Public League Leaderboard
Scores from Fantasizr.
Yusho Arasoi
6 Wins
05 Sekiwake #1 West Onosato
5 Wins
02 Ozeki East Kotozakura
06 Sekiwake #2 East Kirishima
4 Wins
15 Rikishi Tied
Notable Maneuvers
Okuridashi. Yes, Kirishima beat Tobizaru with a simple rear push out, but he was able to do it by pulling a kotenage, arm-lock throw, to get Tobizaru's back to him.
Match of the Day
13 Maegashira #2 West Oho versus 03 Ozeki West Hoshoryu
This match was more consequential in outcome, but it was sneaky interesting on sumo terms. Oho and Hoshoryu are rivals from the time they joined sumo, but Hoshoryu has passed Oho by to become Ozeki. Yet Oho had the 4-2 lead in career bouts coming in. At the tachiai, they locked up. That should have favored Hoshoryu the thrower instead of Oho the pusher, but Hoss couldn't actually get a good grip. Instead, Oho grabbed Hoshoryu's arm, and that led to Hoshoryu getting tipped over sideways. The Ozeki didn't fall to the sukuinage immediately, which is a credit to Oho for keeping up the fight to make sure he goes down. After, Hoshoryu also had to be pulled back to bow to Oho on the dohyo to officially close out the match.
It is very much time to worry about Hoshoryu.
Recap
Onosato kept up his undefeated record with a very impressive performance against Shodai. The former Ozeki has good size, but he looked small next to the possible future Ozeki. Then the match started, and Onosato blew back the rikishi who may be best at absorbing the tachiai in recent memory. Onosato then gave Shodai no chance to use his fantastic defensive skills by just swallowing him up. Shodai's look afterward was that of the veteran hitter seeing the impressive rookie pitcher's fastball and wondering how he could see some new version of something simple.
The one-loss group also got seriously thinned out on Day Six. Shodai was one of the rikishi who went from 4-1 to 4-2, but he had the toughest matchup. Hiradoumi, Wakatakakage, Bushozan, and Takarafuji all lost respectable matches that set them two losses adrift of the yusho leader. That quintet also joined 10 others at 4-2. Almost half the Maegashira are at 4-2 at this point, and the parity in the bulk of Makuuchi will be worth watching throughout Aki. Meanwhile, Onosato is well above all the Maegashira.
The two rikishi immediately on his tail are Ozeki Kotonowaka and very recently former Ozeki Kirishima. They have both dropped one match, and neither has been dominating matches in a way that makes them look like genuine yusho contenders. Still, they have been better than the rest and were both very good on Day Six. Kirishima spun Tobizaru around and then sent him out in a display of strength and skill he could not put on the last few months. Kotonowaka did the thing where he easily won by yorikiri despite never really getting a great grip on MItakeumi.
Kotonowaka and Kirishima are legitimate threats if Onosato finds a bad patch. Since he is ahead, they do need a bad patch to get ahead. Winning the head-to-head matchup with Onosato would only make either Kotonowaka or Kirishima tied. Yet the other legitimate threats do seem to be falling aside. Most notably, Hoshoryu is flailing in a way that makes it worth considering pulling out and getting set for a strong showing in November. The rest of Sanyaku looks like they could beat anyone else or fall to anyone else. The Meagshira seems like they are all level in current ability.
For the next nine days, Onosato's match will be the one to watch. Day Seven gives him a key matchup based on record. He will get the 4-2 Komusubi Hiradoumi, who has been a revelation the past few months. Also, Hiradoumi holds the 2-1 advantage over Onosato in their lifetime battles. Kotozakura and Kirishima also get good matchups, with the Ozeki seeing 4-2 Wakamotoharu and the Sekiwake seeing 4-2 Kotoshoho. But no matter what, Onosato is guaranteed to hold a share of the lead after a week of the Aki basho. That's how good he has been.
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