Sekiwake Hoshoryu captured his first elite makuuchi-division championship after beating rank-and-file wrestler Hokutofuji in a playoff Sunday at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
The 24-year-old nephew of former Mongolian great Asashoryu is also set for promotion to ozeki after finishing with a 12-3 record that gives him 33 wins over three consecutive meets as a sekiwake, meeting a key benchmark to attain sumo's second-highest rank.