Two rounds of bouts have been completed, leaving us with 28 undefeated rikishi (scroll down for the list). The next round will play out over days 5 and 6. I will hold off on posting an actual bracket until then, as same-heya rikishi and Juryo crossover bouts could scramble the conventional matchups.
The top-ranked undefeated wrestlers, Ms2e Ishizaki and Ms3e Asahakuryu, both hail from Takasago beya and can’t meet outside of a playoff. Conveniently, it’s Asahakuryu’s turn to visit Juryo tomorrow, where he’ll take on freshly promoted J12w Otsuji, who happened to take the May Makushita yusho from Ms3e. The head-to-head favors Otsuji 2-0. Ishizaki fights Ms6e Inami. If Asahakuryu and Inami win, they should meet next. If Asahakuryu and Ishizaki win, they’ll be split up and fight the next two highest-ranked survivors of round 3. If Asahakuryu loses, then the winner of Ishizaki vs. Inami will top the yusho bracket.
The other day 5 bouts feature Kazuto vs. Nagamura, Tenshoho vs. Yoshii, Kurohimeyama vs. Gyotoku, and Yago vs. Higonoumi. Everyone else will fight on day 6, and should be paired up in rank order in the table below (Denuma should be matched up against the highest-ranked undefeated rikishi in Sandanme). Oh, a quick Enho update: he won his day 4 bout in commanding fashion to even his record at 1-1. Maybe Andy was right and he’ll benefit from exiting the yusho bracket early. As previously noted, Asanoyama is also 1-1 and fights fellow Ms1 Kyokukaiyu tomorrow. The next update should be after the day 6 bouts; let me know if there’s anyone else in the third division whose progress you’d like to follow.
Discover more from Tachiai (立合い)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I‘ve been hoping Nobehara would be a candidate for the brackets again. Beating Enho in Natsu basho was a great moment, but after that came some disruption and makekoshi. In his first Nagoya bout now he was looking good, adjusted with his new weight and mentally ready to go for it again. But on Day3 he caught another injury, trying to not slip over the tawara. Kyujo now. I‘m really sad for that.
I’m eager to see Shimazuumi. When they were all in the top division, of the three, Shimanoumi, Shonannoumi, and himself, he was my favorite. Obviously not quite as solid as Sadanoumi but he seemed to fit there among the rank-and-filers.
Yago at 2-0? Goodness, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket. He is at the lower end of the division, so I probably should cut him some slack, though. It wouldn’t surprise me to see both Asanoyama and Enho get promoted to Juryo from the loser’s bracket. They might get pushed back into the yusho race if enough people get dirt on them and they keep winning, though.
The way the makushita bracket is set up, it’s fairly rare for there not to be a 7-0 champion, though a playoff among a bunch of 6-1’s does happen once every couple of year. Asanoyama probably only needs to finish 4-3 to get promoted from Ms1w. Enho is ranked too low; even a 7-0 from Ms16e probably wouldn’t have done it. The best he can do is go 6-1 and hope it’s enough to land him in the top 5 ranks in September.