Invitation to play Makushita Game

[Randomitsuki 2,900]

I haven't done this in quite a while. But since we are rapidly losing players, it might not be a bad idea to remind you of that great little thing called Makushita Game.

Slightly outdated rules: http://makushita.sumogames.de/Rules.aspx

Registration: http://makushita.sumogames.de/Register.aspx

Entry form: http://makushita.sumogames.de/Entry.aspx

Standings: http://makushita.sumogames.de/Entry.aspx

Banzuke: http://makushita.sumogames.de/Banzuke.aspx

The entry form is self-explanatory. Just pick 15 guys from 15 different brackets in Makushita.

If a rikishi finished 7-0, you get 2 win points.

If a rikishi finished 6-1, you get 1.5 win points.

If a rikishi finished 5-2, you get 1 win point.

If a rikishi finished 4-3, you get 0.5 win points.

If a rikishi finished make-koshi, you get zero win points.

I used to take the win points and converted them directly into the final win/loss record, but this has become too unwieldy lately. You simply know too much about Makushita, and most players would get a KK each time. Actually, I have changed the win/loss computation. I will subtract (or, if necessary, add) points to all players' win points, until the average win points are close to 7.5.

For example, take the results from Aki Basho:

http://makushita.sumogames.de/Standing.aspx?B=148&D=15

The average of win points was 8.68 (way too high). In a first step, I subtracted a full point from all win points, thus arriving at an average of 7.68. As this was still above 7.5, players with "half scores" were downgraded.

For instance, Randomitsuki's win points went down from 11.5 to 10.5. This was downgraded to a 10-5 record.

[shumitto 419]

I will play this game this time. There are some very competitive brackets so maybe be points will be more distributed amongst players.

By the way, clicking on a rikishi name yields a blank page.

[Doitsuyama 1,259]

By the way, clicking on a rikishi name yields a blank page.

Should be ok now.

[Kotoviki 16]

I'm sorry I missed the deadline. It's really a shame as I had all my games noted on paper ready to enter, had been making decisions in the few minutes between classes... But yesterday my pocket wifi went out and my iPhone was being updated for 16 hours so no Internet... Totally bummed! Will be back next time as this is one of my favorite games!

[Wamahada 63]

Cannot find myself in the scores although I have made my picks before deadline....?

[Randomitsuki 2,900]

Cannot find myself in the scores although I have made my picks before deadline....?

New players must be manually added by Doitsuyama. I'll inform him about it.

[Doitsuyama 1,259]

Cannot find myself in the scores although I have made my picks before deadline....?

New players must be manually added by Doitsuyama. I'll inform him about it.

Thanks to your splendid recruiting skillz I added no less than four players to the banzuke, including Wamahada.

[Randomitsuki 2,900]

With so many new players, it might be suitable to provide a short update on the standings:

http://makushita.sumogames.de/Standing.aspx

Randomitsuki was in the lead since day 1. Actually, however, I am keeping my fingers crossed for kuroimori. In the unreported Aki Standings, the Ozeki took the yusho after a dramatic kettei-sen. In other words, now that he is in the co-lead, there is the possibility that we might have a Makushita Game Yokozuna! That would be about time, as one third of the players are already Ozeki... :-)

Fellow Ozeki Flohru and Torafujii are also very much in yusho contention. Unfortunately, it looks as if Doitsuyama will miss on re-promotion to Ozeki.

Good luck for the seventh round of bouts!

[Randomitsuki 2,900]

We are heading into senshuraku, and the yusho is still very much up for taking!

Ozeki Randomitsuki, Yokozuna hopeful kuroimori, Ozeki Flohru, Ozeki Torafujii, and Achiyama are all separated by a quarter win point each. But they all could at least get into a kettei-sen tomorrow.

Here are the crucial bouts:

Shodai vs. Shiba is non-crucial, as all contestants have both rikishi in their squad. According to pre-basho strength ratings, Shiba is favored at 56%.

The first really crucial bout is Onami vs. Sasakiyama. If Onami wins, Torafujii would definitely be out of the yusho race (he has Sasakiyama; Randomitsuki and Flohru have Onami). According to strength ratings, both are more or less of equal strength with Onami having a 52% advantage.

Up next is Mizuguchi vs. Dewaotori. If Mizuguchi wins, Achiyama will be definitely out of the race. If Dewaotori wins, kuroimori's chances for getting the Yokozuna rope would rise a little bit. The odds predict an unpredictable bout (51% for Mizuguchi).

Then comes Hokaho vs. Sensho. Four of five contestants have Sensho in their team, so if he'd lost, one player (Torafujii) could catch up a lot in the standings. However, on paper Sensho is a 57% favorite here.

A similar situation arrives with Takagi vs. Hakuyozan. Again, four out of five contestants have Takagi in their team. The lucky guy in case of a Takagi loss would be kuroimori! And guess what: before Kyushu Basho, Takagi and Hakuyozan both had an Elo score of 1634, so it's an exact 50-50 toincoss!

