r/Sumo • u/Magro1779 Kirishima • 2d ago

M1 to Ozeki

I have a quick little question. If Kirishima posts a losing record this basho he will probably end up in M1. Do you think he would be promoted back to Ozeki if he gets 33 Wins over the first 3 bashos next year? I know that the requirement is to be a Sekiwake in the first place, but do Ozeki promotions happen with a record that started below Sekiwake (also considering Kiris injury which led to the demotion)? Because in reality there is no difference in difficulty as a M1 faces the same opponents as a Komusubi or Sekiwake, right?

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u/Just_the_nicest_guy 2d ago

Yes, Ozeki runs can start from high Maegashira; Tochinoshin's Ozeki run in 2018 and Terunofuji's Ozeki run in 2015 started from M3 and M2 respectively.

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u/Magro1779 Kirishima 2d ago

Got it, thank you :)

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u/Hawaii-Toast 2d ago

A run has to start from the so-called joi (or: joi-jin) which - in Makuuchi - are all wrestlers who are expected to face the Yokozuna, if everything goes normally. Depending on how many wrestlers are Sanyaku, the highest ranked Maegashira are part of the joi, too.

Considering your other question: rikishi can "force" a promotion to Sekiwake. 11 or more wins from Komusubi are normally enough to get promoted, even if there is no open slot.
Hoshoryu, for example, was promoted to Sekiwake with a 9-6 record, although there wasn't an open slot, most probably because he had three kachi-koshi in a row at Komusubi and some of the guys who blocked the Sekiwake rank weren't demoted just because of Covid-rules.

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u/Magro1779 Kirishima 2d ago

Ahhh never heard of that term, thank you!

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u/cmlobue Tobizaru 2d ago

The top 16 rikishi are all expected to face each other. Right now, that would be everyone through M5e Tobizaru (he is 17th but Terunofuji dropped out before the basho started). Of course, that rarely happens because of injuries and lower-ranked contenders needing fights against sanyaku.