How about a sumo thread?

[Anton Gramscescu]

OK, so this is now A Genuinely Interesting Basho.

1) With the top two both losing today, we have three guys (Abi, 'umi, and Teru) at 10-2 with three days to go.

2) Takakeisho will be kadoban next tourney and it;s a good bet Shodai will be too. This sets up a nightmare scenario for the JSA - you *have* to have two O/Ys to start a tournament (obscure old rule, basically you need one "champion" on both the east and west side of the table. If they both have losing records again in March, the May basho can't happen).

3) So this massively increases the likelihood that Mitakeumi will get a promotion to Ozeki this tourney, even though he'd normally be on shaky ground. Normally, he'd need 13 wins to get the nod; 12 is possible, but now I think even with 11 they might give him the nod. problem here: 'umi fights Abi tomorrow and (almost certainly) Teru on Saturday.

4) There are now I think five guys kyujo if you include the soon-to-be-kicked-out-of-sumo Hidenoumi who got done for gambling, which means the banzuke re-alignment for next basho is going to be batshit crazy. I think there are going to be a couple of guys with 5-9 records who would normally et tossed down the ranks that might barely get demoted. Likeliest beneficiary of this: Tochinoshin.

[ursus arctos]

Shodai loses again and is now officially kadoban

Mitakeumi handles Abi and Terunofuji only needs about five seconds to win his bout

On Day 14, Mitakeumi gets Takarafuji (9-4), while Teru gets Abi (10-3).

If they both record the same result, their bout on the final day will determine the title.

If they don't, the wrestler trailing going into Day 15 can still force a playoff by winning (Abi will be eliminated from the title race if he loses to Terunofuji).

[Anton Gramscescu]

That is some absurd scheduling. Only two options here:

1) They are setting this up so that 'umi can fight Teru on Day 15 for a decisive final-day-final-bout.
2) (more likely). They will do the traditional top-of-the-banzuke-meets-#2-on-the-banzuke between Teru and Shodai meaning 'umi doesn;t have to face Teru at all (except possibly in a playoff).

I suppose the benefit of the latter is that it becomes likelier 'umi gets a 12th win and therefore eligible for promotion to Ozeki.

[scratchmonkey]

Mitakeumi does what's expected...and Abi upsets Terunofuji, catching him badly off-guard! A really good slate of bouts, I quite enjoyed Kotonowaka's win.

[Anton Gramscescu]

It's been a great tournament all around. Best in quite some time. In the final match, Mitakaeumi beats (a probably injured) Terunofuji to take the title. Sad, because a Teru win would have set up a three-way playoff after Abi's sensational win over Kotonowaka (after an equally sensational victory the previous day, as scratchmonkey noted)

Mitakaeumi nailed on to make Ozeki now. And he may stay there a long while: since he first reached Sanya'ku, he has been kachikoshi 21 times out of 27, Amazingly consistent at being good but not too good.

With a Mitakaeumi promotion and a Takanosho demotion, we have two open Sekiwake spots, and it seems likely to be Wakatakakage and Abi. Takanosho will take up one of the komusubi spots, likeliest candidate for the other spot is Ura (!), who has managed to show a certain steel this tournament without sacrificing any of his panache.

[scratchmonkey]

March Basho is underway, and so far, the big news is Terunofuji getting upset on the second day, leaving him at 2-1. A long way to go; it feels like this is the most open the sport has been in a long time, with Mitakaeumi going 3-0 so far, along with a handful of others, including the youngster Kotonowaka.

[ursus arctos]

Teru looks as if his foot may be injured and something is clearly wrong with Takakeisho, who has already lost twice. And Shodai is winless.

Betting on the field would seem prudent.

[ursus arctos]

Five days done and only Takayasu is undefeated.

Teru was bullied by Tamawashi, which means that something is clearly wrong physically. Mitakeumi lost for the first time while Shodai finally got a win and demonstrated some resilience in doing so. Abi, Wakatakakage and Kiribayama have been the most impressive for me of the rather large group now at 4-1.

I would be very surprised if Terunofuji finishes this tournament.

[Cousin Boneless]

Haha i finally joined up on this forum, partly to post in this thread!

It's looking to be a very interesting basho so far. I haven't saw todays bouts but Terunofuji is kyujo which is a shame. I do think Mitakuemi may edge it in the end. Shoudai needs to pull his finger out to keep his Ozeki rank

[ursus arctos]

Konichiwa

Shodai keeping his rank would be a truly great escape. He looks to have lost interest and determination.

