Natsu 2025 Day Seven
The first week of the basho has come-and-gone, and here is how the May tournament stands.
Public League Leaderboard
Scores from Fantasizr
Yusho Arasoi
7 Wins
02 Ozeki East Onosato
20 Maegashira #7 East Hakuoho
6 Wins
07 Komusubi West Wakatakakage
24 Maegashira #9 East Aonishiki
Notable Maneuvers
Amiuchi. The second fisherman’s throw of the basho was hit by Sadanoumi on Nishikigi—who hit the first one on Fujiseiun on Day Four.
Match of the Day
16 Maegashira #5 East Ura versus 19 Maegashira #6 West Tobizaru
Ura and Tobizaru are two of the more inventive rikishi, and so it was very odd that they both landed on relatively straight ahead mawashi grips. Then they had a small stalemate, which was even more surprising. Of course, that was going to be undone with something spectacular. (Unlike, say, the 3 minute slog between Roga and Ryuden that was long, but less than thrilling.) Ura went backwards to pull, Tobizaru tried to slip his arms in, and then Ura moved sideways. Ura got the uwatedashinage (pulling overarm throw) and sent Tobizaru down to a body full of dirt.
Recap
Onosato and Hakuoho remained undefeated. Onosato once again blocked a hard tachiai, then redirected his match. Against Takerufuji on Day Seven, he was able to feel the momentum go sideways and slap his sometime rival down instead of work a yorikiri or oshidashi. It was still a victory. Hakuoho received a good opening tsuppari from Ichiyamamoto, but he could go straight to Ichiyamamoto’s chest under the flailing arms. Hakuoho then had a simple oshidashi.
The shift really happened just below the leaders. Daieisho, Nishikigi, and Asakoryu all picked up a second loss to back away from the one-loss group just behind the leaders. Nishikigi and Asakoryu were surprise successes through the first week. Yet Daieisho was fighting for a possible Ozeki chance, and now he needs to win out from here. That is a very tough shot indeed, especially since he’s got the majority of Sanyaku still to face.
There are now, in fact, just two 6-1 rikishi, Wakatakakage and Aonishiki. Wakatakakage was the one to knock Daieisho back, and he actually won fairly easily. Wakatakakage had a nice, simple tachiai that didn’t give Daieisho a shot. Aonishiki needed a little more effort to beat Endo, who worked to stop the Ukrainian getting a mawashi grip. That worked, but Aonishiki managed to push on Endo and shove him out very hard at the edge. No one should want to meet either Wakatakakage or Aonishiki now.
The 5-2 list is nine rikishi long, which means that thirteen rikishi are within two losses of the leaders. That’s a lot of sumotori who could make a theoretical chance. The best chance may belong to Hoshoryu, who is both the lone Yokozuna and looked quite good against Hiradoumi. The fact he will face Onosato is less impactful since he needs two losses from the Ozeki to have a yusho shot. Also, the 5-2 group includes high-ranking former yusho winners in Daieisho and Kirishima. Climbing out of this pile will be tough.
This is especially true because of the performance of Onosato and Hakuoho. If they go 5-3 over the remaining eight days, that’s a comedown from their first week performance. It also would require anyone else being 13-2 to get a yusho. And everyone on one loss or two losses needs both Onosato and Hakuoho to falter to have the chance. This is already shaping up to be a strong yusho, no matter who wins it.