Sumo Game: News

Makuuchi Yusho:	M5 Pandaazuma (12-3; 119 points)
Juryo Yusho:	J14 Chiyonotsuti (11-4; 109 points)
Makushita Yusho:	m33 Chishafuwaku (13-2; 109 points)
Gino-sho:	M5 Pandaazuma (12-3; 119 points)
Kanto-sho:	M5 Pandaazuma (12-3; 119 points)
Shukun-sho:	not rewarded

by Takanotaki, 2013/7/22

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 15

EM5 Pandaazuma took his second straight Makuuchi division title in straightforward fashion with a senshuraku win, meaning the real drama was reserved for Sekiwake Kotononami's ozeki bid. Incredibly, the French gaming maestro lost the last three days when he only needed one more win and will now need 13 wins in September to get the nod. It was particularly unlucky as he fell one short of the promotion target in May as well. Very bad luck.

The lower divisions both required play-offs to decide the champions. With both leaders losing, EJ13 Kamakiriyama leapt into the fray with EJ2 Sebunshu but their scores were no match for that of EJ14 Chiyonotsuti, who takes the yusho in only his second tournament in the Juryo division.

Makushita was a nailbiter. Wms1 Haidouzo and Ems33 Chishafuwaku both won their final bouts and scored exactly the same total. As they did not meet during the tournament, the rules state that the player with the most 8+ days is the winner. Chishafuwaku had 8 such days to Haidouzo's 7 and so it's congratulations to the relative newcomer from Portugal.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks for playing Sumo Game. See you in September!

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/21

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 14

Another day of drama in Sumo Game. With WM1 Andoreasu losing to one of the best scores of the day, EM5 Pandaazuma took possession of the sole lead and needs either to win tomorrow or have the same score or higher than Andoreasu, win or lose. Sekiwake Kotononami's ozeki promotion saga took a rather inexplicable turn today as he lost to a very unusual team fielded by Ozeki Hokuro. I wish the Sekiwake the best of luck in his final bout against fellow Sekiwake Sumio tomorrow.

Juryo saw both leaders win (11-3) but with EJ14 Chiyonotsuti enjoying a four-point advantage over EJ2 Sebunshu, a play-off would almost certainly go in favour of the lower-ranked player.

The Makushita race is quite complex with five players vying for the yusho. Wms1 Haidouzo and Ems33 Chishafuwaku are in the driving seat but they will likely need to win to take home the prize as their pursuers all have strong enough points totals to win in a play-off.

Good luck to all the yusho and promotion candidates.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/20

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 13

In another high-scoring day, W Maegashira 1 Andoreasu and E Maegashira 5 Pandaazuma achieved their second perfect scores in two days to surge ahead of the field. Two players are one win behind. Sekiwake Kotononami lost in his first attempt to reach the magic nine required for promotion and has his work cut out as he will have to beat one of Hokuro or Sumio - two of the game's best players - in order to reach the exalted ozeki rank.

There was plenty more drama in the lower divisions. EJ2 Sebunshu lost to his closest pursuer EJ14 Chiyonotsuti and now shares the lead going into the weekend. And in Makushita both leaders lost, meaning there is now a four-way scrum for the big prize.

Incidentally Sumo Game's most hallowed record - (retired) Bishonohana's points record of 122 - is at risk. Four players - Andoreasu and Pandaazuma (106) and Chocshoporyu and Kuroimori (105) are still able to match or surpass it. An upset-free weekend could see history made.

Break a leg over the weekend!

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/20

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 12

Another dramatic day saw WM1 Andoreasu lose again despite having a perfect score. Komusubi Tosahayate succumbed to the same fate. E Maegashira 5 Pandaazuma and W Maegashira 5 Konosato drew level with Andoreasu to set up an exciting finale.

In Juryo EJ2 Sebunshu consolidated his dominance of the division with a tenth win. Only EJ14 Chiyonotsuti has a reasonable chance of catching up now. Makushita continues along the same lines of the last three days. Titanic stuff going on there. The next three days will be interesting.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/19

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 11

A dramatic day in Sumo Game saw six of the seven leaders in Makuuchi lose. EM5 Pandaazuma was the only one to take advantage of the unusual lapse. WM1 Andoreasu retains the sole lead with 9 wins but a field of three players now lurks one step behind him.

In Juryo WJ6 Fujisan's epic collapse continues and EJ2 Sebunshu seizes the opportunity to take the lead. As a bonus, his nine wins are likely to have secured him promotion back to Makuuchi. And in Makushita the battle between Wms1 Haidouzo and Ems11 Shiroyuko goes on with both players now at 10-1. Two other players are just one win behind.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/18

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 10

WM1 Andoreasu took the deserved sole lead of the Makuuchi division and is also the points leader. Just behind him after securing winning records today are W Komusubi Tosahayate and W Maegashira 5 Konosato.

WJ6 Fujisan's collapse extended to a second day and he now shares the lead with EJ2 Sebunshu and EJ14 Chiyonotsuti. And the two leaders in Makushita won again, both now standing at 9-1.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/16

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 9

In a close bout, Sekiwake Kotononami overcame EM5 Pandaazuma to improve to 6-3 and now needs only three more wins for promotion to ozeki. Pandaazuma fell out of the leading group of W Komusubi Tosahayate and W Maegashira 1 Andoreasu (both 8-1) but faces Andoreasu tomorrow in a death match. WM5 Konosato is also just one win off the pace.