Takakeisho, on the other hand, has recovered from his early travails and is now 4-2, while still not being himself.

Takayasu remains the only rikishi with a perfect record.

[ursus arctos]

Takayasu outlasts Hoshoryu in a classic to go 10-0. The pundits expecting him to fail early in this run have been proved wrong.
With five bouts left, it is hard to see a winner from outside of a small group at the top.

Takayasu 10-0
Wakatakanage 9-1
Kotonowaka 9-1
Mitakeumi 8-2

Takakeisho'a.three.losses are almost certainly one too many.

After an absolutely abject start, Shodai is now 5-5 and could save his rank. Tochinosin is also turning heads at 7-3 after years in the relative wilderness.

[Cousin Boneless]

Takayasu outlasts Hoshoryu in a classic to go 10-0. The pundits expecting him to fail early in this run have been proved wrong.
With five bouts left, it is hard to see a winner from outside of a small group at the top.

Takayasu 10-0
Wakatakanage 9-1
Kotonowaka 9-1
Mitakeumi 8-2

Takakeisho'a.three.losses are almost certainly one too many.

After an absolutely abject start, Shodai is now 5-5 and could save his rank. Tochinosin is also turning heads at 7-3 after years in the relative wilderness.

Glad for Tochinoshin who has been my favourite in my four or five odd years of watching sumo. Hopefully he will get his KK.

I think Shodai will also get his KK after a terrible start. The Takayasu bout was very good indeed. I hope he goes on to win it now.

[ursus arctos]

And we have a real contest with four days remaining.

[scratchmonkey]

It looks like, bar a total reversal of form, that it will come down to Takayasu or Wakatakakage to take the basho, which I have to say, I'd be really chuffed to see either one of them take it.

[Anton Gramscescu]

It is interesting watching the entire upper joi simultaneously remember how to beat both Ura and Abi. Those two are having terrible bashos.

Glad to see Shodai shake off the long COVID and put together a real win streak. Three non-kadoban ozeki is a good thing.

Also, Enho is finally putting together a decent set of performances. Hoping he can be back in top division by September when - fingers crossed - la principessa and I can be back in Tokyo for the basho.

[Anton Gramscescu]

I said to my daughter this morning: no way Takayasu wins the yusho - he is going to choke. And I was only half-right, because he choked twice.

Wakatakakage's agility in the playoff was really something.

[ursus arctos]

There can't have been many final days on which all three contenders. lost,. if. only because there is usually at least one direct confrontation.

Shodai with the full Jekyll and Hyde.

[Anton Gramscescu]

If they'd started the basho on day 6, Shodai would have taken home the yusho. I'd put money on him winning next time, if Teru is still not better.

Finally, you can see a new elite starting to take shape. Wakatakakage and Hoshoryu are defiinitely part of it (you'd think one of them will make Ozeki in the next couple of years). Daieisho seems to be permanently lodged between M3 and Sekiwake (kind of where Shodai was for many years), and must eventually go on an Ozeki run. Kiribayama and Kotonowaka also seem destined to spend a lot time a the top. And hey, we have three non-kadoban Ozeki! All of which is to say that things may be moving closer to where they were 4-5 years ago in terms of stability at the top.

[Cousin Boneless]

The May Basho is underway as of yesterday, Big Ichinojo and Little Ishiura are both kyujo.

Terunofuji got beat yesterday - will be interesting to see how he does this tournament.

[ursus arctos]

He looked as if both his knee and ankle (different legs) were far from 100 percent.

I don't expect him to finish the tournament.

I can't recall a first day on which so many highly ranked rikishi lost (and looked bad doing so).

[Cousin Boneless]

What has happened to Shoudai? Looks not interested out there

[ursus arctos]

He's been even worse than last time, but says he isn't injured.

https://twitter.com/AlexUsherHESA/status/1525606690065981442?t=OXBcNh7YAU7N0pSZUHC9dg&s=19

[ursus arctos]

Just a mess of a tournament.

No one has fewer than two losses after eight matches and this could quite easily end in a playoff of 11-4 or 10-5 rikishi.

[Cousin Boneless]

Hooray! My all time fave Tochinoshin got his KK today.

[ursus arctos]

Indeed he did.

Widespread reports of his demise were clearly premature.