Ishiura

Kyushu Day 15 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Kyushu Basho 2016, Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , ,

kakuryu-victory

One More Time!

The last day of sumo for 2016, and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. The Kyushu basho has taken us on a wild and exciting ride, but now it’s time to bring this glorious and unpredictable tournament to an end.

As Andy mentioned, there are still a few more rikishi who are fighting for their winning record (kachi-koshi), and there are few “test matches” on Sunday’s card. The following men are on the bubble, and their matches will be the ones to watch.

  • Endo – He had some great successes during this basho, but he has been inconsistent. He would likely receive several special prizes if he can secure his winning record. On Sunday he takes on Tamawashi: Komusubi and soon to be Sekiwake. This will be no easy match.
  • Myogiryu – He has really been hit or miss, and he has been matched with Maegashira 16 Gagamaru for this final bout. A loss here would not demote him out of Makuuchi, so make-koshi is not a total loss this time for Myogiryu
  • Ichinojo – Ichinojo is clearly still healing up, but he has managed to almost achieve a winning record. His final match is against Takekaze, who I would guess can bottle up the big Mongolian and put him down if he wants to. Ichinojo needs to summon everything for one final push.

Other Notable Matches

Hidenoumi vs Kagayaki – As mentioned by Andy, Hidenoumi had to be wheeled out of the Fukuoka stadium on Saturday, and I would be surprised to see him back. There is nothing to be won by fighting the day after a concussion.

Ishiura vs Tochinoshin – Another test match for Ishiura. He had to re-match against Shodai, but did fairly well in his first bout. Tochinoshin dispatched Kisenosato on day 13, then lost to Gagamaru on day 14. Who can tell which version of Tochinoshin Ishiura will face.

Yoshikaze vs Aoiyama – After Aoiyama’s day 14 henka, I am going to be eager to see what Yoshikaze can apply to the giant man from Georgia.

Hakuho vs Goeido – It would be very useful for Goeido to finish with double digit wins. Hakuho would love to finish with a win, and possibly tie with Harumafuji should he lose to Kakuryu.

Kyushu Day 14 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kyushu Basho 2016, Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yokozuna (横綱) , , , , , , , ,

bubble-k14

The Final Drive To The Finish

The last weekend of sumo for 2016 is upon us now. While we now seem to have good indicators of who will with the championship for both Juryo and Makuuchi, I am sure that there are a few surprised, and several great matches left to enjoy.

The popularity of sumo seems to once again be on the upswing in Japan. Tickets are becoming harder to get, and venues outside of Tokyo are selling out more frequently. World wide, there are more opportunities today than at any other time in history for people do start following and enjoying sumo. Enough opportunities for me to suggest, short of some hideous scandal, that sumo is on the cusp of a broader global following.

There are distant rumors that NHK plans to expand sumo coverage as part of their world service, and frankly – I can’t wait. In fact, I have personally offered NHK heaps of my money on demand to let me stream the full Juryo and Makuuchi program at will. I have to imagine that I am not the only one.

Before we can close out Kyushu, we get to see the rest of the Yokozuna head-to-head matches, and watch the rikishi with marginal records scrap for the final wins, hoping to stave off demotion.

Notable Matches

Myogiryu vs Arawashi – Myogiryu only needs to defeat Arawashi to secure his rank.

Takekaze vs Daishomaru – Can the veteran seal his winning record and deal a losing record to Daishomaru at the same time? Historically, the two are evenly matched.

Shohozan vs Sokokurai – Local sumotori Shohozan goes up against to try and finish with a winning record. These two are separated 9 slots in the banzuke, so it should be an easy win for Shohozan.

Ishiura vs Shodai – An even bigger mis-match than the previous bout, it’s time for rising star Ishiura to test his performance against Shodai, who has done very well this tournament. The mini-henka is not working against the upper Maegashira, so I am hoping that Ishiura deploys some real sumo today. Shodai already has a strong winning record, and will likely be san’yaku come January, so I am hoping for a really fun upset.

Tochiozan vs Endo – Tochiozan received a dirty henka on day 13 to deal him a make-koshi. Now it’s Endo’s turn to try and lock up a winning record, and a promotion towards the top of January’s banzuke. Historically, Tochiozan beats him up and steals his lunch money. So we will look for Endo to do something new and useful here.

