Kotoeko J8 Kyokushuho has received the call to complete tomorrow's top division schedule; he goes against Nishikigi in a sort of exchange bout. Myogiryu has to contend against higher-ranked Okinoumi (M9e 6-7), while Tochiozan faces Hidenoumi in what will probably be his better opportunity of the final two days to secure the last needed win. And over in juryo it's Meisei against Takagenji (J10e 6-7). Juryo rikishi are now 2-for-2 against the final-round makushita visitors after Takanoiwa scored a fairly decisive defeat of Wakatakakage. The latter's promotion chances are now very much up in the air. Altogether it was an even better day for those hoping to avoid demotion than the already excellent Day 12. Tobizaru managed to win the direct demotee clash against Amakaze despite Amakaze attempting something vaguely resembling a henka (no, seriously), while Tsurugisho, Takagenji, Yago and Terutsuyoshi were all successful against uninvolved opponents. (1) 3-10 Amakaze J7 Tsurugisho 4-9 (?) J8 J9(o) 6-7 Takagenji J10(?) 6-7 Yago J11(1) 6-7 Terutsuyoshi J12 Takanoiwa 6-7 (1)(?) 7-6 Tobizaru J13(x) 3-6-4 Takayoshitoshi J14 Enho 4-9 (x) (o) 6-1 Hakuyozan Ms1 Wakatakakage 4-3 Ms2 4-2 Tochihiryu Ms3 Asabenkei 5-1 Ms4 4-2 Chiyonoumi Ms5 Akua 3-3 With the impending promotion crunch I've decided to question-mark those juryo rikishi whose numerical demotion may bring them down to J14, i.e. territory where an overdemotion into makushita wouldn't look completely out of place, unlikely as it may be to actually happen. Tochihiryu will go next among the makushita hopefuls and faces Terutsuyoshi tomorrow. As that has removed Chiyonoumi's last possible makushita opponent it's now also certain that we'll be seeing him as well as Asabenkei and Akua on the Day 15 juryo schedule. Takanoiwa meets Terunofuji with the loser going makekoshi, in a matchup that happened all the way up in the joi-jin only 12 months ago, and Amakaze will try to beat high-ranked Azumaryu to facilitate his survival. Edited March 23, 2018 by Asashosakari 6 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 23, 2018 Juryo yusho race: 10-3 Sadanoumi 9-4 Kotoeko, Akiseyama 8-5 Takekaze, Kyokutaisei, Takanosho, (Mitoryu) We're down to 6 possible yusho winners after only two members of yesterday's 7-5 group were victorious on Day 13, with the other 4 falling out of contention for good. Sadanoumi won the leaders duel against Akiseyama, and can even enjoy sole leadership now, thanks to Kyokutaisei taking out Kotoeko. Akiseyama and Kotoeko are also the only ones who are still just one win behind after Takekaze lost for the third straight day (this time to Takanosho) and dropped into the two-off section. There aren't a whole lot of potential matchups among these 6 anymore. Sadanoumi is completely through facing the other five, and all matches between the upper-ranked Kyokutaisei/Takekaze/Takanosho have also taken place. That leaves only Takekaze against Kotoeko, as well as Kyokutaisei / Takekaze / Takanosho against Akiseyama. Consequently the pairings look a bit messy outside of the one scheduled head-to-head meeting: J8e Kotoeko (9-4) - J1w Takekaze (8-5) J6e Chiyonoo (5-8) - J13w Akiseyama (9-4) J4e Sadanoumi (10-3) - J9w Daishoho (7-6) J2e Aminishiki (6-7) - J6w Takanosho (8-5) J1e Kyokutaisei (8-5) - J9e Seiro (7-6) Takanosho-Aminishiki is arguably the most interesting matchup in that block, what with the veteran still battling for another return to the top division. Assuming Sadanoumi doesn't already clinch tomorrow (or maybe even then), I actually wouldn't be surprised if he has to go up to makuuchi for his final match, as the sensible juryo opponents really are slim pickings. Lower division yusho races (Day 13 results and links to video where available): 6-1 Ms1e Hakuyozan (Takadagawa)7-0 Ms53e Higonojo (Kise) 7-0 Sd26w Hisanotora (Dewanoumi) 6-1 Sd32e Wakanofuji (Nishonoseki)7-0 Sd66e Ohata (Tokitsukaze) 6-1 Sd100Td Kizakiumi (Kise) 7-0 Jd42w Tsukahara (Kasugano) 6-1 Jd78e Yoshoyama (Tokitsukaze) 7-0 Jk18e Naya (Otake) What was it I said the other day... On 21.3.2018 at 12:25, Asashosakari said: (...) Kizakiumi, the high school and college star freshly turned professional. He's certainly at least of high-makushita caliber already even without any professional-grade training and he should be the favourite here among the four contenders, but we've seen enough