Sumo starts tomorrow! Or today, depending on your time zone and when you read this. But you can still sign up for Fantasy Basho on Fantasizr to play for Nagoya 2024.
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I am doing this to myself again. As I do before each basho, I lay my predictions for each rikishi's win totals here on the internet for anyone to see. Should I feel good about this?
Well, my take before May's tournament was pretty solid. I got that Hoshoryu, Kotozakura, and Onosato would be the top competitors for the Emperor's Cup, although I missed the final order. I will take it. I also got that Terunofuji and Takayasu would not be healthy enough to compete every day, although I oversold Terunofuji and undersold Takayasu. I did foresee that the bottom of the Banzuke wouldn't do well, but I missed how disastrous some rikishi would be for Natsu.
So maybe these are solid, or maybe they'll look silly in a matter of days. The live action begins tomorrow, and we have the Day One and Two Torikumi. We'll see how well it all holds up. I'm calling for a Hoshoryu and Kotozakura playoff. Partly, that allows me not to call it. (I would say Hoshoryu yusho if I MUST choose, but that's been a recurring theme of these predictions. And he still has just the one.) Onosato gets 10 wins, which would be impressive in his Sekiwake debut. It would also be his lowest Makuuchi win total. He's good, but maybe he still needs some time to become the rikishi he can be.
I don't foresee a great deal of success for Terunofuji, because he has only finished two basho in the last two years. He did win both of those, so I hedged my bets. Maybe that was foolish. Maybe he should be predicted for winning less than 3 matches or getting the Yusho. But he's 32 with a horrible recent injury record. Predicting a Terunofuji yusho feels in some ways like the riskiest prediction. These predictions also have Takakeisho keeping his Ozeki status, while Kirishima does not regain his. I would be lying if I said I felt confident about it.
As usual, I have balanced the win totals to reflect the possible totals. I also did not include Chiyoshoma, because he is out from Day One. It is just easier not to make a prediction for him. Daily recaps start tomorrow, so we can end our speculation then.
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