Harumafuji vs Hakuho – Hakuho faded fast once he started his matches against the great San’yaku Battle Fleet. Now he faces his nemesis, Harumafuji. I am hoping the The Boss can escape without any further damage to his undercarriage. Under normal, healthy conditions – this is a Hakuho win. But for day 14, the edge goes to Harumafuji.

Goeido vs Kakuryu – The only thing to consider here is Goeido’s pride, and the yusho. If Goeido wins, there is a strong chance that the yusho will come down to the final day match between Harumafuji and Kakuryu. There is a great deal of rivalry between Goeido and Harumafuji, so it may worth considering that a loss by Goeido could put Harumafuji out of the running for the yusho. Ah, decisions decisions… My money is on Goeido taking his sumo to the Yokozuna. In the long game, Goeido must perceive that this is simply a warm up for his next Yokozuna run. However the career records strongly favor Kakuryu

Kyushu Day 13 Results

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kyushu Basho 2016, Takarafuji (宝富士), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , ,

harumafuji-goeido

Kakuryu Yusho Looking More Likely

As noted in prior news postings, the action on day 13 from Kyushu was big, the matches were outstanding, and the yusho race became a lot clearer. But for sumo fans wishing for a giant multi-way final day tournament to decide the ultimate winner, the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan had other plans.

Likewise in Juryo, we had Osunaarashi go Kyujo with a right knee injury, handing the Juryo-yusho to Seiro for all reasonable purposes. Keep in mind, dear reader, that the Kyushu basho this year is a wily and unpredictable operation, and we may yet see at least one more twist in the tale before it concludes on Sunday.

With Kisenosato, Goeido, Hakuho and Ishiura all losing on day 13, the leaderboard has narrowed considerably

Leaderboard

  • Leader: Kakuryu
  • Chasers: Harumafuji
  • Hunt Group: Kisenosato, Shodai, Ishiura

2 matches remain

Notable Matches

Arawashi defeats Ishiura – Bit of a slippi-toshi on this one. There have been reports of the Kyushu dohyo being especially slippery this basho. We have seen a large number of slips, and mechanical injuries due to uncontrolled descent of 150+ Kg men.

Hidenoumi defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma was going for his kachi-koshi today, but Hidenoumi put on a great show of yotsu sumo and eventually forced Chiyoshoma out.

Takarafuji defeats Sokokurai – Takarafuji picks up his kachi-koshi in a fairly strange match. Sokokurai was expecting a henka, I am going to assume, and so was Takarafuji. So they grappled lightly, stood around for a bit, and came up with a new strategy. Takarafuji wins by yorikiri

Ichinojo defeats Shohozan – Quick bout that saw local favorite Shohozan quickly pushed out of the ring by Ichinojo. Ichinojo has been very inconsistent in Kyushu, but still has a chance at kachi-koshi

Shodai defeats Chiyootori – The Shodai train is not slowing down. He made very quick work of Chiyootori

Yoshikaze defeats Mitakeumi – Amazing move at the edge by Yoshikaze. It seems that once he secured his losing record, he remembered all of his really nice moves. Glad to see him educating the shin-Komusubi. The crowd, of course, ate it up – seems everyone loves Yoshikaze when his sumo is strong. Request for the Berserker – next time see if you can get more spiral on Mitakeumi (who is roughly football shaped), I would love to see if you can get him into the second tier of box seats.

Endo defeats Okinoumi – Great great match between these two, with this win, Endo has a solid chance of securing a winning record for Kyushu. Okinoumo – I want him to get healed / have surgeryury and come back strong for Hatsu in January. Great throw by Endo at the end of the match.

Tamawashi defeats Terunofuji – Excellent, but quick match by Tamawashi, who picks up his kachi-koshi from the injured Ozeki. This is the third time he has beaten an Ozeki this tournament.

Harumafuji defeats Goeido – Goeido once again facing a monoii? Yes, this guy has a curse on him. The Goyji awarded the match to Goeido, but the Shimpan decided to re-play the match. In the second bout, Harumafuji was clearly the winner via his patented mini-henka. This leaves Harumafuji the only clear challenger to to Kakuryu for the yusho.

