What a satisfying end to act 2, the middle 5 days of the basho. The goal in act 2 is to narrow the field and find out who has what it takes to compete for the yusho, and start sorting rikishi into make and kachi-koshi. With Mitakeumi’s first loss of the basho, he is now even with Terunofuji at 9-1, and we go into the final 5 days with a tie at the top if the leader board.

Likewise the funnel continues to run well, and the number of rikishi headed toward day 15 7-7 records is looking rather long right now. How many will make it through the funnel to face a Darwin match on the final day? Only 4 days of sumo to enjoy before we find out.

Highlight Matches

Tochinoshin defeats Shohozan – Shohozan immediately dove in at the tachiai and secured a double inside grip. Tochinoshin tried a couple of “test lifts” but could not get Shohozan airborne, and so they waited. After a time, Tochinoshin tried again, and was able to get Shohozan up, and carried him out to improve to 5-5.

Chiyomaru defeats Kotoeko – Chiyomaru’s opening thrusting attack was quite random, and it allowed Kotoeko to get in close and attempt “his brand of sumo”. In response, Chiyomaru employed a “stand him up, then pull him down” combo that worked well enough to get Kotoeko off balance. Chiyomaru kept contact and shoved Kotoeko out for the win, improving to 6-4.

Aoiyama defeats Yutakayama – From the look at it, that was one hell of a face slap / thrust from Aoiyama’s right hand, as it put Yutakayama directly on the clay. Kind of a surprising match, but Aoiyama gets to stay in the middle of the funnel at 5-5.

Ishiura defeats Kotonowaka – Ishiura’s win was not pretty or graceful. It reminded me of a stubborn piece of masonry that had to be pounded into place. Kotonowaka did everything he could to stop Ishiura’s attacks, but it was never quite enough to put Ishiura on defense. The shitatenage that ended the match was, I think, the 4th attempt at that combo. Ishiura improves to 6-4, and Kotonowaka will need to wait another day to try for kachi-koshi.

Oho defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu had a good opening combo with a face slap and a pull down attempt that was not too disastrous. They locked up chest to chest in the center of the dohyo to try and sort themselves out. Oho could not quite reach around Chiyotairyu’s belly to get a handful of mawashi, and so it was stalemate for a bit. Oho decided to gamble, took a step back and pulled Chiyotairyu from the back of his neck, sending him down for the win. Oho improves to 7-3.

Sadanoumi defeats Wakamotoharu – When I describe Sadanoumi as being one of the fastest men in sumo, here is a prime example. Wakamotoharu could barely get any kind of grip at the moment he toppled backwards over the tawara on his way to his 5th loss. It was a “blink and you will miss it” match. Sadanoumi takes the win to improve to 6-4.

Akua defeats Kaisei – Akua may have launched a moment early at the tachiai, and went for an immediate hazu-oshi attack against Kaisei. Akua was able to convert that to a solid left hand mawashi hold, which set up the leg sweep that brought Kaisei to the clay. Akua picks up his second win of Hatsu, improving to 2-8.

Tsurugisho defeats Chiyonokuni – No, today was not the day that Chiyonokuni won his first match of Hatsu. I think its zenpai for him. As expected, Chiyonokuni employed his favored oshi-zumo style, and took the fight to Tsurugisho, landing solid blows time and again. But as we have seen all January, Chiyonokuni just can’t generate any forward pressure. Tsurugisho responded by pressing ahead, and drove Chiyonokuni out of the ring, and is now 4-6.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Tobizaru – Well, the hope here had been for a lot of back-and-forth attack and counter attack. Instead, we had Tobizaru a bit too low at the tachiai, and Terutsuyoshi pushed him to the clay for a quick win. Terutsuyoshi finishes the day at 4-6.

