Tobizaru leads off the day by henka-ing Wakanosho. Not sure if that's an auspicious sign.

A slow tachiai from both Mitakeumi and Oshoumi, and they fumble at each other for a bit til Mita comes with a beltless throw. Osho landed on Mita's right knee as he fell and he limps a bit getting up.

Tamawashi stands Fujiryoga up from the initial clash with some throat work but they slip past each other during Tama's drive. Both look for position on the recovery and Fuji slaps Tama down hard as he reads the incoming momentum.

Ura liking that low tachiai this basho but Kotoeiho shuts down the brunt of the charge. Ura works forward while defending Koto's left from reaching his belt, then he circles for a pull down but runs out of ring and they both go tumbling off the dohyo and Ura lands feet pointing to the ceiling. Kotoeiho's arm was down first and he gets the overarm throw win. Was that Abi (again) that they fell into sitting ringside?

Shishi with a false start against Asanoyama, then when they start for real he's on the back foot the entire time and gets shoved out.

Nishikifuji with good position against Kinbozan and takes him to the bales, but can't finish the job and Kinbozan answers back with an overarm throw for the win.

Abi and Chiyoshoma slap at each other off the line and then Chiyo grabs an arm and drags him by, finishing with a slap down.

Churanoumi and Asahakuryu have a defensive hand fight in the center until Asa loses a bit of ground, then Chura gets a front belt grip that he pivots hard to use to walk Asa across the entire ring and out.

A lot of slaps and drags and then more slaps as neither Oshoma nor Fujiseiun can get a decent position, but Oshoma finds a two-handed arm drag that gets him behind Fuji for a rear force out.

Asakoryu comes out fast and hard against Shodai and gets a double inside grip despite not being able to move the bigger man very far. Shodai defends with an arm bar with his right but then he lets it go, maybe to goad Asa, who responds with a drive that Shodai redirects for a slap down.

Wakamotoharu goes for a parry off the tachiai that wasn't really a henka because there was some solid contact. Ichiyamamoto gets redirected all the way to the straw and WMH follows up and shoves him off the ring.

Yoshinofuji and Wakanosho have a strong shoving match to start and Yoshi gets backed up to put a foot on the edge. He manages to catch an outside left and uses Waka's neck to get the throw down. However his hand was close to going down first as they fell and a redo is called. Yoshi goes for another strong neck throw for the kubinage this time.

Fujinokawa has a fierce initial drive but Wakatakakage gets an outside grip and circles. They end up back in the center and WTK's positioning prowess maneuvers Fuji into a position where he gets pushed across the ring out and off the side.

Hiradoumi drives Kotozakura back off the tachiai, then when the ozeki recovers takes him again all the way back to the straw. He can't quite finish as the big man teeters on the edge and bodies his way back into the ring, but Hiradoumi has had enough and on his third attempt puts Koto over the edge using the same left outside/front belt grip he never let go for the entire match.

Oho defends Kirishima's inside grip and repositions to take Kiri to the edge, but his right foot is too strong and he shoves his way back to safety. Oho uses a double arm bar to shut down Kiri's grip, who pulls to create space for a better position. Oho's belt is loose but Kiri gets two hands on a front grip and then kicks his sagari away from his feet before going for a massive pull that spins Oho all the way to the other side and out. Another great match for Kiri here, just very smart sumo all day.

Kirishima stands alone at 6-0.

I feel like I'm writing a lot this tournament but there's a lot of exciting things to talk about in most of the matches so I can't help myself :)

Looking forward to the weekend!