Eikokurai

Great stuff from Wakatakakage and Mitakeumi. WTK walks himself back off the bales knowing he had a belt grip worth defending and then used it to eke out the win. 6-5 and the double digits remain on track. Mita drops to 5-6. Edit: I tell a lie. He'd actually surrendered the original belt grip when pushed back, but got another. RE: his Ozeki run. Though the best WTK can hope for now is 10-5, he has beaten all three of the Ozeki in a row which pads out those numbers a bit (their own bad performances notwithstanding).

Takanosho will be the sole leader then on 9-2. No mass pack of leaders on 8-3.

He's obviously the favourite but Abi will have noticed his vulnerability to rapid thrusts earlier in the basho and be aiming to upset his balance from the tachiai. If he can avoid overextending, which he is prone to do, he can upset Teru.

They really are being overly cautious with the mono-ii now, eh? Takayasu won that by a mile. No need for the check.

If Takanosho loses to Hoshoryu and Terunofuji beats Abi, we'll have a leading pack of six after today, all on only 8 wins. That said, if Abi brings his A-game, his oshi attack might be too much for Teru this basho.

Actually, I did just mean in terms of putting some credit in the bank re: demotion or promotion. If he ends 7-8, let’s say, they could note that as a false makekoshi and be more generous in how far he falls (same idea for promotion but obviously there’s not much space for him to go upwards).

I wonder if there’s some unspoken adjustment for belatedly recognized bad calls, so perhaps Hoshoryu won’t be penalized too much for being robbed of his win over Shodai (who should be makekoshi and kadoban by now, let’s remember).

He already has a Juryo yusho to his name, tbf.

Forced to retire not by injury but by the Kyokai for costing them too much

Shodai drops to 3-7 and within one of kadoban. Takaeisho loses to go to 5-5; Mitakeumi goes up to 5-5 with a win. The last time we had three Ozeki with 5+ losses by day 10 was July 1971 as far as I can tell. http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query_bout.aspx?show_form=0&group_by=basho&day=10&rank1=O&wins1=0-5 Wakatakakage keeps his Ozeki run alive by beating Shodai, though he will need to be perfect until Sunday to hit 10 wins.

Flashbacks to last basho's playoff for Takayasu as he snatches defeat from the jaws of victory with his aite sidestepping him on the bales.

Just reminding himself of the day of the week: Sunday.

Being in China, when I see “study sessions”, I imagine the Kyokai sat around diligently studying Xi Jinping’s latest directives on how to run a honbasho that serves the People and stays true to the spirit of the Party.

Yet last basho was one of the best in years both for drama and quality.

He fought Wakatakakage. Daieisho faced Takakeisho.

Kotonowaka was given the win by the gyoji, correctly. Mono-ii just confirmed it.

Takanosho!

Shodai wins ... just. A mono-ii wouldn't have been unreasonable there. In fact ... judging from the replay, I think a mono-ii should have happened. Shodai appeared to touch down first. Hoshoryu robbed?

Takarafuji starts 0-8. That’s his third career nakabi makekoshi and first since 2014. All three have come in May.

Was I the only one worried Hakuho would rip his suit when demoing some of the moves that got him perilously close to kneeling or squatting? That would have been awkward.

Haha. I actually like Shodai—he’s just letting me down!

Shodai is just cashing his paychecks and doing none of the work.

Not this basho but 10 wins keeps his run alive for next time, so let's not write him off just yet.

Kotonowaka's wheels have come off. From 3-0 against the Ozeki to 3-4 after facing Terunofuji and the joi hiramaku.

A clear sign that lots of salt displeases the gods. The 21st century deities are environmentally conscious and concerned with sustainability.