Takarafuji defeats Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto delivers the obligatory double arm thrust at the tachiai, but can’t move Takarafuji, who is already in a strong defensive stance. Ichiyamamoto is not discouraged at all, and just keeps thrusting away, with almost zero effect. Takarafuji sees that Ichiyamamoto’s chest is wide open, and decides to give Ichiyamamoto a shove back. After the first one succeeds, Takarafuji delivers a few more, and sends Ichiyamamoto out the west side for his 8th win, elevating to 8-2 and is kachi-koshi for Hatsu.

Shimanoumi defeats Hoshoryu – Hoshoryu really wanted to push against Shimanoumi’s neck and face, to the exclusion of everything else. Even when there was a clear route to Shimanoumi’s chest, Hoshoryu was not interested. Shimanoumi had the sumo sense to let Hoshoryu have his target. Shimanoumi broke contact, lunged inside and took Hoshoryu to his chest with a right hand inside grip. With Hoshoryu off balance, Shimanoumi twisted to his right and threw Hoshoryu to the clay. That’s the best sumo I have seen from Shimanoumi in a good long time, and he ends the day 5-5.

Myogiryu defeats Chiyoshoma – The tachiai was a draw, with neither rikishi having any kind of offensive advantage. Rather than continue to engage Myogiryu and let the match evolve, Chiyoshoma decided to pull. These pulls are always a gamble, and many times they are a fast path to a loss, as it was for Chiyoshoma today. Myogiryu charged ahead, took the win, and centered himself in the funnel with a 5-5 score.

Abi defeats Okinoumi – Traditional Abi-zumo to start, he drives Okinoumi back to the bales in a hurry. But as Abi moves to finish him off, Okinoumi grabs an arm and for a moment has control of the match. He swings Abi around, but Abi counters by grabbing Okinoumi’s arm in return. With his balance nowhere to be found, Okinoumi gets a fast route over the bales, and Abi gets his 8th win and is kachi-koshi for January. Okinoumi gets his 8th loss and is make-koshi as of day 10.

Tamawashi defeats Ichinojo – Tamawashi understood that if you let Ichinojo grab you and set up shop in the center of the ring, he will wear you down and throw away the husk. Tamawashi solved this by planing a right arm nodowa attack on Ichinojo’s throat, and then marched him straight out the West side. Tamawashi improves to 7-3.

Kiribayama defeats Wakatakakage – Wakatakakage again shows a bit limit to his balance, he comes inside at the tachiai, and looks like he has an offensive advantage. Kiribayama counters with a right hand lateral move, a grab for a right hand outside grip, and a quick pop on Wakatakakage’s neck, and Wakatakakage is on the clay. Both end the day at 4-6, and are very much in the funnel.

Endo defeats Meisei – Endo found himself at the end of the tachiai with no grip, no hand placement, and no chance of offense. Meisei was in no better condition, but Endo decided he would improvise. He drove inside, and again missed any kind of mawashi grip, and converted to pushing Meisei center mass. This worked pretty well, and resulted in an oshidashi win for Endo, only his 3rd white star of Hatsu. He ends the day at 3-7.

Ura defeats Daieisho – Daieisho picks his mark, Ura’s head, and unloads again and again. Ura responds with some attacks against Daieisho’s arms, but is generally reduced to soaking up the damage and hoping for a chance to turn the tables. As we expected, Daieisho left his right arm extended a bit too long, and Ura employed his grab-and-tug attack against it, breaking Daieisho’s balance. As Daieisho lunged to re-engage, Ura grabbed him bodily, planted his head in Daieisho’s chest, and ran Westward with everything he had. A “rescue” pull by Daieisho one step before the exit only compounded the ugliness of his fall from the dohyo. Ura advances to 5-5, and remains in the middle of the funnel.

Hokutofuji defeats Mitakeumi – Hokutofuji put all of his chips on hazu-oshi (armpit attack). This is a change up from his normal right hand “aim high” nodowa opening, and I think it caught Mitakeumi by surprise. When Hokutofuji is on his sumo, which he was today, he can really surprise everyone. He stayed impressively low, and was able to attack from underneath the entire time. Mitakeumi really had no escape once Hokutofuji took his second step. With that loss, Mitakeumi falls to be even with Yokozuna Terunofuji at 9-1, and Hokutofuji improves to 4-6.

