Mitakeumi in 2021

[Jejima 1,414]

Will Mitakeumi make to push to higher ranks in 2021? Or will he start descending down the banzuke?

Please comment below, in case a tie-breaker is required to decide the yusho. (Any comment is automatically better than none.) 

Previous polls:

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016

[Tsuchinoninjin 1,276]

The whole question revolves around whether or not Mitakeumi can turn around his recent slump or not. I think to try to come to a conclusion about that is to investigate why he is slumping. Is it due to some amalgamation of injuries he is carrying? Or is he just trying to incorporate too much into his sumo?

Mitakeumi finds himself transitioning from the newbie to grizzled veteran at lightening speed, as all the wrestlers around him are shuffled out for baby faces. This is going to be his struggle, defending against these genki guys who have fresh bodies while his own sumo is still undecided. Whatever he is dealing with will push him down the banzuke a bit. It might be a needed wakeup call.

[WAKATAKE 2,671]

Mita will not make ozeki. His time has come and gone. He will still be able to hold his own in the sanyaku ranks. If he gets healthy I could see him winning a third yusho.

[MumboJumbo 37]

I think his 2021 will be similar to his 2020. A couple of basho at maegashira  and the rest at K/S, but the difference is he will score another yusho in 2021. 

[Jejima 1,414]

He will drop to M3W - but will mostly have a good year, returning to Sekiwake by the year's end.

[Churaumi 745]

He'll hit M3, have an upset loss to an M10, and he'll peak at sekiwake. At least for this year.

[Morty 1,505]

His best is very hard to beat but he doesn't do it often enough. So he remains the perennial sekiwake with occasional drops into the upper joi

[Pitinosato 120]

He will have a mediocre year

Mostly in sanyaku, but not always

He will go up and down between Sekiwake, Komusubi and Joi-Maegashira

Pitinosato

[Oshirokita 192]

He'll bounce between Sekiwake & M6 (inclusive)

[Jejima 1,414]

Just about all of us think that Mitakeumi will drop out of the sanyaku at some stage this year, but he pretty much think that he won't drop below the joi-jin.

There is a neat spread of predicted loss to the lowest ranked opponent for Mitakeumi between M4 and M11. He has already lost to an M5 - knocking the M4 predictions out of the water - but that could be 'extended' to an M8, depending what happens on the last day of the January basho.

All but one of us think that Mitakeumi will be ranked at Sekiwake at some stage in the coming year - but nobody thinks that he will make it any higher. I am guessing that any promotion to Sekiwake this year will depend on either rikishi above him doing badly, making space for him, or if he has such an outstanding basho, that he has to be promoted to Sekiwake. My guess is that despite his KK, will remain at komusubi in March, at least.

Let's check back at the end of the year, to decide the yusho winner for this poll.

[Jejima 1,414]

Mitakeumi's 2021 went like this:-

January: 9-6 (K1W)
March: 8-7 (K1W)
May: 10-5 (K1E)
July: 8-7 (S1W)
September: 9-6 (S1E)
November: 11-4 (S1E)

All KKs!

Well, his lowest rank on the banzuke was Komusubi, as predicted by hakutorizakura and Terao.

The lowest ranked player that he lost to in 2021 was M8E Okinoumi in September.

I am the Yokozuna got this correct.

Everybody *except* Frakazu correctly predicted that Mitakeumi's highest rank would be Sekiwake.

I am the Yokozuna was way off with his prediction for question 1. So, the yusho will go to whichever of hakutorizakura or Terao got closest to the correct answer for #2, (unless they are both way off too). Okay, I will look now....

Terao went for M5... but hakutorizakura went for M6!

So yusho to @hakutorizakura , with @Terao collecting the jun-yusho.