Banzuke Surfing

[charliki 16]

;-) Jk20w Hatayama :-)

[Zenjimoto 40]

I'll try Maeta, with Nishimura as alternate!

[Misisko 0]

Jk6w Haku

Misisko

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

The deadline is over, and we have 37 active participants picking 31 different rikishi. Banzuke Surfing has some new features. First of all, we will have daily (or almost daily, depending on my workload) standings and short comments about upcoming bouts. For the standings I have introduced the concept of virtual banzuke position. This is a daily(!) extrapolation of a banzuke position of a given player/rikishi, and it is based on Asashosakari's insights on lower division banzuke movements, some research on my behalf, and some wild guesses. It's just a fun thing for those who happen to like daily standings, the real and final standings will of course be revealed once the Nagoya banzuke is up.

Edit: Table was deleted to prevent a scrolling nightmare.

Edited May 8, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 1:

The match of the day was won by Kageyama against Masutoo. Being neighbors on the real banzuke they are now apart more than 40 ranks on the virtual banzuke. Consequently, Masutoo supporters fell down 5 or 6 spots in the daily standings, whereas Kageyama supporters moved up considerably. Yamatofuji lost his first bout which is bad news for Tamanaogijima. Highest-ranked shin-deshi Maeta won his first, so his sole supporter Zenjimoto could close a 70-rank gap to Takanorappa in a single day. And finally, there is good news for Oshirokita. His rikishi Wakafujita won his first bout which gives Oshirokita a great 40-rank lead over second-placed Zentoryu.

Tomorrow we will have another direct match-up of picked rikishi: Jakusotsu's oldtimer Ichinoya will face Mmikasazuma's Maenotaka. Further up the board we are awaiting for Tochifudo's first bout. Tochifudo was picked four times which makes him one of the more popular rikishi in Natsu. And finally, we will see if Zentoryu's Nakatani can keep the pressure on Oshirokita. Many aite tomorrow have funny names like Kongofuji, Daika, Araumi, and Goto.

Edited May 9, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Mattjila 0]

39.(40.) Mattjila*** jk28e So 0-0 jd121w

I'm not losing yet!

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 2:

Nakatani won his first bout, so Zentoryu can defend the second place in the standings. Tochifudo won his first bout which gives a huge rise for Golynohana, Doitsuyama, and Yubiquitoyama. The direct matchup between Maenotaka and Ichinoya was won by the former. Russian shin-deshi Wakanoho lost, so our compulsive editor finds himself in an unusual corner of the standings. Huge drops down the standings for Tomoe and Jejima since their toriteki lost.

On day 3 both leading rikishi Wakafujita (Oshirokita) and Nakatani (Zentoryu) are in charge. I never heard of their opponents, but that doesn't tell us much because I hardly have heard of any Sandanme rikishi.

Otherwise there aren't that many interesting bouts. Top shin-deshi Maeta seems to have an easy task because the guys ranked in front of the top shin-deshi are usually eternal losers. Sawai will fight against Kamioiyama, and in a direct match-up the numerous Masutoo supporters will cross their fingers for the bout against Exil's joker Hokutonada.

Edited May 10, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 3:

Oshirokita and Zentoryu ride the Banzuke Wave quite nicely. Both their top rikishi, Wakafujita and Nakatani won today and are 2-0.

Upstart Sawai is also 2-0 and now enters virtual Sandanme, same as aderechelseamaru's Anju.

Big upwards movements for Kaihayaiha and Jejima while Exil comes sailing down the virtual banzuke.

Bad news once again for the Masutoo support crew. The Hungarian is 0-2 and finds himself near the top shin-deshi Maeta in the standings.

Tomorrow's action is not that promising. Ex-Juryo Tochifudo shouldn't have too much problems against Takahashimoto, whereas another favorite rikishi, Kageyama will face Ryusei. Both aite had a 3-4 record in Haru which might (or might not) indicate that they've already hit the wall for now.

Edited May 11, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 4:

There wasn't much movement after today's bouts. Everybody has had two bouts so far, and many of the top picks (Wakafujita, Nakatani, Sawai, Tochifudo, Kageyama) were indeed successful. Among the biggest surprises might be Masutoo's 0-2 record, and maybe the first loss for Yamatofuji (who won today).

