Promotion/Demotion and Yūshō Discussion Aki 2022

[Seiyashi 3,361]

Subject to the usual caveat that this is just the framework/scaffolding for the promotion/demotion/yūshō discussion, and hopefully the usual luminaries can chip in without needing to do the busywork of formatting etcetc.

Yūshō arasoi, Day 10

Makuuchi
9-1: M2e Tamawashi, M8w Hokutofuji
8-2: M4w Takayasu, M10e Nishikifuji
7-3: S1e Wakatakakage, M1e Tobizaru, M13w Ōhō, M14e Chiyoshōma

Hitherto sole leader Hokutofuji's undercarriage failed him today, as a slip of his right foot put a premature end to a rather spirited oshi bout against Takayasu. That loss enabled iron man Tamawashi to draw level by dispatching underperforming ōzeki Mitakeumi with a deft scoop-thrust combo at the tawara, despite their lopsided 4-27 record thus far.

Hokutofuji's loss also meant that Takayasu (who engineered said loss to begin with) and Nishikifuji are now one instead of two behind, raising hopes - again - of a Takayasu yūshō. Tamawashi and Hokutofuji face off tomorrow, guaranteeing at least one 10-1 record; as Takayasu has yet to face Tamawashi, Takayasu will certainly be hoping that Tamawashi beats Hokutofuji, so Takayasu can himself beat - and then draw level - with Tamawashi to create a duo if not trio of 10-2s. Looks like a 12-3 yūshō line, although 13-2 is possible and 14-1 is at least not mathematically impossible yet.

Nishikifuji has been mostly beating up lower level maegashira, with his highest win coming against M6e Wakamotoharu, but his match tomorrow against Chiyoshōma will decide their matches in the closing days. Nonetheless, securing his KK by day 10 marks a very successful sophomore basho for Isegahama's latest makuuchi sekitori.

With Takakeishō's fourth loss today to go to 6-4, Wakatakakage and Tobizaru are likely the most reliable candidates to be matched against any hiramaku upstarts as well as to determine their yūshō hopes. Ōhō may well be one of them, as his day 11 opponent is makujiri Hiradoumi, who should be easy pickings.

Jūryō
8-2: J9e Hokuseihō, J14e Tochimusashi
7-3: J3e Atamifuji, J4e Kagayaki
6-4: J2w Azumaryū, J3w Tōhakuryū, J6w Churanoumi, J7e Kōtokuzan, J12w Kinbōzan

In a pretty similar situation to makuuchi, the sole leader in jūryō lost today, getting the hopes of a whole bunch of rikishi up. Tochimusashi swiftly forced out veteran Tokushōryū to capitalise on Hokuseihō's loss to Kitanowaka, tying them at 8-2. Other than Churanoumi, everyone else in yesterday's leaderboard kept pace, and Azumaryū, Tōhakuryū, Kōtokuzan and Kinbōzan won to join the arasoi. 

Hokuseihō has already fought and beat Tochimusashi, so the remainder of the bouts are likely to be against the other members of the arasoi who are ranked higher up. His campaign for the yūshō continues against Kagayaki tomorrow, and Atamifuji, Azumaryū, Tōhakuryū, and Kōtokuzan remain as options. Although if Hokuseihō manages to regroup and hold the line at two losses, he might even be granted an exchange bout in makuuchi if the rest of the jūryō arasoi falls away and are no longer plausible candidates to test his case for promotion.

Lower divisions
Makushita: 5 (Ms15e Asanoyama, Ms28e Yūma, Ms 36e Daiseiryū, Ms54w Shōsei, Ms56w Asonoyama)
Sandanme: 4 (Sd33e Wakanoshō, Sd44w Ryūtsukasa, Sd74e Kazekenō, Sd78e Ōshōumi)
Jonidan: 6 (Jd2w Nakashima, Jd29e Anzai, Jd44w Takahashi, Jd67w Kiyonohana, Jd73w Chiyodaigō, Jd87w Tōshunryū)
Jonokuchi: 2 (Jk9e Ōyamada, Jk16w Ōtani)

The biggest story in the lower divisions is undoubtedly ex-ōzeki Asanoyama's comeback. At Ms15e he may yet secure his return to jūryō next basho, and honestly with the power of an ōzeki it's an outside bet that any of his fellow leaders can stop him. What is more puzzling is a bit of a snarl in the matchmaking as pointed out on Tachiai, where the torikumi could have been straightened out to 4 5-0s by now but instead involved sandanme rikishi for some reason. Nevertheless, this sort of thing ought to clear itself up as the eliminations go on.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Seiyashi 3,361]