Kyushu Day 13 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kyushu Basho 2016, Takarafuji (宝富士) , , , , , ,

kakuryu

If you do not control your opponent, your opponent will control you

Book of Five Rings

Sumo fans could not ask for a more exiting final Friday of 2016. Across the two upper divisions (Juryo and Makuuchi), there is a mad scramble for the championship. With just a few bouts remaining, there is a broad group of rikishi that could claim the yusho. Recall that by this time during the Aki basho, we were very sure it was going to be Goeido, we just did not know if it would be a perfect record or not.

Going into day 13, no one remains with a perfect record, and the mightiest men in Sumo now face each other, as the Yokozuna will compete against both the upper Ozeki, and their fellow Yokozuna during the last three days. As each of these men are leading contenders for the championship, which sekitori has the lead in the yusho race to change moment by moment during the final bouts of each day.

The idea scenario for maximum drama would require Hakuho to beat Kakuryu, Harumafuji to beat Goeido, Kisenosato to beat Tochinoshin, and Ishiura to beat Arawashi. That would create a 4 way tie for the lead, with 2 days left.

Notable Matches

Ishiura vs Arawashi – Ishiura faced a very capable Ikioi on day 12, and Ikioi did not charge head-long into Ishiura’s mini-henke. Time to see if Arawashi learned this lesson as well. I expect Ishiura to face at least one more higher level rikishi before the end of the basho. Ishiura is very evenly matched against Arawashi, with a 2-3 record.

Sokokurai vs Takarafuji – Takarafuji is going for his kachi-koshi again today, this time against Sokokurai. Thus match will likely be a strength test between the two men, with a slight edge to Sokokurai.

Shohozan vs Ichinojo – Shohozan should pick up his kachi-koshi today, as Ichinojo is really struggling this tournament. To his credit, Ichinojo is at .500 with three days to go, and kachi-koshi is still possible for him. Slight advantage to Fukuoka home town favorite Shohozan.

Endo vs Okinoumi – It has been a surprising basho for both of these rikishi. Endo had a very strong start, and has faded as of late. He needs a win here against the injured Okinoumi to make a credible case for finishing the tournament with a winning record. Slight advantage to Endo on this one.

Tamawashi vs Terunofuji – Tamawashi will attempt to score a winning tournament record today against the man-mountain Terunofuji. Tamawashi has been doing well, and Terunofuji is injured – but Terunofuji also just beat Hakuho, so I would say Tamawashi won’t find his eighth win today.

Tochinoshin vs Kisenosato – In the strangest match up of day 13, Maegashira 6 Tochinoshin faces off against Yokozuna killer Kisenosato. Tochinoshin has been (in the past) sort of a one trick pony – he likes to lift people up and carry them around. That won’t work against Kisenosato in any reasonable scenario. One of two things (or both) are happening here. First, it could be that the schedules want to give Kisenosato an easy match to make sure he can play spoiler in any potential play-off. Second, it may be the case that they want to see if Tochinoshin can recuse himself well against a solid Ozeki. Worth watching, but my thought is that Kisenosato will take care of him without too much bother.

Hakuho vs Kakuryu – This is one of the two highly anticipated matches for day 13. Hakuho has to be smarting, having been handed a third loss by Terunofuji. I am going to expect that he is hungry for revenge. Kakuryu has been winning, but he has been reactive to my eye, rather than dominating his matches. Hakuho dominates matches, even in his injured state. I can’t wait to see how this one turns out. Historically, Hakuho has a huge advantage over Kakuryu.

Harumafuji vs Goeido – Harumafuji should be gunning for Goeido. The path to Goeido’s Aki yusho went through Harumafuji, and their match was won at the last moment when Goeido engaged a twisting throw at the edge. I have absolute confidence that the “Good” Goeido will be on the dohyo today. After the brutal “codpiece throw” that is part of the NHK intro, Goeido has a large supply of payback to throw at Harumafuji. This will be, in my mind, possibly the most exciting sumo of the day, even though the Hakuho match will go farther to determine the yusho race. Harumafuji has a huge lead in their career record, 29-10. Go boldly Goeido!

Juryo Note

The Juryo-yusho race is every bit as wild as the one in Makuuchi. The sole leader, Seiro (10-2) faces off against Osunaarashi (9-3) early in the Juryo matches. Shortly afterwards, Satoyama (9-3) faces off against Sato (9-3). One of these rikishi is likely to be to Juryo tournament winner, and it’s great to see the schedule putting them head to head during the last few days.