Takanosho defeats Shodai – Is Shodai suffering some physical malady, or is he now just completely thrown in the towel mentally? This is the “bad old Shodai” that we made fun of quite a bit, rather than the burly, aggressive guy who stomped his way to Ozeki. I want the Ozeki guy back. Takanosho runs him amok and discards the carcass. He advances to 6-4.

Terunofuji defeats Onosho – Terunofuji again does exactly what is needed. Onosho tries a thrust, find Terunofuji at close range, and chooses to pull. Well, all you have done now is to bring the Kaiju even closer to your chest, and that’s what he wanted to begin with. On the 4th step, Onosho understands this, but its too late and Terunofuji has him out. Terunofuji improves to 9-1 and maintains his share of the lead.

Wow, here we are at the final day of act 2 of the Hatsu basho. Act 2 is where we narrow the field to find out who has what it takes to compete for the yusho, and to start sorting the survivors from the damned. Done and done. We have Mitakeumi vs Terunofuji for the cup. We have 4 rikishi with 7-2 scores that may get their kachi-koshi today, and a whole host about 18 rikishi currently in the grip of the torikumi mechanism I call “Darwin’s Funnel”.

With it being day 10, the goal for the funnel is to have as many rikishi as possible end the day with 5-5 scores. A few 6-4s and 4-6s will work too, but the sweet spot for the funnel will be 5-5. While us sumo fans can marvel at the machinery, for the rikishi I think it’s got to be very annoying, and maybe a bit demoralizing, too. Sumo life is never easy, and I think almost never gentle.

Hatsu Leaderboard

Leader: Mitakeumi
Hunt Group: Terunofuji
Chasers: Abi, Takarafuji, Kotonowaka, Kotoeko

6 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 10

Shohozan vs Tochinoshin – Good old Shohozan, he’s back in the top division for a visit, but given his 3-6 score, the chances of him taking a promotion slot are slim. Worse yet, Tochinoshin tends to wipe the floor with him, holding a 16-9 career advantage. But that may not matter at all today with these two, as they are both well below their physical optimum, and will just do whatever their bodies can manage today.

Chiyomaru vs Kotoeko – The goal here is a Kotoeko win, security kachi-koshi and handing Chiyomaru his 5th loss at the same time to keep him squarely in the funnel. The obstacle to this outcome? Chiyomaru is adept at beating Kotoeko (8-5) and is fighting well this basho. Could be a rowdy fight.

Aoiyama vs Yutakayama – The winner stays in the middle of the funnel at 5-5, the loser edges closer to make-koshi. You can see the pain on both of their faces as they mount and dismount the dohyo each day, so its kind of brutal to see them carry on, but again – sumo is tough.

Ishiura vs Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka has never won a match against Ishiura, in 4 attempts. But if he can do it today, it will be kachi-koshi for him, and it will kick Ishiura into the middle of the funnel with a 5-5. Can Kotonowaka overcome the odds?

Oho vs Chiyotairyu – First time ever match, and I would love to see Chiyotairyu blast into Oho at full power, just to give him the experience of what it’s like to take that kind of hit. I don’t know if Chiyotairyu has any of those in him at this point. Looking at the stats, I am somewhat amazed that these guys are not too far apart in terms of height and weight.

Sadanoumi vs Wakamotoharu – Loser of this match gets shoved back into the funnel at 5-5, and the odds are that fate will befall Wakamotoharu. He has an 0-2 career record against Sadanoumi, who is fighting well enough to put up a credible fight today.

Kaisei vs Akua – Kaisei needs 3 more wins out of the next 6 matches to hit kachi-koshi. This should be possible for him, and I would hope he can pull it off. He has an easy one today, with Akua looking like a human shipwreck in terms of his sumo. The biggest risk is that Akua would get behind Kaisei, and hurry him out.

