In the best final-day showdown in years, Mongolia”s Harumafuji outlasted arch-rival Hakuho to win his second straight tournament with a perfect 15-0 record and assure himself of promotion to sumo”s highest rank–ending Hakuho”s two-and-a-half year run as the sport”s only yokozuna.

Harumafuji”s victory at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo”s Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 23 is the fourth championship title of his career. Hakuho, who was one loss behind going in, was hoping to claim his 23rd title by beating his fiery compatriot and forcing a tie-breaker.

In a bout that took nearly two minutes, Harumafuji and Hakuho gave it everything they had. Hakuho got the early advantage with a right-hand hold, but Harumafuji refused to give up. He kept his head down and worked hard to get inside as Hakuho struggled to take advantage of his position.

Harumafuji slipped his left in and suddenly the yokozuna was the one in trouble. Harumafuji moved him back to the edge twice, only to have Hakuho fight his way out. But then Harumafuji unleashed a throw, and though Hakuho tried desperately to keep his balance, Harumafuji finally overpowered him.

“I gave all my strength in today”s bout,” Harumafuji said. “I thank my ancestors and my parents. … I have been very fortunate.”

In the bout before the finale, Kakuryu blasted Kisenosato out of the ring in the tournament”s final battle of the ozeki. The Mongolian was in control all the way, as Kisenosato offered surprisingly little resistance. It was the 11th win for Kakuryu–his best performance in his three outings at the rank–while Kisenosato has a 10-5 record.
Though Kakuryu and Kisenosato fared well, the current ozeki lineup is still full of problems. Three never finished the competition, as Baruto, Kotoshogiku and Kotooshu all pulled out with injuries. Of those three, Baruto is the only one who is reliably a contender for the championship, which is a shame.

Aside from Harumafuji”s tremendous effort, the tournament did provide some rays of hope for the future, however. New sekiwake Myogiryu ended on a sour note, as No. 4 maegashira Aminishiki shut him down at the face-off and thrust him off balance and into a losing stumble. Both have 10-5 records. But Myogiryu has had a great tournament nevertheless, and has a lot of promise. He has speed and a good feel for the ring, which he used to take down two ozeki–Baruto and Kakuryu.

“I”m very happy,” Myogiryu said of being awarded his third-consecutive special prize for technique, the first time that has happened in 25 years. “I want to continue improving my abilities.” Sekiwake Goeido wasn”t in the mood for any last-minute surprises and pounded into No. 11 maegashira Kyokutenho to set up a winning drive forward that puts him at 8-7 for the tournament. Kyokutenho, who pulled off a shocking performance that was good enough to win him the championship title in May at age 37, has once again been outstanding. He marked 10 wins.

In a largely unsuccessful attempt to prove himself at his highest rank yet, Bulgarian komusubi Aoiyama held No. 6 maegashira Tokitenku at bay with an effective throat thrust, but didn”t have a followup attack. As soon as Tokitenku broke free, Aoiyama fell forward to his 11th loss.

Komusubi Tochinoshin tricked maegashira No. 7 Miyabiyama (5-10) at the face-off following a false start and goes home with a somewhat disappointing six wins. The Georgian lacks consistency and when matched up against tougher opponents he often doesn”t rise to the occasion. His only upset was over Myogiryu, and that came after he lost all of his first six matches.

In other bouts in the lower ranks, No. 3 maegashira Homasho won his ninth match and could be looking at a promotion to komusubi. He defeated three ozeki opponents and a sekiwake, along with his final-day victory over top maegashira Kaisei, so the content of his win-loss record has been impressive.

No. 9 maegashira Takayasu closed out at 10-5 with a loss to No. 6 maegashira Masunoyama, and No. 8 maegashira Okinoumi fared even better, driving No. 5 maegashira Tochiozan out of the ring for his 11th win.