robnplunder

I wouldn't be surprised if Hoshoryu goes kadoban. He looked unimpressive even beating 0-4 Tamawashi today.

We have a new Ozeki! Hoshoryu deserves it with his 33 wins in 3 Basho. Wakamotoharu & Daieisho's Ozeki runs get reset.

True. Thanks for pointing it out. Daieisho wins with henka (sigh). If he wins tomorrow, that will give him 32 wins but I don't think he gets the promotion.

With the win over Wakamotoharu, Hoshoryu secures a jun-yusho, thanks to Hakuoho. Even if he loses tomorrow, I believe he gets the promotion. Winning tomorrow will be the icing on the cake though.

Watching Hokuseiho is more frustrating than watching Ichinojo.

That was a good match. I was rooting for Hokutofuji but the rookie was simply dang good. He is tied for the lead going into day 15 on his 4th basho. Wow! Just wow!

Yeah, it makes sense. Let's hope he finishes strong.

I don't think 31 will be enough no matter how they are accumulated.

Nope. I want Hokutofuji to take the Yusho in his 50th tournament.

Realistically, only Hoshoryu still has a chance to get promoted. Daieisho's loss was painful to watch. He needs to regroup and finish with 2 wins if he wants to continue his Ozeki run in the next basho. Ditto for Wakamotoharu.

Even 1 is not a sure thing now. Wakamotoharu won't be promoted even if he wins the remaining matches. Daieisho has to beat Wakamotoharu, Onosho, and Hoshoryu. Daieisho's win-loss record against those 3 is at about 50%. Hoshoryu has to beat Kirishima, Wakamotoharu, and Daieisho. Hoshoryu has an 18-13 win-loss record against the 3 combined. Statistically, he has a better chance than Daieisho to finish the basho with 3 straight wins. Both can still get promoted if they lose one and get a piece of jun-yusho. But only Hoshoryu has a realistic chance at getting a piece of jun-yusho (or better). Assuming Hoshoryu & Daieisho win their other matches, if Daieisho beats Hoshoryu, both end up with 32 wins and could get a piece of jun-yusho. Will the powers-to-be promote them both if this happens? Maybe. If Hoshoryu beats Daieisho and gets a piece of jun-yusho (11-4), he has a chance to get promoted. If 11-4 is not good enough for a jun-yusho, Hoshoryu may be out of luck. Then again, there were instances when 32 wins were good enough for the Ozeki promotion.

That is a very strong possibility now. If they don't make it with Terunofuji, Takakeissho out, and Kirishima returning from a kyujo stint, they are not ready to be an Ozeki yet.

Daieisho is now back against the wall as he loses to Tamawashi. He falls out of the Yusho race, too. Tomorrow, he faces Wakamotoharu. Hoshoryu falls against Hokutofuji for the first time in 5 head-to-head matches. Like Daieisho, no Yusho for him. He faces Kirishima tomorrow. I believe Hoshoryu will beat him though and stay in the race. Wakamotoharu is done, done, done. One down, two still alive.

Not yet. It has gotten tougher though. He faces Hakuoho tomorrow. Not an easy task after a loss.

Gotta love Kotoeko! He beats Hokuseiho in a spirited match. The latter need to figure out how best to use that size of his.