Chiyonokuni vs Tsurugisho – Could today, at long last, the THE day that Chiyonokuni wins his first match? Or is he destined to hit the rare zenpai (zero wins) and pick up one of the most ignoble marks in sumo? He has a 5-2 career advantage over Tsurugisho, who has lost the last 2 in a row. But we really don’t know how banged up Chiyonokuni is.

Terutsuyoshi vs Tobizaru – Oh good, after a series of fairly grim pairings, now we get these two high action, high agility rikishi head to head near the middle of the top division schedule. They are nearly tied at 6-5 over their career, and I think we could see some intense action from this match.

Ichiyamamoto vs Takarafuji – Takarafuji has won their only prior match, which was back in Nagoya last year. If he should pick up this match (which he should) it will be kachi-koshi for Takarafuji.

Hoshoryu vs Shimanoumi – I would favor Hoshoryu in this match, as his sumo is looking well rounded, and he’s fighting well in multiple forms this January. But Shimanoumi needs to win today in order to keep pace with any chance of pulling out a kachi-koshi this tournament.

Myogiryu vs Chiyoshoma – The winner gets to advance to 5-5, staying centered in the funnel. The loser goes to 4-6 and inches closer to make-koshi. Their career records is 3-3, so this is about as even as you can get.

Okinoumi vs Abi – An Abi win today would put him at 8 wins, and Okinoumi at 8 losses. The schedulers love these “resolution” matches, where they can clean up multiple records with a single fight. The kink in that plan is that Okinoumi is aware of at lest a few ways to defeat “Abi-Zumo”.

Tamawashi vs Ichinojo – After the day 9 late hit, I sort of want Ichinojo to get a face full of dirt today. Tamawashi is quite skilled at putting people in painful holds and then taking them down. But with the Boulder finally learning to be patient, enormous and stand his ground, it may be tougher than ever to get him to supply the force and momentum to throw such a big man around.

Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – Maybe the goal here is for a Wakatakakage win, taking him to 5-5. Kiribayama is fairly close to a lost cause at 3-6, so maybe this is the match where we see if he can claw himself back to fight his way into the funnel, or if he is just going to coast to a make-koshi.

Meisei vs Endo – Endo leads the series 5-2, but he has been terrible this basho, and comes in with a 2-7 record. A loss today is make-koshi for him, and maybe that is the point. Get him decided early and get him out of the way of the funnel. A win would give Meisei the desired 5-5 score, as well….

Ura vs Daieisho – Mega thruster Daieisho is a great opponent for Ura’s grab-and-tug sumo. Daieisho will be sending arms and hands flying in Ura’s direction with great speed and high frequency. One of them will get caught, twisted and used to pull the rest of Daieisho into an uncomfortable position, followed by a quick excursion out or down. At least that’s what Ura has in mind. Daieisho just needs two big hits amidships to send Ura out. Who will run their attack plan better? I can’t wait to find out.

Mitakeumi vs Hokutofuji – A very even match with 12-10 over their career. I would really think that Hokutofuji can give the Original Tadpole the business today, but he has only been at about 80% genki, while Mitakeumi is in what may be his best form ever.

Takanosho vs Shodai – If Shodai should win today (8-3 career advantage) they would both head to day 11 with matching 5-5 records, and be the highest ranking people in the funnel. Given that neither of them has really fought well this basho, this is what I do hope happens.

Terunofuji vs Onosho – Surprise surprise! Onosho holds a 4-3 career record on Terunofuji. But I will also state that includes a spectacular Onosho loss on day 4 of Kyushu via kimedashi. Since returning to the top division, the record is 3-2 in favor of Terunofuji. Given that Onosho is fighting well this basho, I expect sparks to fly in the final match.

Bruce is nursing an ugly cold, so just the basics for today’s highlight post. No changes to the leaderboard as the top men all take their matches. The funnel is running quite well at the moment, and I predict a good crop of 7-7 rikishi on day 15, including some famous names.