Then comes Horikiri vs. Kotomisen. A loss for Horikiri could be fatal for Torafujii and Achiyama. However, a win for Horikiri would be good not only for this duet, but also for kuroimori who also has Horikiri in his squad. Horikiri enjoys a 54% advantage according to my data.

Another bout of interest is Sasanoyama vs. Kawanari. Randomitsuki is the only top 5 player to have Kawanari in his team. If Kawanari wins, Flohru would be out of yusho contention (he trails Randomitsuki by half a point and has only one different remanining rikishi). According to strength ratings, Kawanari would be the clear favorite here (63%) (cough cough).

In the penultimate decider there is Onosho vs. Ishiura. That could be decisive in determining the yusho fates of kuroimori vs. Flohru. The former has Onosho in his team, the latter has Ishiura. My odds have Onosho as the slight favorite at 53%.

Finally, and I have completely forgotten before this edit, there is Abiko vs. Sakigake in Juryo. That could be crucial for kuroimori as he is the only contestant not to have Abiko in his team. As to the winning chances, Abiko's chances for winning should be around 54% tomorrow.

Here are the open slots of players in yusho contention. Add a quarter win point for each winner, subtract a quarter win point for each loser:

Randomitsuki (11.25 win points): Abiko Kawanari Sensho Takagi Onami

kuroimori (11.00 win points): Onosho Horikiri Sensho Dewaotori

Flohru (10.75 win points): Abiko Ishiura Sensho Takagi Onami

Torafujii (10.50 win points): Abiko Horikiri Takagi Sasakiyama

Achiyama (10.25 win points): Abiko Horikiri Sensho Takagi Dewaotori

In other Makushita Game news, Itachi might become kadoban-Ozeki with the immiment points deduction. Asashosakari could be safe already. Doitsuyama will definitely miss out on a repromotion.

Gurowake and Oskanohana lead for the kanto-sho, and Oskanohana also leads for the gino-sho and the shukun-sho.

Good luck on senshuraku!

Edited November 22, 2014 by Randomitsuki

[kuroimori 1,634]

And we're heading into another exciting photo finish on Senshuraku in Makushita - too bad there is no free stream anymore...

Thanks to Rando for his "Yusho michi shoukai"!

[Randomitsuki 2,900]

And here is how the photo finish unfolded:

Chapter 1: Sasakiyama defeated Onami.

A great win for Torafujii, a bitter loss for Randomitsuki and Flohru. Randomitsuki and kuroimori are now tied at the top while Torafujii improves to 3rd place.

Chapter 2: Mizuguchi defeated Dewaotori.

This reduces the number of yusho contestants to four, as Achiyama is now definitely out. kuroimori also loses a quarter point and falls back to second place (tied with Torafujii).

Chapter 3: Hokaho defeated Sensho.

That's excellent news for Torafujii as he was the only candidate who did not have Sensho. Now he is tied for the lead with Randomitsuki. kuroimori falls to third place.

Chapter 4: Takagi defeated Hakuyozan

Good news for the three who had Takagi, bad news for kuroimori (who didn't have him). kuroimori is now tied for third place with Flohru.

Chapter 5: Horikiri defeated Kotomisen.

An important win for kuroimori and Torafujii. Now all players are again separated by quarter points, in the following order: 1) Torafujii 11.25; 2) Randomitsuki 11.00; 3) kuroimori 10.75; 4) Flohru 10.5

Chapter 6: Kawanari defeated Sasanoyama.

This was a crucial win for Randomitsuki. He is now tied with Torafujii in first place. Flohru is out of yusho contention.

Chapter 7: Onosho defeated Ishiura.

Big win for kuroimori. He is the first to finish, and sits at 11.00 points.

Final chapter:

This was the Juryo exchange bout between Abiko and Sakigake. If Abiko wins, we will have a kettei-sen among Randomitsuki and Torafujii. If Sakigake wins, we will even have a three-way playoff including kuroimori. And: Sakigake defeated Abiko!

So, we went into a three-way playoff. And this was already decided on first bracket! kuroimori had Onosho (5-2) whereas Randomitsuki and Torafujii had Abiko (3-4). In other words, kuroimori wins the Kyushu 2014 edition of Makushita Game! More importantly, he also won Aki Basho in a kettei-sen, and with back-to-back yushos he is promoted to the first Yokozuna in the long history of this game! Congratulations!!! (Holiday feeling...)

The sansho were swept by Oskanohana. He received the shukun-sho for picking Higoarashi, Horikiri, Takagi, and (as final tie-breaker) Akiseyama. He also had the most wins (63) among eligible players, and got the gino-sho as well (12.67 points).

Asashosakari got his KK as Ozeki, but Itachi didn't, thus falling to kadoban.

[kuroimori 1,634]

Wow! lots of lucky turns during the final makushita matchups.

Makushita Yokozuna - I like this somewhat contradictory title :-)

I will do my best to honor and defend the rank and to show yokozunaesque hinkaku.

I decided to choose the Shiranui way of making my picks for the makushita game from now on.

Thanks go out to all the fierce competitors and especially to the administrator of this game, Randomitsuki.

Best regards from Porto,

where I am celebrating the yokozuna promotion.

kuroimori