TORCHBEARER 2017

[shimodahito]

Good day all,
Here's how Nagoya is going....

start-of-Nagoya rikishi: WAKATAKAKAGE
start-of-Nagoya rank: MAKUSHITA 38 WEST

DAY 2: Makushita 38 West Wakatakakage (0-0) defeats Makushita 39 Takakento (0-0)
DAY 4: Makushita 38 West Wakatakakage (1-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 37 West Irie (1-0)

and now our first TORCH MATCH of Nagoya...on DAY 6!

RIKISHI
IRIE vs TOCHISEIRYU
RANK
MAKUSHITA 37 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 35 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
hitotsuboshi's rikishi pick is TOCHISEIRYU
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
1 point – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Good day,
Here's the Nagoya TORCH MATCH recap.

start-of-Nagoya rikishi: WAKATAKAKAGE
start-of-Nagoya rank: MAKUSHITA 38 WEST

DAY 2: Makushita 38 West Wakatakakage (0-0) defeats Makushita 39 Takakento (0-0)
DAY 4: Makushita 38 West Wakatakakage (1-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 37 West Irie (1-0)
DAY 6: Makushita 37 West Irie (2-0) defeats Makushita 35 East Tochiseiryu (2-0) [1 point hitotsuboshi]
DAY 7: Makushita 37 West Irie (3-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 35 West Aokishin (3-0)
DAY 9: Makushita 35 West Aokishin (4-0) defeats Makushita 42 West Kaito (4-0)
DAY 11: Makushita 35 West Aokishin (5-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 53 East Ryusei (5-0)
DAY 13: Makushita 53 East Ryusei (6-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 11 East Yago (6-0)

end-of-Nagoya rikishi: YAGO
end-of-Nagoya rank: MAKUSHITA 11 EAST

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Good day all:
The TORCH is in Juryo!

start-of-Aki rikishi: YAGO
start-of-Aki rank: JURYO 13 WEST

good luck to all in the zone.

[shimodahito]

It’s been a very long time since shimodahito has been in a TORCH MATCH! Let’s get this Aki started:

RIKISHI
YAGO vs DAISEIDO
RANK
JURYO 13 WEST vs JURYO 14 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
shimodahito's rikishi pick is DAISEIDO
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Will the TORCH drop back to Makushita so soon? Day 2:

RIKISHI
DAISEIDO vs KITATAIKI
RANK
JURYO 14 EAST vs MAKUSHITA 1 WEST

Player(s) up for points:
shimodahito's rikishi pick is DAISEIDO
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
3 points – shimodahito
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

The TORCH did drop to Makushita thanks to Ms1W Kitataiki. That’s good news for Itachi as he will join the nonet with points. So here we are on Day 5:

RIKISHI
KITATAIKI vs DAISHOHO
RANK
MAKUSHITA 1 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 5 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
Itachi's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 5 EAST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Three players in the game for the TORCH MATCH on Day 7:

RIKISHI
DAISHOHO vs MASUNOSHO
RANK
MAKUSHITA 5 EAST vs MAKUSHITA 3 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
Itachi's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 5 EAST
Tenshinhan's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 3 EAST
Terarno's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 3 EAST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
3 points -- Itachi
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

All the Juryo pickers will be rooting for Masunosho wins to get the TORCH back to Juryo: Here’s the Day 9 TORCH MATCH:

RIKISHI
MASUNOSHO vs MITORYU
RANK
MAKUSHITA 3 EAST vs MAKUSHITA 14 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
Tenshinhan's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 3 EAST
Terarno's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 3 EAST
Ryoshishokunin's rikishi pick is MITORYU
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points -- Itachi
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
3 points – Tenshinhan
3 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Everyone gets to four points, then…… pow!  Let’s see how Ryoshishokunin does on Day 11:

RIKISHI
MITORYU vs TOCHIMARU
RANK
MAKUSHITA 14 EAST vs MAKUSHITA 20 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
Ryoshishokunin's rikishi pick is MITORYU
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points - Itachi
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
3 points -- Ryoshishokunin
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Final Aki TORCH MATCH – Day 13:

RIKISHI
MITORYU vs KAGAMIO
RANK
MAKUSHITA 14 EAST vs MAKUSHITA 49 WEST

Player(s) up for points:
Ryoshishokunin's rikishi pick is MITORYU
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
6 points – Ryoshishokunin
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Itachi
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Good day all,