Tomorrow we will have (at least) five interesting bouts:

1) Can Wakafujita (sponsored by Oshirokita) extend his lead against Kabutoiwa?

2) How does Ichinoya (born 1960) fare against another senior, Takinooto (born 1969)?

3) Who will be the winner between Hokutonada and Shinanogawa? Both were picked by Exil!

4) Can Tochifudo stay without loss after meeting Maenohana?

5) Who will win an early Jonokuchi yusho decider between Zenjimoto's Maeta and Misisko's Haku?

Edited May 12, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 5:

Oshirokita's Wakafujita is still cruising. His 3-0 indicates that he might get a hold in upper Sandanme once the basho is over.

Ex-Juryo Tochifudo is also without kuroboshi. If he continues like this Sandanme promotion is a sure thing.

Many picked rikishi won today, however, the biggest jumps today were made by Tomoe's Daishiyama who turned a 0-1 into a 2-1, by Jejima, and by Randomitsuki. Further down the board Frinkanohana has an even more impressive jump after Isonokuni also followed his 0-1 with two consecutive wins.

Zenjimoto's Maeta seems to be strong as well. He won the direct match-up against Misisko's Haku, and now is around Jonidan 80 already, amidst famous Jonidan rikishi like Masutoo (first win today) and Ichinoya (also first win today).

Highlight bouts of tomorrow:

Nakatani has a good chance of going 3-0 against eternal Sandanme Hoshiazuma (who started ozumo in 1992 and was never ranked higher than Sandanme 42).

Current surprise rikishi Anju (2-0 since aderechelsea took over, otherwise never higher than low Sandanme) will get a very tough one against Haru Jonokuchi yusho winner Sawai in his sophomore basho.

Kachitakai's Kadomoto will face a real heavyweight in Fukutsukasa (191 kg).

Edited May 13, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 6:

Nakatani also grabbed his third win, securing Zentoryu in second place. However, pressure is mounting after Sawai's third win, this time against aderechelsa's Anju. We'll soon see the bout between Sawai and Tochifudo. Kageyama also got his third win. With Kaihayaiha's Hoshigane and Randomitsuki's Katsumori as two more 3-0-rikishi in middle Jonidan, we will likely see those three fighting against each other. Takanorappa had a great turnaround after Sonoda got his second win. Takanorappa moved from 31 up to 21st, while Tamanaogijima made a similarly impressive jump from 19th to 11th.

Tomorrow there is not that much action among picked rikishi, most will return on day 8. However, the leading duo of Wakafujita and Nakatani both have to go into their fourth bout tomorrow, Wakafujita against lightweight Wakahisashi, Nakatani against Sadanofuji.

Moreover, we have two direct matchups. One is down in Jonokuchi with charliki's Hatayama against fukunoyama's Ikioi, and the other is the bout of the day between Kageyama and Hoshigane.

Edited May 14, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 7:

It gets very interesting at the top of the standings. Leader Wakafujita has lost his first bout, while Nakatani got his fourth out of four. According to my wild guesses for virtual banzuke, they are now very close to each other, with a slight advantage for the higher-ranked rikishi.

Kageyama supporters will also rejoice about his fourth win. In virtual standings Kageyama now occupies exactly the same spot as aderechelsea's Anju.

Tomoe leapt from ninth to fourth place, thanks to the third win by Daishiyama. If Daishiyama continues like that he will ride Tomoe into Sandanme territory.

The waters that Tamanaogijima's Yamatofuji charts, are still unclear. Yesterday he moved from 19 to 11, today he moves back to 19.

Takanorappa's Sonoda did not move up in the standings, but moved into the upper half of Jonidan.

The biggest jump was made by fan favorite Ichinoya who equalized his record, thereby overtaking guys like Masutoo, Maeta, and Maenotaka. However, those three all fight on nakabi, and might overtake Jakusotsu's oldtimer again.

On nakabi we don't have direct matchups between picked rikishi. So we are left to wonder how many undefeated rikishi will stay undefeated tomorrow.

Will Sawai close the gap to the two leading rikishi?

Will former Juryo Tochifudo enter virtual Sandanme?

Will former Makushita Katsumori move up towards high Jonidan?