Highlight Matches

Daiamami defeats Aoiyama – In spite of his loss, Aoiyama looked better today in terms of power and movement than he has all basho. He puts up a solid fights against Daiamami as the two trade thrusting attacks. But a missed slap by Aoiyama followed by a quick slap down by Daiamami gave him the match, he improves to 5-4 and returns to Juryo.

Kotonowaka defeats Tochinoshin – Tochinoshin established his preferred left hand outside against Kotonowaka early, but then for some reason gave it up. What followed was a series of pulling attempts from Tochinoshin that left him jumping backwards out of the ring. Kotonowaka improves to 7-2.

Oho defeats Yutakayama – This match was all Yutakayama until his attempt at a finishing move with Oho at the bales fell apart. Oho rallied and surged forward, dispatching Yutakayama with a sukuinage, sending him over the bales. Oho improves to 6-3.

Kaisei defeats Chiyomaru – Kaisei closed the distance to Chiyomaru, and kept the big Kokenoe man at his chest. Normally Chiyomaru wants to get to the side or behind Kaisei in these matches, but Kaisei pined him to the front quadrant and walking him out with power. Kaisei improves to 5-4.

Kotoeko defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu opened fast and powerful, and was clearly going for a “stand him up / pull him down” attack. His pull failed, and that gave control of the match to Kotoeko. He took a double inside grip against Chiyotairyu, and drove him from the ring. Kotoeko improves to 7-2, his next win will bring him kachi-koshi.

Ishiura defeats Tsurugisho – Great match plan by Ishiura. He hits and immediately moves to Tsurugisho’s left side, getting a left hand inside grip. He pauses for a moment to consolidate his position, then unleashes a twisting hineri that sends Tsurugisho to the clay in a heap. Ishiura improves to 5-4.

Wakamotoharu defeats Terutsuyoshi – Wakamotoharu captures Terutsuyoshi early, and it looks like Terutsuyoshi had zero response ready to this situation. Wakamotoharu walks him back, and puts him across the bales for the win. Wakamotoharu improves to 5-4.

Sadanoumi defeats Chiyonokuni – No, today was not the day that Chiyonokuni won his first match of Hatsu. Chiyonokuni gets in exactly one combo, which was off balance enough that Sadanoumi gets behind him and shoves him out for a win. I do have to wonder if Chiyonokuni is going for a zenpai now. I mean you have gotten it to 9-0, why not take it all the way? Sadanoumi 5-4.

Tobizaru defeats Ichiyamamoto – An Ichiyamamoto pull down attempt on the 3rd exchange of thrusts threw this match away. Up to that point, he was holding his own against Tobizaru, and could probably worn him down, and gotten him off balance while Tobizaru was on the move. Instead, its Tobizaru with the win, improving to 5-4.

Takarafuji defeats Akua – Look at how efficient Takarafuji’s sumo is today. I doubt he took more than 10 steps to get that win. Akua tries his kakenage and Takarafuji puts him down, improving to 7-2. Akua picks up his 8th loss and is make-koshi.

Abi defeats Myogiryu – Abi lands a couple of hits, but Myogiryu responds in kind, and with excess power. This was probably part of the plan to begin with. Now that Myogiryu is dialed up to maximum energy, Abi steps to the side, sending Myogiryu plunging down. Abi improves to 7-2.

Chiyoshoma defeats Shimanoumi – Chiyoshoma has to the favorite rikishi of the funnel, as he is very much in the win one / lose one tempo most tournaments. He sails a straight path right on the make / kachi-koshi line most basho, and that’ what Darwin’s funnel is all about. Offensively, it was all Chiyoshoma today, who landed a couple of thrusting combos, then delivered a nice under shoulder swing down (katasukashi) to improve to 4-5.