In Juryo WJ6 Fujisan's zensho streak finally came to an end. Two players are right behind him. And in Makushita Wms1 Haidouzo and Ems11 Shiroyuko win again and lead the field with 8 wins.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/15

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 8

In the Makuuchi division, W Maegashira 3 Kitakachiyama lost for the second straight day and fell out of the leading group, which has now narrowed down to three players: W Komusubi Tosahayate, W Maegashira 1 Andoreasu and E Maegashira 5 Pandaazuma. Tomorrow's highlight bout will feature the Panda as he takes on Ozeki candidate W Sekiwake Kotononami, who is now desperate for wins after falling to 5-3 today.

In Juryo WJ6 Fujisan remains perfect and he is now two wins clear of the nearest three rivals. And in Makushita Wms1 Haidouzo is dueling with Ems11 Shiroyuko, both with 7 wins.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/14

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 7

The sole Makuuchi leader on day 6 finally fell to a loss today and became part of a leading group of four 6-1 players: W Komusubi Tosahayate, W Maegashira 1 Andoreasu, W Maegashira 3 Kitakachiyama and E Maegashira 5 Pandaazuma. Ozeki hopeful Kotononami kept up the good work, today beating the zensho leader to improve to 5-2. He now needs only four more wins for consideration for promotion.

Juryo has Sumo Game's only remaining zensho player in W Juryo 6 Fujisan. With only one player behind him on six wins, his thoughts will start to turn to possible glory and a return to Makuuchi if he can keep winning. And in Makushita a pack of four players are locked at 6-1.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/14

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 5

In Makuuchi the number of zensho players went down to two: M3W Kitakachiyama and M6W Yassier. A field of seven is hot on their tail. Sekiwake Susanoo's Ozeki promotion dream officially ended but Sekiwake Kotononami gets back to winning ways to keep the dream alive.

In Juryo WJ6 Fujisan keeps up the fine work to take the sole zensho leadership. And Wms4 Kuroimori, Wms9 Achiyama and Ems11 Shiroyuko keep up the pressure on each other in Makushita.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/11

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 4

On day four things are starting to coalesce slightly but in Makuuchi there are still five unbeaten players, including Komusubi Tosahayate - the only representative from sanyaku. Sekiwake Kotononami's ozeki promotion quest has suffered a setback as he has lost two straight days to go 2-2. 9-6 is still achievable but he'll need to pick well against the top players. Sekiwake Susanoo's bid is almost dead in the water as he now needs to win all eleven remaining bouts to get the nod.

In Juryo WJ6 Fujisan and EJ13 Kamakiriyama are our only perfect players. And - unusually in the large Makushita division - we have only three zensho players - Wms4 Kuroimori, Wms9 Achiyama and Ems11 Shiroyuko.

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/10

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 2

Thanks to Nushuzan for his years of commenting and playing Sumo Game. He was a strong rikishi.

The yusho races are still in the process of formation in all divisions. Day 2 was high-scoring so the winners are needing both skill and luck to stay in the race.

In the ozeki promotion stakes, Sekiwake Kotononami is off to a great 2-0 start in his quest and needs a 9-6 record at least. The only other viable candidate is Sekiwake Susanoo, but he'll need to improve greatly after a winless start to get the 11 wins he needs for consideration.

Good luck in Nagoya Basho everyone!

by Pandaazuma, 2013/7/8

Nagoya Basho 2013 - Day 1

As they say is the world of grand cliches 'all good things must come to an end' and with that in mind, I must sadly say that I have decided to retire from Sumo Game after a long 11 year career. The decision was a tough one because I have always enjoyed the atmosphere of this corner of the internet. The people that have played this game over the years were always supportive and kind to each other and to myself and for that I have always been grateful. Let's face it, this game is tough and one has to pay close attention to the news to find out who is banged up who is too high on the banzuke and who is over-performing because of a recent wedding or the birth of a first child. I guess I am lucky because as the Japanese economy faltered, I found myself with more and more responsibility with my work. However, my role with this game as writer of the daily reports slowly took more of my precious free time. I always felt bad for that but it was my reality.

As for Sumo itself in Japan it is at a low point in it's history because of all the scandals and the average Japanese person cares very little about the sport these days. Recently I caught a train with Yoshikaze who I am assuming lives out my way. He was with his tiny wife and cute daughter of maybe 4 or 5 years old. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Meanwhile, I am frantically linking up to the official banzuke to find out who I am standing next to since everyone looks different on TV. It dawned on me at the time that many of the other passengers were perhaps more annoyed that a big guy was taking up too space for a crowded train than curious about who this rikishi was. While others were simply indifferent. It was only the foreigner, me, that seemed to truly care about this guy's identity. However, I honestly feel that whenever a Japanese rikishi finally rises to the occasion and challenges himself to be the best of the best and gets promoted to Yokozuna everything will change. He will become an instant celebrity in Japan, a household name, he will be talked about in all the gossip shows to the point where people will wish it was back to the 'old days of too many foreigners in sumo' However,interest in sumo will skyrocket.

And with that bid you all a farewell and thanks for all the years of great gaming!! I would like to now turn things over to our defending champion Pandaazuma!

Nushuzan

by Nushuzan, 2013/7/7