Sumo_da

It's a joy to see how Hakuoho takes his time to recieve his kensho money, especially the deep bow. Hardly anyone does it properly.

Gonoyama is by far my favourite this tournament. He just seems like a great package: good strength, technique and movement. He doesn't "look" like a champion but he has that fire many other youngsters lack. It's also great to see one of Goeido's disciples do so well.

Is there any particular reason Takakeisho and Hoshoryu accompanied Hakuho at his last doyho-iri? I wouldn't say there is a big friendship between those 3, but maybe I'm wrong. Nonetheless a great honour for both of them. edit: BTW there certainly is a great friendship between Hakuho and Harumafuji... I can't lie, their little moment brought tears to my eyes...

On the whole Asanoyama discussion... I think he is handling himself extremely well this tournament. I see the same stability and strength he had as an Ozeki and I'm sure he will make minced meat out of the lower ranks when he's back in makuuchi.

I thought of Takakeisho being the favourite going into the play-off. But after watching it, it does make sense that Abi won this quite easily. He has the most stamina out of the three (even after 10 playoff matches he would still be going strong probably), he is the most cunning (henka or not, he is a mid-maegeshira not an ozeki, what "shame" is there really?) and after his regular bout against Takayasu you could see he brought his A-game today.

Is this yusho-mode Mitakeumi or am I mistaken? Also did he lose some weight? I thought he was at around 180 last basho and now he's at 175 kg if the numbers are correct. Anyway, very strong sumo so far.

It's what you usually get when you put some old geezers in the "ring" again. They want to proof that they're still big though guys.

That Hakuho - Enho bout was a joy to watch. Like a father play fighting with his son and letting him win so he can have a moment of pride. Some entertaining bouts altogether.

Three things: Shodai looked so strong against Mitakeumi and to me he was the strongest of all contenders this basho. Let's hope he can show similar performances in the months to come. Takakeisho lost again today but it looks to me like he is really going for the belt or throws in some matches. He is clearly trying to show that he can win in other ways than Oshi dashi and I think he is on a good way. And lastly, I almost cried with Tokushoryu today... I don't think any rikishi in history could have beaten him today. For him this title win is the ultimate achievement and I think it's impossible to describe how much it means to him. He was going to be just another rikishi who's name will be forgotten in a few years but today he made is mark on sumo history.

One principle of top division sumo seems to be: Stick to what you're good at... at all costs. So why should Abi for example change his style of sumo if it got him into San'Yaku? I'm also fairly certain Takakeisho would be a decent yotsu wrestler if that was his preference. However he is one of the most dominant Oshi specialists I have seen in a while and of course it suits him way better than yotsu sumo. After all Sumo is about winning 15 bouts 6 times a year, that's the goal of every rikishi... And how you do it really isn't the most important question for them I believe.

Great bout by Terutsuyoshi. It's fascinating how he manages to fight rather conventional sumo despite being only a few pounds heavier than Enho. I'm not gonna join the Shodai hype train just now but it really makes you wonder what happened to that guy. It feels like he's been fighting on 50% power this whole time up until now.

Hakuho has been playing this "on-and-off" game since 2017, I would be surprised if they suddenly decide it's an issue. He will cruise his way to Olympia and the retire, maybe even snag a yusho along the way.

While Asanoyama looks dominant when he can execute his sumo he often still looks helpless when it comes to defensive sumo. And the one thing about Abi is that if you underestimate his sumo you are almost sure to lose. Even Hakuho learned that the hard way. (Natsu 2018)

To me it's still crazy to see Terunofuji back in Juryo and so close to makuuchi. Just months ago there were doubts his knees would even hold up in makushita joi competition but he's gotten stronger with every basho and I think he might even be able to get his wins in Juryo.

Let's not forget that in the 12 tournaments of 2018/2019 he fully competed in only 6 of them, realistically getting his KK 6 times out 12. So while the likes of Takayasu and Tochinoshin have to destroy their bodies to keep their career going, Hakuho can atleast modestly heal up and not aggravate existing injuries. And I'm not arguing that he's older, weaker and more fragile now, but he's using what he's got to the best effect and makes good use of his status. On a personal note I didn't like his sumo this basho at all. It was efficient and brutal but made the musubi no ichiban a chore to watch. I'm glad Asanoyama and the other Komusubi have shown exciting and spectacular Sumo this basho.