In his day 9 match against Kayatoiwa, Ura secured his kachi-koshi, picking up his 4th win. in the video below, Ura uses a straightforward attack and drive strategy to overcome his opponent. We expect Ura to attempt his 5th win on day 11, and possibly fight again on day 13 or 14.
The blinding hot forge that is the Aki basho is burning bright now. Three rikishi are cast into the fire, and it’s not certain that any of them will emerge with the outcome they seek. Many more are lined up to take their turn in the forge, and the basho is getting serious.
First and foremost, it’s gut check time for Yokozuna Kisenosato. With an Ozeki opponent, we think he is tired, and low on stamina. He faces a mandate to reach 8 wins before the end of the basho, and is entering the toughest part of his schedule. The past 3 days have been rough for Kisenosato, and there may be worse to come.
Tochinoshin needs to find 3 wins. Its clear he is quite a bit less than his normal amazing self, but he’s got to gamberize to his utmost. While we are sure that a fully healthy Tochinoshin could bust out 10 wins as an “Ozekiwake” in Kyushu, it would be a huge gamble that he could get his body ready.
Mitakeumi’s Ozeki bid hangs by a thread. Dropping the match to Ikioi left him little room for what could be considered normal losses – to Hakuho and Kakuryu. But now he needs to reach deep and win no matter what. Perhaps this will motivate him as nothing else has. We suspect he is kind of a strange rikishi, as he does not train as hard as he competes.
In the midst of these story arcs unfolding, the scheduling team has begun to match opponents from further across the banzuke than the first week had seen. Today seems to be “first time” day, with many rikishi facing each other for their first match.
The leaderboard underwent a dramatic shift on day 8, with only the two Yokozuna remaining in the undefeated group. The road to the yusho will get steeper, and more difficult with each day.
Leaders: Kakuryu, Hakuho
Chasers: Goeido, Takayasu, Hokutofuji, Ryuden
Hunt Group: Kisenosato, Mitakeumi, Asanoyama, Takanoiwa ,Yoshikaze
7 Matches Remain
Yoshikaze vs Okinoumi – Yoshikaze needs two more wins to lock in his kachi-koshi, but his day 9 opponent has a distinct advantage (11-8) over their career. Fans continue to wonder what that ugly looking rash covering his body could indicate, but none of the options are good. Okinoumi’s superior mass and reach will be his primary tools for shutting down Yoshikaze’s speed and maneuverability based attacks.
Takanoiwa vs Kyokutaisei – Kyokutaisei returns from kyujo, and shows up just in time for a first ever match with Takanoiwa. These returns mid-basho from kyujo seldom go well, and frequently compound an otherwise addressable injury. Kyokutaisei is probably not doing himself any favors.
Ishiura vs Daieisho – Watching Ishiura now is painful. We can almost know for certain he is returning to Juryo again, and it’s just a question of how bad his final score will be. Daieisho is not doing much better, but has a career 5-2 advantage over Ishiura.
Takanosho vs Daishomaru – A first time match, and it could be a good one. Daishomaru is in dire need of wins, and will take his oshi-sumo up the middle against Takanosho. Takanosho is keeping an even pace in his first ever top division tournament, and should be considered to have an edge in this match.
Shohozan vs Ryuden – Another first-ever match, it brings Maegashira 7 Shohozan against Maegashira 13 Ryuden. Let me guess, matta matta matta followed by somewhat questionable tachiai. Sorry, I think Ryuden has a lot of potential, but he needs to clean up his sumo. There is a good chance that Big Guns Shohozan just uses him as a speed bag for 20 seconds and then pitches him to the yobidashi.
Takarafuji vs Onosho – Normally I would say that Onosho would be the clear favorite, but not only is he missing his red mawashi, most of his sumo has gone walk-about as well. So lets see if Takarafuji can finally score his first win against Onosho.
Kagayaki vs Hokutofuji – I am sure Hokutofuji feels quite disappointed in his first loss, but his match today against Kagayaki could be a bit of a “gimme”, as he has a 5-0 advantage over him. I think getting his kachi-koshi might cheer him up quite a bit, yes! Kagayaki’s sumo, which is normally very organized, seems to be pieced together with all of the left over parts best recycled on clear glass day.
Kotoshogiku vs Asanoyama – A very interesting contest, with Asanoyama’s youthful vigor bringing a foil for Kotoshogiku’s guile and experience. Asanoyama is not afraid to go chest to chest, but we all know that Kotoshogiku will have the advantage in that case.
Tochiozan vs Abi – Abi’s sumo is, by its nature, an all or nothing affair most days. But during Aki it has been working for him thus far. Tochiozan will need to figure out how to get inside Abi’s long reach. Every rikishi that has done that so far in Aki has been able to beat him.
Shodai vs Myogiryu – Shodai’s win on day 8 over Takayasu was the kind of event that could turn his performance in this basho around. On day 9 he faces a very intense and focused Myogiryu, over whom he holds a 4-1 advantage. We are starting to see that Shodai’s improved tachiai is becoming a habit, and it’s a matter of time now before it pays off in higher performance.
Yutakayama vs Chiyotairyu – Yutakayama’s elbow is still damaged, so let’s bring him back, let the Yokozuna throw him around, then let an enormous fellow who uses his tachiai to help compact salarymen into morning commuter trains have a go. I just want Yutakayama’s left forearm to remain attached, please.
Tamawashi vs Kaisei – It’s the 8-8 record between these two that caught my attention. Kaisei is at his best when he can land a grip, and Tamawashi prefers to remain mobile, and keep his opponent trying to react to his sumo. Tamawashi has strength and speed, Kaisei has Newton, Einstein and Hawking. If Tamawashi disappears in a blue flash and suddenly Kaisei looks somewhat more compact, the singularity in the giant belly button is to blame.
