Public League Leaderboard
Scores from Fantasizr.
Yusho Arasoi
7 Wins
05 Sekiwake #1 West Onosato
6 Wins
06 Sekiwake #2 East Kirishima
5 Wins
02 Ozeki East Kotozakura
15 Maegashira #3 West Wakamotoharu
22 Maegashira #7 East Wakatakakage
23 Maegashira #7 West Churanoumi
24 Maegashira #8 East Endo
27 Maegashira #9 West Oshoma
34 Maegashira #13 East Hokutofuji
35 Maegashira #13 West Nishikigi
36 Maegashira #14 East Ryuden
38 Maegashira #15 East Takayasu
Notable Maneuvers
Wakamotoharu won by yorikiri, but it was about the most impressive force out you can see. He was being thrown down and sideways by Kotozakura as he gave the final shove. Wakamotoharu barely had control of himself and still won.
Match of the Day
Interestingly, these two had never met. The match began with Kotoshoho launching a pushing attack that got Kirishima going backward. That short-lived Kotoshoho advantage was negated as Kirishima pushed back to get inside for a deep left hand grip. As he did that, Kotoshoho got an arm lock with his right. They stalemated like that, and their other arms awkwardly engaging, for long enough that the gyoji told them to get it moving. That was easier said than done until Kirishima switched his grip and moved his left arm outside. Putting up a fight at the edge, Kotoshoho made Kirishima have to force him out AND down. The gyoji went with Kirishima, but the end was close enough the judges discussed it. The mono-ii ended with the decision upheld. Let's hope these two meet a lot more in the future.
Recap
It seems the other rikishi can't keep up with Onosato. Hiradoumi had nothing for the young star, despite having an excellent basho and generally being a handful on the dohyo. Onosato just absorbed his best effort and powered him out. Onosato blew through Makuuchi and Juryo and even lower Maegashira after a record-shattering amateur career by being so skilled, big, and athletic that he overwhelmed lesser rikishi. Facing Sanyaku wrestlers, he's looking the same.
But it's not just the impossible challenge of what to do with Onosato when he's locked in and getting his power sumo working. Rikishi are struggling to keep pace with his undefeated record. On Day Seven, that most notably included Kotozakura. With Onosato's and Kirishima's victories a few matches earlier, the Ozeki went into the musubi no ichiban knowing he needed to win to stay tied with Kirishima one off the lead. He got knocked backwards and shoved out when he tried any kind of offense. He fell into the 10 rikishi strong pack at 5-2.
Even the two loss group got seriously trimmed, despite Kotozakura joining them. Hiradoumi, Shodai, Kotoshoho, Ura, Bushozan, and Takarafuji all picked up third losses on Day Seven. Ura, Bushozan, and Takarafuji are all comfortably in the category of "Staying Above .500 is Fine." Kotoshoho lost an instant classic by a hair's breadth to current second-on-the-leaderboard Kirishima. Hiradoumi ran into the unstoppable force that is Onosato.
It’s Shodai’s match that’s particularly notable. He got absolutely trucked by Hoshoryu in a display of strength the Ozeki has been sorely missing. At 3-4, Hoshoryu is out of any yusho contention and should be focused on getting the five more wins needed to avoid kadoban status. Yet if Hoss is locked in now, he can absolutely be the spoiler for any other rikishi. Most notably, he has a perfect career record against Onosato.
That seems like the best hope for slowing down Onosato at this point. 4 more wins and the Ozeki conversation gets serious, while 5 more makes it almost certain he achieves the promotion. 6 more and it's hard to see how anyone else gets the yusho. As much as the performances, the 7 wins already in the bank are the best thing for Onosato over the next 8 days.
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