Will Kadomoto continue his streak?

Will top shin-deshi Maeta move up into middle Jonidan?

Edited May 15, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Kachitakai 0]

Day 7:

Will Kadomoto continue his streak?

YESSS!!!

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 8:

Will Sawai close the gap to the two leading rikishi? Yes!

Will former Juryo Tochifudo enter virtual Sandanme? Yes!

Will former Makushita Katsumori move up towards high Jonidan? Yes!

Will Kadomoto continue his streak? Yes!

Will top shin-deshi Maeta move up into middle Jonidan? Yes!

Will Zentoryu's Nakatani take the lead in the standings, at least for a day?

Will Tochifudo continue his winning ways?

Will Kageyama enter virtual Sandanme?

Will Maeta take a good step towards the Jonokuchi yusho?

Will Masutoo move above the kachi-koshi line against Exil's Shinanogawa?

Edited May 16, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Itachi 396]

Zentoryu's Nakatani was a great pick!

I'm glad he wasted a joker on Sawaii although now there is no possibilty of catching him in the rankings (since I'm surfing with Sawaii too).

We shall see if Oshirokita's Wakafujita can hang on to a single loss and keep him ranked above me (assuming Sawaii doesn't falter).

I'm sure glad I didn't waste another joker on Masutoo. Perhaps he can find his feet and get back on track.

Itachi

[Asashosakari 19,655]

Well, I'm happy I used a joker to take both Kageyama and Masutoo, as I would have picked Masutoo if I'd made only one choice...whew!

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 9:

Yesterday it completely escaped me that Sawai had his fifth today. And now he is not only 5-0, he also overtook Nakatani in virtual standings. The reason obviously is that Nakatani lost his bout today. This actually changes our standings. Itachi has overtook Zentoryu since both are now surfing Sawai, both have two jokers left, but Itachi made his pick before Zentoryu.

There is some pressure on the leading trio as Tochifudo continues to dominate his aite.

Kageyama keeps a clean slate and now has reached virtual Sandanme as well.

Masutoo is cruising towards kachi-koshi for the first time this basho.

And finally, the highest-ranked shin-deshi Maeta lost his first bout in Jonokuchi.

The questions for tomorrow's bouts:

Will Wakafujita (surfed by Oshirokita) extend his lead in the standings?

How will Anju (aderechelsea) and Daishiyama (Tomoe) prevail against their Chinese aite, Ryutei and Kosei?

Will Katsumori (Randomitsuki) and/or Kadomoto (Kachitakai) become the fourth and/or fifth rikishi without a loss?

What will be the outcome between Russian Wakanoho (Kintamayama) and Ikioi (fukunoyama)?

Edited May 17, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Zentoryu 154]

Zentoryu's Nakatani was a great pick!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know that was part of your master plan to jinx me, right? (Whistling...) (Clapping wildly...)

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 10:

Oshirokita's Wakafujita extends his lead over the rest of the field.

Kachitakai's Kadomoto stays undefeated while Randomitsuki's Katsumori receives his first kuroboshi.

In a direct matchup Wakanoho (Kintamayama) wins against Ikioi.

After five bouts for each rikishi involved we don't have a single make-koshi. Well picked, folks!

Tomorrow there is lots of action:

The highlight bout is between jd25w Sawai (5-0) and jd61e Kageyama (5-0). If Sawai wins his supporters will be in first place (at least for a day), if Kageyama wins we will have a nice jam in lower Sandanme.

In case of a Kageyama win both Zentoryu's Nakatani and Tochifudo could benefit (if they win tomorrow).

Another direct matchup sees Tomoe's Daishiyama vs. Jejima's Hidaka fighting for an early KK.

Kadomoto could move into Jonidan yusho territory if he wins his sixth tomorrow.

The KK is up for grabs for Anju (aderechelsea), Hokutonada (Exil), Haku (Misisko), Hatayama (charliki), and Matsushima (kotooshu_bulgaria).

Yamatofuji (Tamanaogijima) will fight against MK.

Edited May 18, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 11:

Sawai (Itachi and Zentoryu) defeated Kageyama (4 players) and took the lead in overall standings. However, Wakafujita (Oshirokita) has one bout in hand.