Hoshoryu defeats Endo – Endo showed his greater experience and years of training early. He shut down Hoshoryu’s route to thrust center mass, and robbed him of any meaningful hold. Points to Hoshoryu, who stayed in the match and improvised well. He got to the side of Endo an cranked up the power, sending him on a one way trip to his 7th loss. Hoshoryu improves to 6-3.

Ichinojo defeats Ura – Once Ichinojo captured Ura, the match was basically won. I think Ura took a while to try and figure out what if anything he could do from underneath the Boulder. But really there was nothing for it. What I take exception with was that shove by Ichinojo after the match was already won that sent Ura to visit one of the NHK camera men in the crowd. Bad form, sir. Ichinojo improves to 5-4.

Wakatakakage defeats Tamawashi – Its an amazing thing, Wakatakakage has never lost to Tamawashi. I am not sure why this would be the case, but here we are again today. Wakatakakage gets his hands inside against Tamawashi’s chest, and uses them to push him around and then out. Wakatakakage improves to 4-5.

Kiribayama defeats Daieisho – Daieisho’s opening thrust attacks missed their marks, leaving him wide open for Kiribayama to take whatever hold he wanted. With Kiribayama at his chest, Daieisho really had very little offense to employ, and was at that point just along for the ride. They both end the day at 3-6.

Takanosho defeats Onosho – Onosho is able to get a couple of solid hits to land, but Takanosho stays in the match and works to bracket him. By the 3rd step, Takanosho has Onosho pinned down with a superb hazu-oshi, and starts walking him back, taking the win a moment later as Onosho crosses over the tawara. Takanosho improves to 5-4.

Mitakeumi defeats Okinoumi – Yet again we get a Mitakeumi express rip through the station at full throttle. Okinoumi was barely a speed bump as the Original Tadpole rushed westward, taking his opponent with him. A perfect 9-0 for Mitakeumi now.

Meisei defeats Shodai – Shodai, you puss bucket. Shodai had a strong start, although his typical crummy tachiai was evident. Shodai even trotted out the “Wall of Daikon” for a moment, and it was working well. But then Meisei quips, “Nawh, not today, mate!”, shifts his balance and puts Shodai out. Both end the day at 4-5. That’s only the second time Meisei has won over Shodai in 10 attempts. Shows you where Shodai is on his relative genki scale…. Oh, then the gyoji blows the call. Perfect match.

Terunofuji defeats Hokutofuji – Well, good effort by Hokutofuji. We get to see him do a number of his favorite things, including that right hand nodowa. I am sure it hurt, but Terunofuji did not let it impact his sumo. While Hokutofuji is busy with that useless right hand nodowa, in comes the Yokozuna’s left hand and connects with Hokutofuji’s mawashi. The rest of the match is Terunofuji trying to get his right hand grip as well. After a few minutes, he decides he’s not going to get it, and unleashes a throw instead. Hokutofuji hits the clay as Terunofuji picks up his 8th win and is kachi-koshi for Hatsu.

With the middle weekend done, it’s time to get to the all important second week. We start this final run to senshuraku with a single man atop the yusho leaderboard, perpetual Sekiwake Mitakeumi. Already kachi-koshi with a perfect 8-0 score, he could go kyujo today and retain his Sekiwake 1 East rank, no questions asked. But on his sumo “to do” list is a promotion to Ozeki. He has come close at least twice, just to have the attempt fall apart in the second week. So many sumo fans, both boosters and detractors of Mitakeumi, are eagerly watching to see what he is able to do in the final 7 days. I think the most recent failure caused him to utter the word “FORK” loudly while walking back to the shitaku-beya following a crucial loss. Then again I may have translated that wrong, my Japanese is very poor.

In numerical terms, he needs 5 more wins to hit the 33 wins over 3 basho criteria, by hitting at least a 13-2 result. This would be equal to his best ever basho score, where he won his first yusho. I know he can do this, but the next 7 days are more about him keeping his head together, keeping his focus sharp and his sumo sharper. His toughest matches will include bouts with Terunofuji, Shodai and Takanosho, and the one I think may be the spoiler – Hokutofuji. They have a 22 match career history that favors Mitakeumi 12-10, but you know that Hokutofuji wants to be the man that takes out the yusho leader. I think we will get our look at that match sooner rather than later.