Ikioi vs Ichinojo – I give up. Ikioi, what happened on day 8? Was it because you wanted to give Kisenosato a clay sandwich in the worst way? Summon that Ikioi today as well please. We know that Ichinojo will likely put forth some effort and then decide to let you win.
Chiyonokuni vs Takayasu – Takayasu looked quite disappointed after Shodai took him apart on day 8. I am sure it gave Chiyonokuni a lot of hope about his day 9 challenge to the Ozeki. Chiyonokuni only needs a small gap in Takayasu’s offense to launch a blistering attack that could find the Ozeki disappointed again.
Goeido vs Takakeisho – I want to see Goeido the Executioner again on day 9. That guy is both awe inspiriting and terrifying. But Takakeisho can give as good as he will receive from Goeido. If Takakeisho can survive two wave cycles, I am sure that Goeido will get frustrated and impatient and try to pull him down. That will be his ticket to handing the Ozeki his second loss.
Mitakeumi vs Hakuho – The bright fire of Hakuho’s sumo threatens to consume Mitakeumi’s bid to be Ozeki. He has beaten Hakuho twice in their 8 prior matches, and its unknown just how solid the dai-Yokozuna is right now. This will be his toughest challenger to date. The stakes are huge, the drama high, and there is just the thinnest change that Mitakeumi might pull it off.
Kakuryu vs Endo – Endo is just going through the motions right now, and it’s ugly to witness.
Kisenosato vs Tochinoshin – The Aki crucible reaches it’s day 9 hottest, as it blasts two men who both must win. Their 10-9 history is meaningless here. Both are less than 100%, with Tochinoshin likely in better condition. The one saving grace for Kisenosato is that you can count on Tochinoshin to prefer a mawashi battle, and thus it will allow Kisenosato his best chance at defense. The match of day 9, possibly THE match of act 2.
Fresh from his win on day 8, Ura returns to competition on day 9, facing off against another 3-1 rikishi in Kayatoiwa from Minato-beya. Kayatoiwa is an 11 year veteran who has never ranked higher than Sandanme 27. We are looking for Ura to do another minor space folding trick today, and send Kayatoiwa into a pocket dimension for a split second where sumo does not exist.
As always we will bring you results as soon as we know them, and video as soon as we can find it.
A brief look at where things stand heading into the final week.
Among the yusho contenders in the upper ranks, Takayasu blinked first, falling to Shodai on Day 8 (M9 Hokutofuji also surrendered his first loss to Ryuden). So the two men at the top of the banzuke, East Yokozuna Kakuryu and West Yokozuna Hakuho, are now the sole undefeated leaders. I don’t think it’s likely that both men will pick up 3 losses in the final 7 days, so I’m going to predict that the yusho will be won with a record of 13-2 or better. That leaves the 7-1 quartet of Goeido, Takayasu, Hokutofuji and Ryuden in contention, and a quintet of 6-2 rikishi, headlined by Kisenosato and Mitakeumi, with a shot should those ahead of them falter.
Speaking of Kisenosato and Mitakeumi, all three men who really needed wins today lost (the third is kadoban Ozeki Tochinoshin, who fell to 5-3). All three feature in the headline matches tomorrow. On the undercard, Mitakeumi goes up against a motivated, yusho-hunting Hakuho, with the Sekiwake desperately needing a win to shore up his flagging Ozeki run. Following a brief intermission during which Kakuryu gently dispatches hapless Endo, we have a musubi no ichiban clash of Kisenosato and Tochinoshin. The Georgian can only afford 4 more losses if he is to remain Ozeki, and with Kakuryu, Hakuho and Takayasu still on his fight card, he could pick up some much-needed breathing room by defeating the Yokozuna. Despite his 6-2 record, two consecutive losses have put Kisenosato in a difficult position. After Tochinoshin, he will face one maegashira (probably Endo), followed by both Sekiwake, Goeido, and the other two Yokozuna. Of the latter five, I would only favor him against Ichinojo. Given that 8 wins is the bare minimum for him to continue his career, the stakes tomorrow could hardly be higher for both men.
Ichinojo and both Komusubi currently have losing records, putting their san’yaku ranks in danger. Of the three, I would give 3-5 Takakeisho the best chance to turn things around in the second week—he needs “only” 5 more wins, has fought well, and will face easier opponents after his bout against Goeido tomorrow. Tamawashi needs to win out to save his rank, and while 2-6 Ichinojo can stay in san’yaku with a 7-8 record, he’s looked lethargic and still has two Yokozuna on his fight card.
So a number of san’yaku slots could open up for Kyushu. Who is in line to claim them? Given the devastation in the top half of the maegashira ranks, there are few contenders. These are led by 6-2 M5 Asanoyama, 5-3 M4 Abi, 5-3 M5 Myogiryu, and 7-1 M9 Hokutofuji. Amazingly, the only other men with non-losing records in the M1-M10 ranks are M7 Shohozan and M8 Kotoshogiku. Not a good basho for the rank-and-filers!
Finally, who is in danger of falling out of Makuuchi? First in line are the two M16s, Ishiura and Kotoyuki, followed by Kyokutaisei, who is apparently rushing back from injury in an ill-advised attempt to defend his spot in the top division, and Chiyomaru. Another dozen or so maegashira still have work to do to reach safety. And there’s a strong list of promotion contenders in upper Juryo, led by Makuuchi mainstay Arawashi, the ageless wonder Aminishiki, and Meisei, who seeks to bounce right back up to the top division.