Tochifudo (four players) entered mid-Sandanme by scoring his sixth overall.

Kadomoto (Kachitakai) continues to impress with his sixth win as well.

Hoshigane (Kaihayaiha) and Wakanoho (Kintamayama) are now 5-1.

Daishiyama (Tomoe), Haku (Misisko), and Hatayama (charliki) clinched KK.

Nakatani (Zentoryu), Sonoda (Takanorappa), and So (Mattjila) had their second defeat today.

Edited May 19, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 12:

Oshirokita's Wakafujita regained the lead after his fifth win.

Randomitsuki's Katsumori also got win #5.

It's kachi-koshi time for Fuchita (aderechelsea), Masutoo (many of you), Ichinoya!!!(Jakusotsu), Isonokuni (Frinkanohana), and Ikioi (fukunoyama).

Finally, the first make-koshi were scored by Maenotaka (Mmikasazuma) and Yamato (Zeokage).

Tomorrow only 11 out of 31 picked rikishi are on the dohyo:

Yamatofuji (Tamanaogijima), Hokutonada (Exil), and Matsushima (kotooshu_bulgaria) have decisive bouts on kachi- vs. make-koshi.

Hoshigane (Kaihayaiha), Maeta (Zenjimoto), and Wakanoho (Kintamayama) have the chance for a sixth win.

Sawai can qualify for the Jonidan kettei-sen, given that he wins tomorrow's bout (against Sandanme rikishi Teruyama).

The highlight bout with respect to the Jonidan yusho is between former Juryo Tochifudo and Kadomoto (Kachitakai).

Edited May 20, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Day 13:

Bad news:

Quite a lot of defeats for picked rikishi today.

Hoshigane (Kaihayaiha), Fuchita (aderechelsea) and Daishiyama (Tomoe) lost their final bout.

Hokutonada (Exil) and Matsushima (kotooshu_bulgaria) failed to get a kachi-koshi.

Top dog Sawai (Itachi, Zentoryu) somewhat surprisingly lost his bout in Sandanme, thereby paving the way for Oshirokita's overall win. Congratulations to the "Pick The Yusho Winner" gamemaster!

Good news:

Yamatofuji (Tamanaogijima) achieved kachi-koshi in his last bout.

Jonokuchi rikishi Maeta (Zenjimoto) and Wakanoho (Kintamayama) finished 6-1.

Highlight news:

With the surprise losses of Sawai and Wakatenro the bout between Tochifudo (4 players) and Kadomoto (Kachitakai) actually turned out to be the Jonidan yusho decider. And the winner, I guess a little surprising, was Kadomoto!

Congratulations to Kachitakai! Where did you pick this guy up?

Kadomoto had his sophomore basho, but in Haru the result of 5-2 was far from impressive. On the other hand, he lost his first two bouts, and is 12-0 since then!

Tomorrow there is Wakafujita's last bout. He will lead virtual standings even in case of a loss.

Three primary rikishi are in a do-or-die situation: Anju (aderechelsea), Hidaka (Jejima), and Araki (Tameiki).

And then there is tomorrow's highlight bout between Kageyama (4 players) and Katsumori (Randomitsuki).

Edited May 21, 2005 by Randomitsuki

[Kachitakai 0]

Thank you very much!

I find new debut rikishi from Haru basho, that well enough played. Kadomoto in previous basho debut with kachi-koshi (5-2).

I

[Oshirokita 192]

Oshirokita's overall win. Congratulations to the "Pick The Yusho Winner" gamemaster!

Woohoo! What a very lucky pick in Wakafujita. I just hoped he would be kachi koshi and with a lot of luck, hoped he would end up ranked above Sawai. I almost spent a joker on Sawai and I am glad now that I didn't. Next basho I will have lots of good Sandanme to choose from (including Sawai & Tochifudo).

[Itachi 396]

Congratulations Oshirokita!

I wonder if Zentoryu will be ranked ahead of me or not. If Nakatani finishes 5-2 I'm sure Sawaii will be behind but if it's only 4-3 for Nakatani...

My main concern now is that Oshirokita can select Sawaii next tournament. I'll have to get to work finding someone below that rank who can keep up. Perhaps the GTYW master is unstoppable!