Sumo community
Like I was saying, spoilers in comments... The image is from back in the first day...
My guess, Hosh > Ono, Ao > Koto (but K looks good this basho!), Atami > Oshou --> Ao > Atami in playoff.
The biggest/closest/consequentialest match is Aonishiki vs Kotozakura. I don't think they've met previously without K being injured, so it could really go either way.
But yeah, like uh, wow, there are some permutations here, man.
I'm cheering for Aonishiki. I'm an Onosato fan too, but for him to win he'd have to fight at least 3 bouts in a row, and that's gotta be bad for his injury.
I also want everyone to win, but most of all for Aonishiki.
now
can there be 3 yokozunas?
Yes there can be 3 yokozunas. As I understand it, it's very unlikely for Aonishiki to be yokozuna after this tournament, but after next tournament it is possible depending on what happens. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makuuchi#Criteria_for_promotion
indeed
The de facto standard is to win two consecutive championships as ōzeki or an equivalent performance.
WAU so if I understand it correctly, current standings are:
3-losses: Aonishiki, Atamifuji
4-losses: Onosato, Kirishima, Abi, Oshoumi.
and last-day matchups are:
Kotozakura vs Aonishiki
Oshoumi vs Atamifuji
Hoshoryu vs Onosato
Kirishima vs Abi
so in terms of outcomes looks like we have a 4-bit binary number, right?
click here to see all possibilities
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura WIN vs Aonishiki LOSE , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi WIN vs Atamifuji LOSE , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu WIN vs Onosato LOSE , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima WIN vs Abi LOSE
Kotozakura LOSE vs Aonishiki WIN , Oshoumi LOSE vs Atamifuji WIN , Hoshoryu LOSE vs Onosato WIN , Kirishima LOSE vs Abi WIN
so we can partition this up into a couple different scenarios:
Scenario 1: Aonishiki Wins and Atamifuji Loses: In this case, Aonishiki is the champion.
Scenario 2: Atamifuji Wins and Aonishiki Loses: In this case, Atamifuji is the champion.
Scenario 3: Both Atamifuji and Aonishiki Win: In this case, Atamifuji and Aonishiki battle each other in a playoff.
Scenario 4: Aonishiki and Atamifuji Lose, Onosato Loses: In the remaining scenarios, Oshoumi wins, because he was fighting Atamifuji (who loses in the remaining scenarios). If Onosato loses, then we have a 3-way tie between Aonishiki, Atamifuji, and the winner of Kirishima vs Abi, to be resolved with a series of play-offs.
Scenario 5: Aonishiki and Atamifuji Lose, Onosato Wins: And in this last scenario, Onosato wins and we have a FOUR way play-off between Aonishiki, Atamifuji, (e: and Onosato) and the winner of Kirishima vs Abi. MAXIMUM SUMO EXCITEMENT!!!
He did the math.
What's also interesting is the ordering of the championship-relevant bouts:
A NIGHT OF HYPE!!! idk about y'all, but I'm planning on staying up.
The hype is real.