Promotion/demotion picture, Day 10

Sanyaku and joi

(X)	5-5	Terunofuji	Y
(2)	6-4	Takakeisho	O	Shodai	1-9	(X)
			O	Mitakeumi	3-7	(5)
(1)	7-3	Wakatakakage	S	Hoshoryu	5-5	(3)
(4)	4-6	Daieisho	S
(X)	0-0-10	Abi	K	Ichinojo	4-6	(4)
			K	Kiribayama	6-4	(2)
(1)	7-3	Tobizaru	M1
(2)	6-4	Kotonowaka	M2
(O)	9-1	Tamawashi	M3	Ura	6-4	(2)
(3)	5-5	Nishikigi	M4	Takayasu	8-2	(O)
			M5	Sadanoumi	6-4	(2)
(2)	6-4	Wakamotoharu	M6
			M7
			M8	Hokutofuji	9-1	(O)

A very dismal basho for the senior sanyaku. Shōdai will be kadoban next basho, and Mitakeumi needs to win out to avoid being dumped to ōzekiwake. Takakeishō is also not yet safe, although he will at worst be kadoban and probably will secure his 2 more wins given he has been fighting quite well this basho.

Of the sekiwake, only Wakatakakage is having anywhere near a good tournament, having come back strongly from 0-3 to remain in the arasoi and reignite talk of an ōzeki run. Hōshōryū and Daieishō are both misfiring this basho, and chances are good that we will lose at least one of them from the rank. As for the komusubi, Abi is certain to drop out of the joi altogether with a zenkyū, but only Kiribayama looks like a lock to remain in sanyaku. Ichinojō is also not performing well.

The downward(!) pressure on the junior sanyaku slots means that we could be back to a slimmed down 4-5 member junior sanyaku: Wakatakakage + Hōshōryū/Daieishō + Mitakeumi, then Kiribayama and whichever of the sekiwake manage to limit their losses to 8. It's also probably a pretty rare combination to see how the shimpan will deal with haridashi sekiwake that go 7-8. My guess is that in the event that there is no free regular komusubi slot, Daieishō, being ranked at S2e and probably being considered under "sekiwake kadoban" due to his borderline record last basho, will be dropped out of sanyaku altogether even if he goes 7-8, but my guess is (not as) good as yours.

That same downward pressure also makes things fairly awkward for the joi, which contain at least 3 members who make a pretty strong case for sanyaku. Tobizaru, at M1e, is 1 win away from a possible sanyaku debut. Tamawashi is currently in pole position "by the numbers" to stake a claim for his old stomping grounds of sekiwake. Takayasu, should he win the yūshō or even go double digits, would also have a very good claim to return to sekiwake, leaving Hokutofuji with the weakest promotion case despite arguably the best basho of his career thus far. We might be seeing another basho of haridashi sekiwake/komusubi with new faces, which might be a bit unusual.

That leaves the remainder of the joi that are 2 or more wins away from their KK (but likely to get it) being hard out of luck, with Kotonowaka, Ura, and Nishikigi likely to be jammed at M1e and down at best.

Makuuchi-jūryō

Next	Result	East	Rank	West	Result	Next
			M9	Kotoeko	4-6	(2)
			M10
			M11	Chiyotairyu	3-7	(3)
(3)	4-6	Okinoumi	M12	Ryuden	6-4	(1)
(2)	5-5	Ichiyamamoto	M13
			M14	Yutakayama	3-7	(5)
(3)	5-5	Terutsuyoshi	M15	Tsurugisho	2-8	(X)
(4)	4-6	Mitoryu	M16	Hiradoumi	4-6	(4)
(5)	3-7	Shimanoumi	J1	Chiyomaru	4-6	(4)
			J2	Azumaryu	6-4	(2)
(1)	7-3	Atamifuji	J3	Tohakuryu	6-4	(2)
(1)	7-3	Kagayaki	J4
			...
(5?)	8-2	Hokuseiho	J9

The only confirmed demotion from makuuchi by now is M15e Tsurugishō. Yutakayama looks exceedingly likely to join them, whereas the other MK-trending rikishi in this area may yet save themselves with a few more wins. Upper jūryō has yet to supply any outright KKs, although arasoi-involved Atamifuji and Kagayaki are likely to get theirs and would be front runners for the two spots in makuuchi. Heck, even Shimanoumi may yet make a return to makuuchi, although it would involve one hell of a second wind for the hapless newlywed. Naturally the picture will clear up a bit more in the following days, but as is to be expected for this area of the banzuke, the rikishi haven't deigned to grace us with sufficiently strong (or weak) performances to say much more than this.