We finished Aki basho with a quartet of 7-point leaders. The TORCH was passed in 6 of the 7 contests. Here’s the Aki TORCH review:

DAY 1: Juryo 13 West Yago (0-0) passes the TORCH to Juryo 14 East Daiseido (0-0) [3 points shimodahito]
DAY 2: Juryo 14 East Daiseido (1-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 1 West Kitataiki (1-0) [1 point shimodahito]
DAY 5: Makushita 1 West Kitataiki (2-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 5 East Daishoho (2-0) [3 points Itachi]
DAY 7: Makushita 5 East Daishoho (3-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 3 East Masunosho (3-0) [1 point Itachi; 3 points Tenshinhan & Terarno]
DAY 9: Makushita 3 East Masunosho East (4-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 14 East Mitoryu (4-0) [1 point Tenshinhan & Terarno; 3 points Ryoshishokunin]
DAY 11: Makushita 14 East Mitoryu (5-0) defeats Makushita 20 East Tochimaru (5-0) [3 points Ryoshishokunin]
DAY 13: Makushita 14 East Mitoryu (6-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 49 West Kagamio (6-0) [1 point Ryoshishokunin]
A classic battle for the yusho.

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Itachi
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

Kyushu Basho will decide who wins the prize for TORCH 2017!
With the banzuke out, our TORCH is with:

RIKISHI: Kagamio
RANK: Makushita 5 West

Gambatte!

[shimodahito]

Yes, there was a TORCH MATCH on Kyushu Day 1!!!:

RIKISHI
KAGAMIO vs SATOYAMA
RANK
MAKUSHITA 5 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 5 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
Yubinhaad's rikishi pick is SATOYAMA
Itachi's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 5 EAST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Sukubidubidu
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Itachi
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi

[shimodahito]

With Day 1 points awarded, Yubinhaad joins the standings, while Itachi moved into sole possession of second place.

Then:
DAY 3: Makushita 5 West Kagamio (1-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 6 West Asabenkei (1-0)
DAY 6: Makushita 6 West Asabenkei (2-0) defeats Makushita 8 East Kotodaigo (2-0)

Which takes us to the TORCH MATCH on Kyushu Day 7:

RIKISHI
ASABENKEI vs MITORYU
RANK
MAKUSHITA 6 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 4 EAST

Player(s) up for points:
Ryoshishokunin's rikishi pick is MITORYU
Jason's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 4 EAST
kuroimori's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 4 EAST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Sukubidubidu
5 points – Itachi
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Jason
4 points – kuroimori
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi
1 point – Yubinhaad

[shimodahito]

Ryoshishokunin is our new leader, but not in the TORCH MATCH on Kyushu Day 9:

RIKISHI
ASABENKEI vs TOCHIHIRYU
RANK
MAKUSHITA 6 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 10 WEST

Player(s) up for points:
Kiritsubaki's rikishi pick is TOCHIHIRYU
Nantonoyama's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 10 WEST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
8 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
5 points – Itachi
5 points – Jason
5 points – kuroimori
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi
1 point – Yubinhaad

[shimodahito]

We’re down to the last two TORCH MATCH’s of 2017 with three players getting a good chance to finish with the 25-point bonus. Here’s Kyushu Day 11:

RIKISHI
TOCHIHIRYU vs CHIYONOUMI
RANK
MAKUSHITA 10 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 27 WEST

Player(s) up for points:
Kiritsubaki's rikishi pick is TOCHIHIRYU
Tenshinhan's rikishi pick is CHIYONOUMI
Nantonoyama's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 10 WEST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
8 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
5 points – Itachi
5 points – Jason
5 points – kuroimori
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
3 points – Kiritsubaki
3 points – Nantonoyama
2 points – hitotsuboshi
1 point – Yubinhaad

[shimodahito]

The last TORCH MATCH’s of 2017 and there will be 25 TORCH POINTS no matter who wins! Here’s Kyushu Day 13:

RIKISHI
TOCHIHIRYU vs KIRIBAYAMA
RANK
MAKUSHITA 10 WEST vs MAKUSHITA 49 WEST

Player(s) up for points:
Kiritsubaki's rikishi pick is TOCHIHIRYU
Itachi's rikishi pick is KIRIBAYAMA
Nantonoyama's rank pick is MAKUSHITA 10 WEST
a loss = 1 point, but a win = 3 points and an opportunity for more points in the next torch match

standings:
8 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
6 points – Kiritsubaki
6 points – Nantonoyama
5 points – Itachi
5 points – Jason
5 points – kuroimori
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi
1 point – Tenshinhan
1 point – Yubinhaad