Hatsu Leaderboard

Leader: Mitakeumi
Hunt Group: Terunofuji
Chasers: Tamawashi, Onosho, Abi , Takarafuji, Kotonowaka, Kotoeko

7 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 9

Aoiyama vs Daiamami – Daiamami up from Juryo to fill that stubborn banzuke gap, and he faces a diminished Aoiyama, who is near the bottom of the top division, and squarely in the middle of the funnel at 4-4. Aoiyama has a 6-2 career advantage, so he clearly has a recipe for defeating Daiamami, but can he execute today…

Kotonowaka vs Tochinoshin – Kotonowaka is not small or light enough to be a good “sky-crane” candidate in Tochinoshin’s current injury plagued condition. Like Aoiyama we may see Tochinoshin fighting to keep his spot in the top division this week. Kotonowakak is fighting well at 6-2, and needs just 2 more wins for his kachi-koshi.

Oho vs Yutakayama – Oho has a 2-0 career advantage over Yutakayama, but let’s face it, this the same guy 6 years in the past. Oho has none of the injuries and problems that hamper Yutakayama today, and I think the fact that he is young, fresh and healthy will be the deciding factor in this match.

Chiyomaru vs Kaisei – If there is a theme here, I don’t like it. We have a whole raft of long serving top division men at the bottom of the banzuke with 4-4 records starting day 9, squarely in the middle of the funnel, and quite possibly fighting their final week in the top division for a while or for their careers. All of them are arch competitors that are aging out of the sport, so I expect them to go down fighting – hard. Sadly, I would give Chiyomaru and edge in this match.

Kotoeko vs Chiyotairyu – I find myself not really believing that Kotoeko needs just 2 more wins for his kachi-koshi. After a disastrous 3-12 score in Kyusho, it was easy to imagine him too injured to maintain his status as a Sekitori. But he seems to be back into his sumo and fighting well. The best his opponent Chiyotairyu can hope for is a win today, and a chance to break back into the funnel group. Brutal.

Ishiura vs Tsurugisho – Like Chiyotairyu, Tsurugisho’s 3-5 score have placed severe limits on his chances of getting to a winning record this January. He would need to win 5 of the remaining 7 matches, and that would be a rough rode if he was not fighting hurt. If he is feeling ok on day 9, he can use his superior size to dominate Ishiura, but we will see if he can summon the energy to do that.

Wakamotoharu vs Terutsuyoshi – If you wonder why so many rikishi with 4-4 and 3-5 scores are facing each other, its part of the funnel process. The team that make the fight roster each day are working hard to bring as many men to a 7-7 score at the end of day 14. I call this “Darwin’s Funnel”, and you can see it’s gruesome imprint on this pairing. Terutsuyoshi at 3-5 needs 2 wins just to be in the middle on the funnel, Wakamotoharu needs 2 wins to exit the funnel on the “Winning” side. But because the competition in the top division is so even in skill and power right now, the fight list pairs these evenly matched rikishi together, day after day, to try and keep them all wining one day, and losing the next.

Chiyonokuni vs Sadanoumi – One fellow who is not going to participate in any of that is Chiyonokuni, who is already make-koshi with a perfect zenpai so far. I know he’s going to win at least 1 match this time, so it’s just a question who is going to be the first to take a loss. It would be interesting if it’s Sadanoumi.

Ichiyamamoto vs Tobizaru – Two guys with excellent agility and mobility. Both of whom love to bash and move for as long as they can each tournament day. I am not sure I can give an advantage, both are squarely in the middle of the funnel with 4-4 scores, both need 2 wins to exit the funnel right now on the winning side, and both are likely to be 7-7 at the start of day 15.