EDIT: See Sakura's post here for Tsurugishō's demotion status as of Day 10.

 

Looking a little less likely than yesterday, but still eminently possible, is the promotion of J9e Hokuseihō. His best record now will be 13-2, and that has a 50-50 chance to get him promoted to makuuchi. 12-3 might still do it although it would be a ~25% chance and would certainly take a lot more banzuke luck. Promotion to makuuchi with 11-4 has only happened twice in recent years: once by Daikikō/Terunoumi in 1990 (the beneficiary of an expansion of makuuchi from 38 to 40), and Sōkokurai in 2014 (with a massive collapse in lower makuchi and the retirement of Kotoōshu leaving 7 slots to be filled).

Jūryō-makushita

Next	Result	East	Rank	West	Result	Next
			J10	Tokushoryu	4-6	(1)
(2)	5-5	Chiyosakae	J11	Kitanowaka	5-5	(2)
(4)	4-6	Gonoyama	J12	Kinbozan	6-4	(2)
(3)	5-5	Oshoma	J13	Tochimaru	2-8	(X)
(O)	8-2	Tochimusashi	J14	Takakento	5-5	(3)
	0-0	Kaisei	Ms1	Roga	3-2	(1)
(2)	2-3	Tomokaze	Ms2
(2)	2-3	Yoshii	Ms3	Daishomaru	2-3	(2)
(1)	3-2	Tsushimanada	Ms4	Tsukahara	3-2	(1)
(1)	3-2	Fujiseiun	Ms5	Shonannoumi	4-1	(~)
(2)	2-3	Kamito	Ms6
(~)	4-1	Shiden	Ms7	Tokihayate	4-1	(~)
			...
(2)	5-0	Asanoyama	Ms15

The only clear demotion so far is Tochimaru's 2-8 record, although Gōnoyama and/or an unlucky Takakentō/Ōshōma may yet join him. Ex-ōzeki Asanoyama must be regarded as the most likely front-runner for any open jūryō slot, but if he fails to complete the zenshō the next likely candidate is Rōga, one win away from his KK at what is practically the highest makushita rank this basho (due to Kaisei's retirement).

EDIT: See Sakura's post here for Tochimaru's demotion status as of day 10.

While there is a trio of 4-1 records in upper makushita, they are low enough that a number of 2-3s and 3-2s may yet assert a promotion claim stronger than theirs. No doubt tomorrow will see some of these 2-3s take their leave, clearing up the picture significantly.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Jakusotsu 4,878]

2 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Hokutofuji's loss also meant that Takayasu (who engineered said loss to begin with) and Nishikifuji are now one instead of two behind, raising hopes of another Takayasu yūshō.

Another?

Edit: Oh, you mean jun-yusho!

Edited September 20, 2022 by Jakusotsu

[Seiyashi 3,361]

11 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

Another?

Edit: Oh, you mean jun-yusho!

I actually meant it raised hopes of a Takayasu yūshō again, but something has clearly slipped twixt the brain and the keyboard. Doesn't hurt the joke, though.

[Sakura 1,235]

3 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Makuuchi-jūryō

Next	Result	East	Rank	West	Result	Next
			M9	Kotoeko	4-6	(O)
			M10
			M11	Chiyotairyu	3-7	(2)
(2)	4-6	Okinoumi	M12	Ryuden	6-4	(O)
(1)	5-5	Ichiyamamoto	M13
			M14	Yutakayama	3-7	(4)
(2)	5-5	Terutsuyoshi	M15	Tsurugisho	2-8	(5)
(4)	4-6	Mitoryu	M16	Hiradoumi	4-6	(4)
(5)	3-7	Shimanoumi	J1	Chiyomaru	4-6	(4)
			J2	Azumaryu	6-4	(3)
(2)	7-3	Atamifuji	J3	Tohakuryu	6-4	(3)
(3)	7-3	Kagayaki	J4
			...
(4)	8-2	Hokuseiho	J9

The only confirmed demotion from makuuchi by now is M15e Tsurugishō. 

