Grand Sumo’s last tournament of the year is into its final week. The 2025 Kyushu basho (tournament) will end this Sunday (November 23) and crown the latest makuuchi (top division) champion. And, right now, there’s one man running away with it.
Scroll down to see where things stand after nine days of bouts and check out some key storylines currently playing out on the dohyo (ring).
2025 Kyushu Basho top division Day 9 standings
| Record | East | Rank | West | Record |
| 9-0 | Onosato 🇯🇵 | Yokozuna | Hoshoryu 🇲🇳 | 7-2 |
| 4-5 | Kotozakura🇯🇵 | Ozeki | ||
| 8-1 | Aoinishiki 🇺🇦 | Sekiwake | Oho 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 2-7 | Takanosho 🇯🇵 | Komusubi | Takayasu 🇯🇵 | 5-4 |
| 3-6 | Hakuoho 🇯🇵 | M1 | Wakatakakage 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 5-4 | Kirishima 🇲🇳 | M2 | Wakamotoharu 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 2-7 | Hiradoumi 🇯🇵 | M3 | Ura 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 4-5 | Tamawashi 🇲🇳 | M4 | Oshoma 🇲🇳 | 3-6 |
| 6-3 | Yoshinofuji 🇯🇵 | M5 | Shodai 🇯🇵 | 3-6 |
| 6-3 | Atamifuji 🇯🇵 | M6 | Onokatsu 🇲🇳 | 4-5 |
| 5-4 | Churanoumi 🇯🇵 | M7 | Abi 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 5-4 | Ichiyamamoto 🇯🇵 | M8 | Kinbozan 🇰🇿 | 3-6 |
| 4-5 | Midorifuji 🇯🇵 | M9 | Tobizaru 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 5-4 | Daieisho 🇯🇵 | M10 | Kotoshoho 🇯🇵 | 5-4 |
| 3-6 | Shishi 🇺🇦 | M11 | Roga 🇷🇺 | 5-4 |
| 6-3 | Fujinokawa 🇯🇵 | M12 | Tomokaze 🇯🇵 | 3-6 |
| 6-3 | Gonoyama 🇯🇵 | M13 | Mitakeumi 🇯🇵 | 4-5 |
| 4-5 | Ryuden 🇯🇵 | M14 | Tokihayate 🇯🇵 | 7-2 |
| 6-3 | Nishikifuji 🇯🇵 | M15 | Shonannoumi 🇯🇵 | 2-7 |
| 1-8 | Oshoumi 🇯🇵 | M16 | Sadanoumi 🇯🇵 | 3-6 |
| 5-4 | Chiyoshoma 🇲🇳 | M17 | Asakoryu 🇯🇵 | 6-3 |
| 0-0-9 | Meisei 🇯🇵 | M18 |
Onosato looking unstoppable
Onosato, the sports 75th yokozuna, is leading the tournament after nine days/bouts. He’s won all his matches, putting him one win ahead of his closest competitor. Onosato has managed to get off to nine win runs three times in his career. The last two times it happened he took home the cup.
Onosato’s excellence over his still quite young career has been astonishing. He won the last tournament, the aki basho, with a final day play-off win over fellow yokozuna Hoshoryu.
That was Onosato’s fifth career top division yusho (championship). He’s only competed in 12 of those. The 25 year-old is already on pace to break records and be one of the greatest wrestlers the sport has known (so long as he can stay clear of injuries). He’s the favourite in every tournament he enters and he’s proved just why this month.
Onosato’s Kyushu basho has seen him get through some tough bouts against both rising young wrestlers and crafty veterans. Onosato’s dominance has meant that many wrestlers save their best performance for when they face him, knowing that they need to be perfect to stand a chance against him.
Hoshoryu lurking in the wings
Onosato’s rival yokozuna Hoshoryu got off to a poor start in this tournament, losing to Hakuoho on Day 1. He regrouped after that, but then took a second loss on Day 6 against Wakamotoharu.
The Wakamotoharu match came with some controversy, though. Wakamotoharu beat Hoshoryu with a henka. The henka is when a wrestler chooses to avoid the contact during the opening clash and let their opponent run past them or fall face first into the dirt. Some viewers see the henka as a shameful move, unless it’s done by a smaller wrestler against a larger one. Wakamotoharu gave Hoshoryu a henka because that’s what Hoshoryu did to his little brother in the last tournament.
The cheeky move gave Wakamotoharu a big win over a man who typically owns him. Hoshoryu is 17-5 against Wakamotoharu across their careers.
Hoshoryu being two wins behind Onosato doesn’t sound like much, but means he has a difficult path to winning this title. He will back himself to beat Onosato when they meet on the final day. He has a commanding 7-2 record against him. But he’s also going to need someone else to beat Onosato sometime before Sunday. That’s not looking very likely right now.
Can Aonishiki break through?
Aonishiki might be the man to beat Onosato and perhaps even grab the title from under both the yokozuna‘s noses.
The 21 year-old phenom has lost just once this tournament, a henka at the hands of Wakatakakage (Wakamotoharu’s brother). Other than that the Ukrainian has continued to overwhelm opponents with his high octane mix of sumo and freestyle wrestling.
Aonishiki, who was promoted to sekiwake for this tournament, has finished with an 11-4 record in all four of his top division tournaments. These accomplishments have an ozeki promotion within his grasp. Should he make the rank, the one below yokozuna, he would be the first European born wrestler to do that since Tochinoshin in 2016.
Aonishiki is looking cut out for the rank above that, too. It seems, at this point, more likely than not that he will become the first ever European born yokozuna.
Despite all his potential, though, he’s still yet to win a yusho (or come very close). That all might change this month, if he can beat Onosato (something he’s yet to do in two attempts.
Other news and notes
Fujinokawa has been a star of the tournament thus far. The smallest man in the division might also be the most aggressive. He’s won a lot of fans with his no mercy style of sumo and he’s notched some wins over some decent (and much larger) opponents.
Fujinokawa, along with fellow youngsters Yoshinofuji, Atamifuji and Asakoryu, might just work themselves into a title run if all chaos breaks loose at the top of the banzuke (rankings).
Kotozakura, the only ozeki on the board, appears to still be working through knee injuries. He’s 4-5 and looking like he just wants to get the year over with already.
Hot prospect Fujiryoga is blowing through the competition in juryo (second division). He’s 8-1 in only his fifth senior tournament (and first which requires daily bouts).
Former top division champion Takerufuji is currently in juryo, thanks to a bicep injury that bounced him out the top division. He’s struggling with a 5-4 record.
More sumo content on Combat Press
Combat Press will provide more grand sumo coverage this month, including the final results for 2025 Kyushu basho (autumn tournament).
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