Hatsu 2023 Day Fourteen

Public League Leaderboard

Scores from Fantasizr.

Yusho Arasoi

11 Wins

02 Ozeki West Takakeisho

35 Maegashira #13 East Kotoshoho

10 Wins

07 Komusubi #1 East Kiribayama

25 Maegashira #8 East Onosho

Notable Maneuver

Tsukiotoshi. The thrust down is a simple maneuver, but it was consequential on Day Fourteen. Kiribayama sensed Onosho was off balance and hit his side for the easy win that knocked Onosho out of the yusho race.

Match of the Day

35 Maegashira #13 East Kotoshoho versus 12 Maegashira #1 West Daieisho

By rank, Kotoshoho was facing his toughest challenge of the Hatsu basho. He knew enough to not allow Daieisho his pushing attack. Although Kotoshoho landed a grip, Daieisho wasn't done for. He broke up the grappling attempts, but Kotoshoho reached his long right arm out for a mawashi grip that could lead to a yorikiri.

Recap

The yusho scenario is now as simple as it can be. In the final match of the final day, 11-3 Ozeki Takakeisho will face 11-3 Maegashira #13 Kotoshoho. The winner gets the yusho, while the loser gets a jun-yusho. They come in with very different expectations. After a playoff loss last time around, Takakeisho may get a Yokozuna promotion with a yusho, although that isn't guaranteed. He will keep the chance alive for March anyway. Kotoshoho is seeking his first yusho at the age of 23 and an elevation to near-Sanyaku status again.

It's an absolute style clash of a match. Takakeisho is short for a rikishi, built like a square, and is as pushing heavy as they come. Kotoshoho, by contrast, is tall with long arms, athletic, and generally has favored yorikiri. Kotoshoho will be more comfortable in a pushing battle than Takakeisho will be in a grappling duel, but he may still want to grab a hold on the Ozeki. That's usually the best way to beat Takakeisho, although it is also much easier said than done. Takakeisho has won their two previous matchups, but the last one was two years ago.

The Jun-Yusho is relatively straightforward as well. The loser of Takakeisho-Kotoshoho will definitely get it. If Onosho can beat Hoshoryu, he'll also be a Jun-Yusho winner. Same is true for Kiribayama, if he can beat Ryuden in what promises to be a very awkward grappling battle. Neither of those outcomes is guaranteed, although both are favorites considering the state of Hoshoryu's ankle.

Hoshoryu is one of eight rikishi still fighting for a winning record on Day Fifteen. Along with Kagayaki, who faces 3-11 Oho, he will not be seeing another wrestler going for kachi-koshi and an advance in (or stay at) his rank. Abi vs Tsurugisho, Tobizaru vs Kotoeko, and Hokutofuji vs Kotonowaka are all 7-7 matches on the final day. Tobizaru and Kotonowaka are looking for Sanyaku status in March, while everyone else just wants to go up rather than down.

But the main event on senshuraku will be the key match of the Hatsu basho. The undercard may hold attention, but the final match is where the action is. In a Yokozuna-less, single-Ozeki basho this hasn't exactly gone to plan, but it should deliver on action. Here's to a good finish.