Akua vs Takarafuji – The funnel works both for the 4-4 crowd and the people who are on the clear road to kachi-koshi. Here we have 6-2 Takarafuji going up against Akua with just a single win. This is their first ever career match, and I am curious to see what Akua does with Takarafuji’s “defend and extend” sumo. Akua like to dive in with gusto, grab a hold and toss things about. I am not sure he will get too many chances for that today.

Myogiryu vs Abi – Folks may feel let down that Abi has 2 consecutive losses. His 1 dimensional sumo is prone to hot and cold streaks, and he simply hit a soft spot. It’s my guess he will end up with at least 8 wins, and find himself in the joi-jin in March, which will be wonderful to see. I can’t wait to see what Yokozuna Terunofuji does with him.

Shimanoumi vs Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma has a 6-2 career advantage, he also needs at least 2 wins to make it back to the middle of the funnel, where Shimanoumi is today. Yep, another brutal funnel match and I think the goal is to have Chiyoshoma win this one and knock Shimanoumi back one.

Hoshoryu vs Endo – Endo is a gloopy mess of uncoordinated sumo right now. It’s a shame because he has a finite number of basho left in him, and it’s a shame he’s not doing well this time out. He’s up against 5-3 Hoshoryu who has never won against him. Should Hoshoryu pull out the white star, he would exit the funnel on the winning side for now.

Ura vs Ichinojo – Much as I love both of these guys, they have matching 4-4 scores and are both marching toward a day 15 Darwin match right now unless they can string together consecutive wins. This is harder in week 2 than it is in week 1, because the rikishi already have 8 days worth of drain on their bodies from fighting at their highest intensity each and every day. I think Ura has an advantage here, as Ichinojo is unlikely to muster the patience to grind Ura down over a long haul match.

Wakatakakage vs Tamawashi – Tamawashi is headed for kachi-koshi land is my assumption right now, unless he hits a soft spot and picks up a few consecutive losses. That may happen today, as he has a 0-3 career deficit against Wakatakakage. Wakatakakage’ superior maneuverability allows him to get to the side or behind Tamawashi, and nullify his considerable defenses. Can he make it 4 in a row?

Kiribayama vs Daieisho – Two from the losing bracket, they are going to fight to see who goes make-koshi first. Both of them are competent fighters, and will be back with renewed vigor (I hope) in March, albeit lower down the banzuke. The split their 4 matches last year 2-2, so there is no way to guess which one holds any kind of edge today.

Onosho vs Takanosho – Onosho is having one of his “good” basho. He’s quite streaky, and he’s on a winning streak right now. He comes up against the much higher ranked Takanosho, who finds himself in the middle of the funnel at 4-4, and like the others of this score, needs consecutive wins to escape. Takanosho has a 6-3 career advantage over Onosho, so I am looking to see if he can shut down Onosho’s mega-thrust attack.

Mitakeumi vs Okinoumi – A battle of the Umi, this is not a one sided battle, though the more recent matches slightly favor Mitakeumi. At this point the pressure of needing to win every day is going to start eating at Mitakeumi’s focus if he is not strictly limiting his thoughts while on the dohyo. Okinoumi is headed for make-koshi anyhow, so maybe he will crank up something stunning from his catalog of sumo techniques and put that round Sekiwake on the clay.

Meisei vs Shodai – Of course Shodai is in the funnel group. Hell, he owns the funnel group. If anyone deserves a Darwin match, it’s shodai. But I am suspecting they may try to protect him this time around. He has a 8-1 career advantage against Meisei, and should be able to dispatch him without too much trouble.

Terunofuji vs Hokutofuji – Ol’ Stompy Hokutofuji always puts on his best sumo, but at 3-5 its clear that he is once again headed to “The Most Powerful Make-Koshi In All Of Sumo“. I wonder if Terunofuji’s 1 loss is helping him at this point. He does not have to worry about his first loss, it’s already happened, and he can focus on just blowing everyone off the dohyo and preparing for the day he goes head to head against Mitakeumi.