Had any self-respecting sumo writer or fan been asked to predict the final score of ozeki Kaio prior to the Kyushu Basho, few would have predicted anything more than an 8-7 or perhaps 9-6 kachikoshi winning record.

Sniggering would have been audible had it been suggested he would put together a healthy double-figure winning record for the first time in three and a half years, that he would challenge yokozuna Hakuho for the title and go into the final weekend just one win off the pace considered as likely as the national soccer team walking off with the FIFA World Cup any time soon.

But, to his credit, he did all of this and more. Despite a first-day loss to the wily old Aminishiki, in which Kaio looked decidedly lackluster, he bounced back to win the next 11 bouts straight. Defeating Kisenosato in the process — the man responsible for ending Hakuho's bid to break Futabayama's 69-bout unbeaten record — both sekiwake, and both komusubi, Kaio was on a roll.