Aki 2021 is Live on Fantasizr!

The game is live for Aki 2021 over on Fantasizr. Go there now to sign up. Either join the Public League or Create Your Own to start going. Live sumo begins on September 12th, so make sure you select your lineup by then.

Of course, some things can change, especially as word has gotten out about positive COVID cases. But a placeholder lineup never hurts. Before you even make a placeholder lineup, though, you should consider the budget for Aki.

The thing to get used to now is that Terunofuji is a Yokozuna and will cost you 30 this basho. That does affect the rest of Sanyaku and the whole Banzuke, although maybe not as much as Asanoyama being Sekiwake 2 East. He is still suspended, and the Banzuke committee decided to have two participating Sekiwake. That means that we will be going down to Maegashira #17 East for Aki. In the Fantasy Basho game, that means the Maegashira 1, Hoshoryu at his career high rank and Takanosho, have a 17 value.

The other pieces of note is that the joi-jin line, where everyone above it in theory could face everyone else, is Maegashira #4 West Daieisho. The Maegashira #5 duo of Chiyoshoma and Takarafuji will also likely see Sanyaku opponents at some point, because injuries and poor performance will ruin the best laid plans. At the other end of the rankings, from Maegashira #9 Aoiyama down are another mini-league of sorts.

One of the strangest pieces of Aki 2021 is that only rikishi has been promoted. Yutakayama has a chance at reestablishing himself in Makuuchi after a two tournament trip through Juryo. That also means the lower end of the Banzuke mostly just hung on and need to repeat or do better.

Twelve days until live sumo, and twelve days to get your team settled.