makushita division yusho deciders in which near-juryo quality rikishi were upset by much lower-ranked guys, so even with that assumed skill difference it's not like the next (up to) two matches will be a walkover for Kizakiumi. And sure enough we got not one, but two examples of that today. Hakuyozan, who has beaten all comers this basho and probably won't be coming back down from juryo again, found himself comprehensively beaten by low-ranked Higonojo here. 33-year-old Higonojo, now the third-oldest makushita yusho winner, will be making a huge jump up the rankings, probably to somewhere between Ms5 and Ms7, which is an area he hasn't been in for two and a half years. Kizaki himself didn't fare any better as he was upset by Ohata in what was an excellent performance by the 21-year-old outsider who calmly took everything Kizakiumi had to offer and finally pounced for the pushout. So, no direct promotion for the new collegiate star and he'll have to do sandanme again in May, probably from somewhere around Sd40. Ohata will be getting back to around his career-high rank of Ms40 which he set last year. Of course the sandanme competition isn't over yet as the yusho playoff is still to come. Ohata's opponent in that one will be Hisanotora, who was arguably the favourite in his veterans' meeting with Wakanofuji and made short work of his opponent here. As mentioned before this will still lead to Wakanofuji's makushita debut at the age of 28, while Hisanotora should find himself somewhere between Ms15 and Ms20, which will actually be a new career-high position for him. Anyway, the yusho decider will IMHO be wide open. Jonidan already had its decider today, which saw new high school hope Tsukahara score an absolutely comprehensive victory over Mongolian rookie Yoshoyama. Based on his showings in the three tournaments since maezumo, I think it's fairly safe to say that Yoshoyama is too green to be near makushita level at this stage (contrary to what introductory reports were insinuating), and while he'll probably do reasonably well again in very high jonidan in May where the competition still isn't that much to write home about, I kind of doubt he'll figure into the yusho race there. Tsukahara for his part has taken his second straight divisional title, and mid-sandanme next time should offer a rather more stern test of his abilities, though anything worse than 5-2 would surprise me. And finally the jonokuchi decision didn't turn into a 6-1 free-for-all after Naya had zero trouble with his overmatched 5-1 opponent Asahio. He'll definitely be a contender for repeating as champion in jonidan as well, but highly-regarded Mongolian newcomer Hoshoryu will surely want to get a word in on that. 5 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Katooshu 3,259 Posted March 24, 2018 (edited) I know I could just wait until after day 15 when we have the actual record, but I'm very eager to hear your expert input about how Tochinoshin's ozeki promotion chances for May will vary based on whether he gets 9 or 10 wins this tournament (a topic discussed on Mbovo's stream chat). I'm still not sure about this: does a single-digit win basho in the middle pretty much kill ones promotion hopes, unless it's sandwiched by results that go beyond mere double digits (like 2 yusho, a pair of 13+s, etc)? M3: 14-1 (Y) S: 10-5 (win over yusho winner) S: X VS M3: 14-1 (Y) S: 9-6 (win over yusho winner) S: X Edited March 24, 2018 by Katooshu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asashosakari 19,440 Posted March 24, 2018 20 minutes ago, Katooshu said: does a single-digit win basho in the middle pretty much kill ones promotion hopes, unless it's sandwiched by results that go beyond mere double digits (like 2 yusho, a pair of 13+s, etc)? That would be my take, yes. IMHO 9 wins would drive up the required Natsu score to "exceptional" territory, to something like 14-9-12 as the bare minimum, and perhaps even 14-9-13. Not as a general thing for 9-6 scores, but Tochinoshin's run specifically would have too many things going against it, with the first score outside of sanyaku, this being his first-ever ozeki challenge (and being "old" for it), and then the 9-win follow-up. After Hatsu I said that I don't think 14-10-10 would do it, and I'm sticking to that. 14-10-11 most likely would, IMHO. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