I disagree that Tsurugisho is a confirmed demotion. When Mitoryu won the Juryo Yusho and had a strong promotable record as was not promoted because there were no open slots available for him, and that was with Chiyonokuni sitting at 7-8 one slot up from the bottom of the division. A 7-8 for Tsurugisho would not be a demotable record unless it was forced by something undeniable from Juryo (or the banzuke committee decides to become like Bench Sumo and allows for more fluid movements).

I've adjusted in red what traditionally have been the numbers required for safety and I think Ryuden and Kotoeko are safe.

[Doitsuyama 1,150]

If the number of sanyaku gets slimmed down by two (which seems pretty likely at this point), there even will be a full maegashira 17 rank added to the bottom and I wonder what effect this will have on possible demotions...

[Sakura 1,235]

3 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Jūryō-makushita

Next	Result	East	Rank	West	Result	Next
			J10	Tokushoryu	4-6	(2)
(1)	5-5	Chiyosakae	J11	Kitanowaka	5-5	(1)
(3)	4-6	Gonoyama	J12	Kinbozan	6-4	(1)
(2)	5-5	Oshoma	J13	Tochimaru	2-8	(5)
(O)	8-2	Tochimusashi	J14	Takakento	5-5	(3)
	0-0	Kaisei	Ms1	Roga	3-2	(1)
(2)	2-3	Tomokaze	Ms2
(2)	2-3	Yoshii	Ms3	Daishomaru	2-3	(2)
(1)	3-2	Tsushimanada	Ms4	Tsukahara	3-2	(1)
(1)	3-2	Fujiseiun	Ms5	Shonannoumi	4-1	(~)
(2)	2-3	Kamito	Ms6
(~)	4-1	Shiden	Ms7	Tokihayate	4-1	(~)
			...
(2)	5-0	Asanoyama	Ms15

The only clear demotion so far is Tochimaru's 2-8 record.

The Juryo-Makushita line seems even more rigid at the moment with demotions only happening if they can't be denied or if someone makes an undeniable claim from Makushita. They've been pretty stingy on promotions to Juryo recently and I would think a 7-8 from J13 should be pretty safe.

[Seiyashi 3,361]

31 minutes ago, Sakura said:

The Juryo-Makushita line seems even more rigid at the moment with demotions only happening if they can't be denied or if someone makes an undeniable claim from Makushita. They've been pretty stingy on promotions to Juryo recently and I would think a 7-8 from J13 should be pretty safe.

In this case Tochimaru should be 5 and banzuke luck right? If let's say no one else MKs (unlikely I know) and Asanoyama goes 7 won't he be forced down? 

40 minutes ago, Doitsuyama said:

If the number of sanyaku gets slimmed down by two (which seems pretty likely at this point), there even will be a full maegashira 17 rank added to the bottom and I wonder what effect this will have on possible demotions...

Good point, although there are enough strong performances in the joi that a set of K2 may not be out of the question again. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Sakura 1,235]

14 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

In this case Tochimaru should be 5 and banzuke luck right? If let's say no one else MKs (unlikely I know) and Asanoyama goes 7 won't he be forced down? 

We don't really have any precedent (that I've come across) for what would happen if someone ranked that low went 7-0 and there were no open slots available. I don't think Tochimaru would be in banzuke luck category yet either. The banzuke luck usually means good luck for the rikishi marked as such. If he stays in Juryo at 7-8 that would be expected. If he gets demoted with a 7-8 that would be bad luck for him.

[Hankegami 278]

1 hour ago, Sakura said:

The Juryo-Makushita line seems even more rigid at the moment with demotions only happening if they can't be denied or if someone makes an undeniable claim from Makushita. They've been pretty stingy on promotions to Juryo recently and I would think a 7-8 from J13 should be pretty safe.

48 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

In this case Tochimaru should be 5 and banzuke luck right? If let's say no one else MKs (unlikely I know) and Asanoyama goes 7 won't he be forced down? 

Good point, although there are enough strong performances in the joi that a set of K2 may not be out of the question again. 

27 minutes ago, Sakura said:

We don't really have any precedent (that I've come across) for what would happen if someone ranked that low went 7-0 and there were no open slots available. I don't think Tochimaru would be in banzuke luck category yet either. The banzuke luck usually means good luck for the rikishi marked as such. If he stays in Juryo at 7-8 that would be expected. If he gets demoted with a 7-8 that would be bad luck for him.

