Lots of interesting bouts, including, surprisingly, the ones I and everyone else expected to be reserved for the final day:
|
Komusubi
Takakeisho
（11-1） |
 |
|
Ozeki
Takayasu
（10-2） |
|
|
Sekiwake
Mitakeumi
（6-6） |
|
|
Ozeki
Tochinoshin
（6-6） |
They actually make a lot of sense when you consider which matches they reserved for Day 15, specifically that they saved the remaining match with the highest possible rankings of the two rikishi for the last one in the tournament. What doesn’t make sense is why they didn’t do Mitakeumi-Tochinoshin Day 13 if that was their plan. Both of them received random high-ranked maegashira, not Yusho contenders, so their opponents could have been mixed in with the rest of the morass of nearly-level rikishi.
I may be overthinking this but…I don’t think the planners like playoffs as they muck up the schedule and make it awkward to fit everything in before 6pm. That’s why they start the day 15 matches earlier. The matchups for day 14 mean that Takakeisho has a good opportunity to wrap things up with a day to spare, so everything would be nice and smooth and settled on day 15.
If you like tension, I think it actually makes more sense to put Mitakeumi – Tochinoshin on day 14 given they were both 6-6 when the Torikumi was written. If you save it for senshuraku there’s a chance it’ll be something like Mitakeumi (7-7) – Tochinoshin (8-6), and Tochinoshin might softball it because he’s got his KK. By putting it on day 14 you guarantee that they both still have everything to fight for.
Putting Takabowl early seems weird at first glance, but it’s actually the only thing they can do. They blew their one Ozeki bout on day 12 like idiots who hadn’t been watching Goeido’s sumo, so the best they can do for the senshuraku musubi-no-ichiban in terms of rank is Mitakeumi – Takayasu.
Takabowl! Awesome! This is what I am calling it from now on.
Okinoumi not yet mathematically eliminated. He faces a genki giku on day 14.
To me it feels the schedulers are banking on Takayasu to win this which would then set up a potential rematch on Day 15 in a playoff, or at least heighten the pressure on each individual Day 15 match. Could create as many as 4 potential big drama matches as opposed to a maximum of 2 otherwise.
If Takayasu wins tomorrow, I think he wins the yusho.