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It's time for the second sumo tournament of 2019, this time in Osaka. It'll be an exciting one as always, and since I won't have a lot of time to make another long intro post, this will be a pretty short one.
Without further ado let's get to the rankings:
Debuting Wrestlers: We have three wrestlers making their debuts in the top division this tournament. Daishoho, Terutsuyoshi, and Tomokaze will be stepping up to the big stage for the first time, and while Daishoho and Terutsuyoshi are coming off of 8-7 tournaments, Tomokaze is coming in with a lot of momentum. He's never gotten a losing record, and blew through Juryo in two tournaments with a 12-3 Yusho-winning tournament and a 10-5 in January. He has the 4th fastest rise to the top division in history, so it will be interesting to see how he does.
Return of a Fan Favorite: After almost 3 years finally Toyonoshima is coming back to the top division. His return to the top division is one of the things I'm looking forward to most for this tournament. I really can't wait, and I hope he's able to show even a fraction of what made him so great.
Defending Champion: Jumping way up, obviously one of the biggest talking points for this tournament will be the January Yusho winner Tamawashi. His championship tournament was a fantastic display of what he can do when he's at his best, and I'd love to see him follow up with another strong performance.
Promotion Opportunity: Alongside him at Sekiwake will be Takakeisho, also coming off an excellent tournament. He may have fallen short of the Yusho, but his good record kept his Ozeki run safe, and he'll now have an opportunity to earn his promotion. A double-digit winning tournament would probably seal the promotion for him, despite the reticence of the NSK to promote another "weak" Ozeki.
Redemption? Same old story for all of the Ozeki and Yokozuna wrestlers. Tochinoshin will be Kadoban this tournament and facing demotion with a losing record. His Ozeki compatriots will have to bounce back with better tournaments after both only going 9-6 in Januuary. And after leaving the tournament early in January both Kakuryu and Hakuho will be looking to show some Yokozuna pride and put in a good performance. Hakuho at least stepped out after getting 10 wins, but Kakuryu will have to show something here.
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That's it!
Stay tuned to Kintamayama's YouTube Channel for daily highlights of the top division, and check out Robert Mensing's YouTube Channel for English versions of the NHK digest episodes (although I don't think they include all of the top division matches). Or go straight to the source, on NHK World's Sumo website. There's also a great blog at tachiai.org with news and information.
For a slightly more updated and longer viewing guide, I'll include a post I made in the January thread with more options:
because it's taking place in Japan, it's not too convenient to watch live from the US (top division matches will start at like 2AM EST), but here are the options for watching the sport live:
NHK, the channel that broadcasts sumo in japan, has a global version NHK World which should be streaming at least the opening day on their website, maybe here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/vod/sumolive/
Mbovo on twitch broadcasts live every day of the tournament here:
japanese streaming site Abema TV streams sumo live every day (starting with the lowest ranks really early in the day, all the way up to the top division) here: https://abema.tv/channels/world-sports/slots/8W8CNEEd69AjxT
Abema TV's stream isn't the same as the NHK broadcast, and they have their own commentators and graphics, and it's all in japanese.
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options for watching later:
Kintamayama on youtube uploads highlights from the top division, which will probably get posted in this thread every day.
Robert Mensing (and others) on youtube upload the NHK highlights of each day's top division matches with english commentary. they don't include every top division match, but the English commentary is very useful.
MISELET also on youtube uploads the Abema stream, with the different divisions getting their own long videos.
it's pretty easy to find the day's matches on youtube these days, and there are a lot of choices.
NHK, the channel that broadcasts sumo in japan, has a global version NHK World which should be streaming at least the opening day on their website, maybe here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/vod/sumolive/
Mbovo on twitch broadcasts live every day of the tournament here:
japanese streaming site Abema TV streams sumo live every day (starting with the lowest ranks really early in the day, all the way up to the top division) here: https://abema.tv/channels/world-sports/slots/8W8CNEEd69AjxT
Abema TV's stream isn't the same as the NHK broadcast, and they have their own commentators and graphics, and it's all in japanese.
---------------------------------
options for watching later:
Kintamayama on youtube uploads highlights from the top division, which will probably get posted in this thread every day.
Robert Mensing (and others) on youtube upload the NHK highlights of each day's top division matches with english commentary. they don't include every top division match, but the English commentary is very useful.
MISELET also on youtube uploads the Abema stream, with the different divisions getting their own long videos.
it's pretty easy to find the day's matches on youtube these days, and there are a lot of choices.
And as usual, for anyone who'll be watching the sport for the first time, please feel free to ask any questions you might have here and someone will try to answer them. Also be sure to check out my Introduction to SUMO thread for a brief (although probably outdated at this point) overview of the sport.
Hakke-yoi!
(as usual I'll just @ everyone that has posted in recent sumo threads)
@babycart @EL CORINTHIAN @shincheckin @rmongler @JkMMA @PurpleStorm @Asurah @Sano @josh from md @Okajima @RJ Green @winterbike @LC Shepard @Bluesbreaker @hyu244 @s_o_c_a_r @Slick_36 @Senshi @Muppettoker @argy-bargy @Edison Carasio @ChainFlow @Oshime2 @DatCutman @catchwrestle @rodgerdodger @cw1234 @Sapp @Apollo33 @MoreKane