Perhaps we are overlooking an insignificant detail here: are we even remotely confident that Tochimaru will be able to get 7-8? The man always attacks with a decisively ineffective tsuppari against guys used to face tachi-ai all the time. I wouldn't be overly conservative just because he's not mathematically demoted yet. Putting Tochimaru in at least an "extremely likely to go down" category is just smart thinking to me. I mean, we could get our mathematical confirmation already tomorrow.

[Gurowake 3,452]

8 minutes ago, Hankegami said:

Perhaps we are overlooking an insignificant detail here: are we even remotely confident that Tochimaru will be able to get 7-8? The man always attacks with a decisively ineffective tsuppari against guys used to face tachi-ai all the time. I wouldn't be overly conservative just because he's not mathematically demoted yet. Putting Tochimaru in at least an "extremely likely to go down" category is just smart thinking to me. I mean, we could get our mathematical confirmation already tomorrow.

Seiyashi marked him with an X as though he has a demotable record now.  That's simply not true.  The same is (not) true for Tsurugisho.

edit:  In the quoted text, it shows a 5, but I see an X for both.   If anything it should have gone the opposite way.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Gurowake

[Gurowake 3,452]

1 hour ago, Doitsuyama said:

If the number of sanyaku gets slimmed down by two (which seems pretty likely at this point), there even will be a full maegashira 17 rank added to the bottom and I wonder what effect this will have on possible demotions...

 I don't know for sure about any other situations, but for Natsu 2014, imprinted on my mind because it was the first banzuke released after I started following sumo, Azumaryu was demoted with a 6-9 from M14e despite M17e (re-)appearing on the banzuke.  The M17e rikishi went 8-7 at J4w, so that's a huge stretch of a promotion, indicating that Azumaryu was first demoted without consideration of who would replace him, and then they looked for someone to fill the hole.

[Seiyashi 3,361]

1 hour ago, Gurowake said:

Seiyashi marked him with an X as though he has a demotable record now.  That's simply not true.  The same is (not) true for Tsurugisho.

edit:  In the quoted text, it shows a 5, but I see an X for both.   If anything it should have gone the opposite way.

Sakura edited the quoted text in red - I did put X in the original which she's pointing out in her edit is supposed to be 5 (consistent with the rest of her post). I'll leave the original as is, but insert links to Sakura's posts to direct people to the more correct assessment of the demotion picture.

For transparency, I basically queried the DB for a rikishi's rank + the range of wins they could still achieve, and put in the number where they generally didn't drop divisions (i.e. >50% chance historically of not being demoted). That said, I definitely got lazy and assumed the MK rikishi that close to the division lines would drop, whereas checking the DB now for Tsurugishō shows that a 50% drop is on 9 losses and above. If I should be refining the above methodology (and I should be, I think), I'd be much obliged if anyone could let me know - I might only be doing the busywork to relieve Asashosakari/Sakura, but that doesn't mean I don't want to get it right if I otherwise could.

I'm also probably misunderstanding what X and O mean; it's not just a simple KK/MK, but I suspect the meaning changes a little with context between the sanyaku/joi versions and the divisional exchange versions? Or am I overthinking this?

1 hour ago, Hankegami said:

Perhaps we are overlooking an insignificant detail here: are we even remotely confident that Tochimaru will be able to get 7-8? The man always attacks with a decisively ineffective tsuppari against guys used to face tachi-ai all the time. I wouldn't be overly conservative just because he's not mathematically demoted yet. Putting Tochimaru in at least an "extremely likely to go down" category is just smart thinking to me. I mean, we could get our mathematical confirmation already tomorrow.

I definitely take the point that Tsurugisho and Tochimaru are not yet demotable. That's the point of this thread (or at least the table) - to track who has or has not crossed that line as days go past, not who might (that's saved for the explanations). At the rate they're going it may well be definitely moot by Day 13.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Seiyashi

[Gurowake 3,452]

2 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

I'm also probably misunderstanding what X and O mean; it's not just a simple KK/MK, but I suspect the meaning changes a little with context between the sanyaku/joi versions and the divisional exchange versions? Or am I overthinking this?

What exactly O and X mean depends on context, especially O.  They generally are short for Favorable or Unfavorable outcome (nearly) guaranteed based solely on record.  During the basho X should only be used in terms of being demotable by the numbers, which Tochimaru and Tsurugisho definitely are not.  

