Today’s semifinals were somewhat anticlimactic. First, Daiyusho pushed out Aratakayama without meeting much resistance to win by oshidashi. Then, Shimazuumi absorbed a few shoves from Kitanowaka and then pushed him out to also win by oshidashi. So it’ll be the former maegashira on the road back from injury against a much less accomplished opponent for all the marbles on day 13. If Daiyusho can buck the odds and live up to his shikona, it’ll be the biggest achievement of his career.

Here’s how things stand in the Ms1-Ms5 promotion zone:

Kitanowaka is sure to return to the paid ranks for the first time since his January injury. Five others have secured their kachi-koshi, and Mudoho and Kamito could still join them. The promotion order is roughly as follows: Kitanowaka is in, Takakento, Nagamura, Otsuji and Wakanosho can each stake a strong claim with another win, Goshima needs two, while Kamito and Mudoho must win out and hope for help. Wakanosho and Goshima fight H2H tomorrow, and Kamito will try to stay alive against Shohoryu.

In Juryo the only clear demotion case belongs to absent Endo, but Kyokukaiyu, Miyanokaze, Shiden, Takarafuji, Nishinoryu and Kayo have work to do to stay in the paid ranks.

It’s day 9, which means that 5 rounds of bouts have been completed, and we are left with 4 undefeated semifinalists. They will be matched up in rank order on day 11 to determine which two will face off for the yusho on day 13. As a reminder, these were are the quarterfinal pairings:

In what has to be considered an upset, Aratakayama slapped down former maegashira Bushozan after the latter drove him to the edge but couldn’t push him out. Daiyusho easily pushed out Tokunomusashi. Former maegashira Shimazuumi shoved out Ikirigata after a brief but spirited exchange. Kitanowaka and Kotokenryu engaged in a protracted standoff with a lot of hand fighting in an attempt to establish belt grips. Kitanowaka was the first to do so, and when Kotokenryu attempted a grip switch, Kitanowaka drove forward and crushed his opponent out.

So in the upper half of the bracket, it’ll be two former sekitori locking horns for the 9th time in what is likely to be a belt battle; Shimazuumi holds a 6-2 head-to-head edge, though Kitanowaka won their most recent bout by uwatenage. In the lower half, it’s two guys who between them have over 80 basho in ozumo without ever rising above Ms25.

Here’s how things stand in the Ms1-Ms5 promotion zone:

Kitanowaka is sure to return to the paid ranks for the first time since his January injury. Daiamami must win his final 2 bouts. Wakanosho is in the best shape of the other contenders. The only action tomorrow is Goshima fighting Ms9e Matsui, a fellow Ms60TD guy; Goshima probably needs to win out to keep his promotion hopes going. Come back on day 11 to see who makes the yusho final and where the promotion picture stands.

It’s day 8, which means that 4 rounds of bouts have been completed, and we are left with 8 undefeated contenders. They are matched up in rank order on day 9 to determine the semifinalists, and they hail from 8 different heya, so we will have a straightforward elimination bracket for the yusho. Here are the quarterfinal pairings:

Now for a bit of color commentary on the bouts that got us down to the 8 quarterfinalists. Kitanowaka had to draw on all of his sekitori experience to best Goshima in an epic belt battle. Shimazuumi and Bushozan looked more like their old selves, winning by their classic yoritaoshi and oshidashi, respectively. Ikarigata displayed all of his brother Fujinokawa’s energy in defeating the much bigger Kazenoumi in a spirited, back and forth fight with a variety of techniques on display. Finally, if you can, check out the crazy bout between Tokunomusashi and Shimizuumi (yes, that’s an actual shikona and not a typo). They engaged after a matta, Tokunomusashi got behind Shimizuumi, but the latter somehow resisted, and they both attempted some sort of throw at the edge, landing together, with Shimizuumi landing on his head and looking pretty woozy. Of course, a monoii ensued, and the discussion resulted in a torinaoshi rematch. Somehow Shimizuumi got himself up for the bout, and after yet another matta, the two locked up in a protracted yotsu match, with Tokunomusashi finally being able to throw down his gutsy opponent.

In terms of Juryo promotions, Kitanowaka is now 4-0 at Ms1w, so he is already in good shape and should be a lock with another win. I still have him as the title favorite. Kotokenryu would need to win out to claim the automatic promotion that goes to an undefeated wrestler from the Ms1-Ms15 ranks. And here’s how things stand in the regular Ms1-Ms5 promotion zone:

The only kachi-koshi belongs to Kitanowaka, and only the veteran Shimanoumi is out of the running. Daiamami must win his final 3 bouts, and we’ll have to wait for at least another round of bouts to see how the rest of the promotion race shapes up.

It’s day 6, which means that 3 rounds of bouts have been completed, and the single-elimination nature of the third-division yusho race has left us with 15 undefeated contenders. These will be matched up in rank order on days 7 and 8 to determine the quarterfinalists, with odd man out Aratakayama once again facing a Sandanme opponent. The yusho bracket includes former maegashira Kitanowaka, Shimazuumi, and Bushozan, as well as top prospects Goshima and Ikarigata. The latter stayed in the race by eliminating fan favorite Enho. Kitanowaka spent about three years in the sekitori ranks, with a few top-division appearances, before his January injury, and looks to be fit again, so he has to be one of the favorites. His day 7 bout with Goshima could be pivotal—the Fujishima beya man has been a beast since his Ms60TD debut in March, posting a 19-5 career record to date. Ikarigata is 23-8 after starting in January as a Sandanme tsukedashi, and Shimazuumi and Bushozan are also on their way back from injuries and cannot be counted out. Come back on day 8 to see who makes the quarterfinals and how the Juryo promotion picture in shaping up.