[shimodahito]

Before we get to the TORCH POINT distribution, here is the Kyushu TORCH MATCH summary:

start-of-Kyushu rikishi: KAGAMIO
start-of-Kyushu rank: MAKUSHITA 5 WEST
 
DAY 1: Makushita 5 West Kagamio (0-0) defeats Makushita 5 East Satoyama (0-0) [1 point Itachi & Yubinaad]
DAY 3: Makushita 5 West Kagamio (1-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 6 West Asabenkei (1-0)
DAY 6: Makushita 6 West Asabenkei (2-0) defeats Makushita 8 East Kotodaigo (2-0)
DAY 7: Makushita 6 West Asabenkei (3-0) defeats Makushita 4 East Mitoryu (3-0) [1 point Jason & kuroimori & Ryoshishokunin]
DAY 9: Makushita 6 West Asabenkei (4-0) passes the TORCH to Makushita 10 West Tochihiryu (4-0) [3 points Kiritsubaki & Nantonoyama]
DAY 11: Makushita 10 West Tochihiryu (5-0) defeats Makushita 27 West Chiyonoumi (5-0) [1 point Tenshinhan; 3 points Kiritsubaki & Nantonoyama]
DAY 13: Makushita 10 West Tochihiryu (6-0) defeats Makushita 49 West Kiribayama (6-0) [1 point Itachi; 3 points Kiritsubaki & Nantonoyama]

end-of-2017 rikishi: TOCHIHIRYU
end-of-2017 rank: MAKUSHITA 10 WEST

standings:
9 points – Kiritsubaki
9 points – Nantonoyama
8 points – Ryoshishokunin
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
6 points – Itachi
5 points – Jason
5 points – kuroimori
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – shimodahito
4 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Terarno
2 points – hitotsuboshi
1 point – Tenshinhan
1 point – Yubinhaad

[shimodahito]

good day all,
   The 2017 TORCH prize is ready to be sent out to the winner.  We had 25-point bullseye picks for both rank (from Nantonoyama) and rikishi (from Kiritsubaki).  Both were tied for the lead so congrats to both players.  Will they remain tied after all the points are tallied?
   There were fewer players who accumulated TORCH MATCH POINTS this year, but they are all bunched tightly with the co-leaders (Nantonoyama & Kiritsubaki) having only nine points.  It’s now time to award the end-of-year FINAL TORCH POINTS.  To recap the rules for end-of-year TORCH POINTS, 25 points are awarded if you picked the FINAL TORCH position.  Additional points are awarded to the next 10 closest picks.  (10 points to the closest pick, down to 1 point for the 10th closest pick).
  
We’ll start with the END-OF-YEAR TORCH POINTS for RANK.  Nantonoyama made the correct TORCH RANK pick at MAKUSHITA 10 WEST for 25 points; but Saruyama was only one rank off the mark for 10 points.  In all, 13 players earned FINAL TORCH RANK points.

MAKUSHITA 4 EAST........(1 point: Jason & kuroimori)
MAKUSHITA 4 WEST........(2 points: ryafuji)
MAKUSHITA 5 EAST........(3 points: Itachi)
MAKUSHITA 5 WEST........
MAKUSHITA 6 EAST........
MAKUSHITA 6 WEST........
MAKUSHITA 7 EAST........(5 points: Ayagawa)
MAKUSHITA 7 WEST........(6 points: Taiga)
MAKUSHITA 8 EAST........
MAKUSHITA 8 WEST........(7 points: Domichi)
MAKUSHITA 9 EAST........
MAKUSHITA 9 WEST........(9 points: Hoshihitomi)
MAKUSHITA 10 EAST.......(10 points: Saruyama)
FINAL TORCH RANK: MAKUSHITA 10 WEST (25 points: Nantonoyama)
MAKUSHITA 11 EAST.......
MAKUSHITA 11 WEST.......
MAKUSHITA 12 EAST.......(8 points: shimodahito)
MAKUSHITA 12 WEST.......
MAKUSHITA 13 EAST.......
MAKUSHITA 13 WEST.......
MAKUSHITA 14 EAST.......
MAKUSHITA 14 WEST.......(4 points: Obana)
MAKUSHITA 15 EAST.......
MAKUSHITA 15 WEST.......
MAKUSHITA 16 EAST.......(3 points: Kiritsubaki)
MAKUSHITA 16 WEST.......
MAKUSHITA 17 EAST.......

