Before the New Year's Grand Sumo Tournament, most fans would have predicted that Hakuho, the reigning yokozuna, would claim his third successive Emperor's Cup, and 22nd title overall.
It was not to be.
In what was perhaps the most interesting basho for sumo fans for some years, four of the five ozeki finally stepped up to the plate and did their job properly — they ran neck and neck for much of the basho, gaps only appearing in Week No. 2 as the men in the uppermost ranks went against each other, and in the end, one of them walked off with his first Emperor's Cup.