Yet another dramatic sumo tournament is in the books.
With highs and lows worthy of any summer blockbuster, the September Basho followed a twisting narrative all the way down to the wire once again, before eventually crowning the latest in a series of surprise champions.
Shodai’s victory now brings the number of men in the top tier with title-winning experience to eleven, meaning, incredibly, that fully one quarter of all wrestlers in the makuuchi division have lifted the Emperor’s Cup at some stage in their career.