The FINAL TORCH RANK points put Nantonoyama into the lead with 34 points, Kiritsubaki & shimodahito tied for 2nd place with 12 points, and Suruyama in 3rd place with 10 points.

Next, the END-OF-YEAR TORCH POINTS for RIKISHI.  Kiritsubaki scored 25 points with the correct TORCH RIKISHI pick, TOCHIRYU.  In all, 12 players earned FINAL TORCH RIKISHI points.

TAKANOSHO......
TAKAGENJI......(1 point: charliki)
YAGO...........
KITATAIKI......
TOBIZARU.......
KITAHARIMA.....
KIZENRYU.......
DAISHOHO.......
SHIMANOUMI.....
MITORYU........(4 points: Ryoshishokunin)
AKUA...........
SATOYAMA.......(5 points: Yubinhaad)
KAGAMIO........
ASAHISHO.......(7 points: Fatakiyama)
ASABENKEI......
KIZAKI.........(8 points: Gurowake)
HOKAHO.........
KOTODAIGO......
TOCHIMARU......
AKISEYAMA......(10 points: Nantonoyama)
DEWAHAYATE.....
TAKARYU........
FINAL TORCH RIKSHI: TOCHIHIRYU...(25 points: Kiritsubaki)
WAKAMOTOHARU...
TAKAYOSHITOSHI.
WAKATAKAKAGE...
GOKUSHINDO.....
HAKUYOZAN......
TOYONOSHIMA....(9 points: Pandaazuma)
JOKORYU........
ENHO...........
TAMAKI.........(7 points: Tsuchinoninjin)
TERAO..........(6 points: Ajisen)
OIWATO.........
IRODORI........
AKINOHANA......
TENKAIHO.......
FUKUGORIKI.....
SHONANNOUMI....(3 points: Senkoho)
TSURUBAYASHI...
NOGAMI.........
FUJIAZUMA......(2 points: ryafuji)
SHIBA..........
HAMAYUTAKA.....
DAISHORYU......

With all the points added, our final standings:

44 points – Nantonoyama
37 points – Kiritsubaki
12 points – Ryoshishokunin
12 points – shimodahito
10 points – Saruyama
9 points – Hoshihitomi
9 points – Itachi
9 points – Pandaazuma
8 points – Gurowake
7 points – Achiyama
7 points – Domichi
7 points – Fatakiyama
7 points – Pitinosato
7 points – Sukubidubidu
7 points – Tsuchinoninjin
6 points – Ajisen
6 points – Jason
6 points – kuroimori
6 points – Taiga
6 points – Yubinhaad
5 points – Ayagawa
5 points – Tenshinhan
4 points – Chisaiyama
4 points – Obana
4 points – Ryafuji
4 points – Shokikogi
4 points – Terarno
3 points – Senkoho
2 points – hitotsuboshi
1 point – Gibuten

   The two 25-point leaders had quite a contest.  With Kiritsubaki getting 3 rank points, Nantonoyama pulled out what may be the closest TORCH pick ever.  His rank pick was bullseye; and rikishi pick was just three away from bullseye, but 10 points.  I should also make note that this is Nantonoyama’s rookie year in TORCH, so big congrats to to him and Kiritsubaki. 
   Kudos also to ryafuji, another rookie, who was the only other player to pick up FINAL TORCH RANK and FINAL TORCH RIKISHI points.
…For those keeping tabs on how often the 25-point TORCH bullseye is achieved:
         2011 – 3
         2012 – 1
         2015 – 3
         2016 – 3
         2017 – 2
   Thanks for participating and I hope you all can update your pick or, if a new player, submit a pick for next year. You can send your TORCHBEARER 2018 picks to me now, or wait until the Hatsu banzuke is released.  An invite (with rules for new players) will be out soon.  Pick one rank and one rikishi where you think the TORCH will be at the end of the year.  This sumo game has a prize.  New players are always welcome.

Again, thanks.
-shimodahito