[Sakura 1,235]

1 hour ago, Seiyashi said:

For transparency, I basically queried the DB for a rikishi's rank + the range of wins they could still achieve, and put in the number where they generally didn't drop divisions (i.e. >50% chance historically of not being demoted). 

My understanding of Asashosakari's method, which I used, was to base the X/O in a rank-number combination rather than percentages from the db. Whether or not any gets demoted depends on the records of the people around them including those on the other side of the division line. 

Let's say we have a 6-9 J13w. He has a demotable record by the numbers. Let's also say we have a 7-0 Ms7, a 5-2 Ms1e and a 6-1 Ms1w and the next best promotion candidates are a pair of 4-3s at Ms4. If our J13w is the third most demotable rikishi then they are not likely to stay. If however there are four more demotable rikishi ahead of him in the queue then he has a good chance of staying as a 4-3 at Ms4 might well be considered not good enough to force down a 6-9 J13.

So a 7-8 J13 probably has done enough to avoid demotion and can be marked with a O; a 6-9 will need some banzuke luck and should be marked ~ and a 5-10 or worse is probably getting demoted regardless and should be an X.

1 hour ago, Seiyashi said:

I'm also probably misunderstanding what X and O mean; it's not just a simple KK/MK, but I suspect the meaning changes a little with context between the sanyaku/joi versions and the divisional exchange versions? Or am I overthinking this?

The X means has not met the target for a desired outcome and the O means has met the target.

If your target is not being demoted then for an M16 the target is  8 wins, for M14-15 7 wins, M12-13 6 wins etc. 

If your target is being promoted then the target is 8 for J1, 9 for J2-3, 10 for J4-5 etc. Of course, for promotions to Makuuchi we've often seen cases where rikishi get promoted a couple of wins short of target.

[Gurowake 3,452]

2 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

For transparency, I basically queried the DB for a rikishi's rank + the range of wins they could still achieve, and put in the number where they generally didn't drop divisions (i.e. >50% chance historically of not being demoted).

Don't do this.  It's not a good idea to use historical data.  Even if you restrict it to the time periods where there were the same number of rikishi in the division, this doesn't exactly determine the number of maegashira.  And even then, historical data are only useful as a rough guide if you don't know any better, because every banzuke is different, and sometimes really weird things happen.  The presentation of the numbers is based solely on the by-the-numbers movement of +1 per win and -1 per loss.

[Sakura 1,235]

I'd also like to say thank you for doing the tables. I know how long they can take.

[Seiyashi 3,361]

Out of reacts for now but thanks very much for the guidance. I'll keep that in mind when doing up the posts for subsequent days and basho.

[Koorifuu 459]

No more interdivision mingling for the makushita and sandanme yusho races as they've put Asonoyama up against wily journeyman Yuki (4-1) for tomorrow.

The two highest ranked 5-0 sandanme go against each other tomorrow as well.

[WAKATAKE 2,357]

Didn’t Asanowaka pull out because injury? If so then he is likely to drop to the third division 

[Jakusotsu 4,878]

8 minutes ago, WAKATAKE said:

Didn’t Asanowaka pull out because injury? If so then he is likely to drop to the third division 

Depends on whether he'll be granted Covid relief.

[Akinomaki 34,801]

17 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

Depends on whether he'll be granted Covid relief.

Covid after effects rather won't get treated differently than other maladies

[Seiyashi 3,361]

1 hour ago, WAKATAKE said:

Didn’t Asanowaka pull out because injury? If so then he is likely to drop to the third division 

Yeah I seem to have missed him in this first cut. Probably true.

[Reonito 637]

6 hours ago, Sakura said:

I disagree that Tsurugisho is a confirmed demotion. When Mitoryu won the Juryo Yusho and had a strong promotable record as was not promoted because there were no open slots available for him, and that was with Chiyonokuni sitting at 7-8 one slot up from the bottom of the division. A 7-8 for Tsurugisho would not be a demotable record unless it was forced by something undeniable from Juryo (or the banzuke committee decides to become like Bench Sumo and allows for more fluid movements).

I've adjusted in red what traditionally have been the numbers required for safety and I think Ryuden and Kotoeko are safe.

Seconded.

[Reonito 637]

5 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

In this case Tochimaru should be 5 and banzuke luck right? If let's say no one else MKs (unlikely I know) and Asanoyama goes 7 won't he be forced down? 

We've got Asanowaka...