Rules

Maegashira Game is a daily game without any pre-basho selection.  You may join the game at any time during the basho.  If you are a new player, please register your shikona (fighting name), your email address for confirmation emails and a password to access your entries.  Please log in to access the entry page.  You may change your shikona on the registration page before each basho.  Once you have made your first picks for the basho, your shikona will be locked until the next basho.   Your shikona is not linked to your log in name.  At the moment, there is no automated why of changing your log in name.  If you wish to do that, please contact Kofuji. 

Selections must be completed by 3:00 PM Japan Standard Time for each day of the basho.  The game will be available after the day one torikumi had been retrieved by the automated system.  The torikumi for the following day is usually retrieved about 15 minutes after each day's bouts are completed.

The Maegashira Game player selects three Maegashira rikishi each day. Only rikishi from all-Maegashira bouts can be chosen (i.e. bouts with Sanyaku or Juryo rikishi as opponents are not available for selection).  You cannot select two Maegashira rikishi fighting each other.  The entry form will enforce these rules by unchecking the opponent when a rikishi is checked and by allowing the submit button to be enabled only when exactly three rikishi have been selected. 

For each winning Maegashira rikishi selected, the player gets one victory point (maximum of three (3) per day), plus one bonus point for each Maegashira Game player selecting the rikishi that lost that bout. (It's those bonus points that really matter!)

There is no special treatment for fusen bouts (bouts where one rikishi does not appear due to injury).

Prizes

Yusho:

The player with the highest number of total points (victory+bonus) wins the yusho. Tie-breaker is the highest (second highest etc.) daily score.

Shukun-sho:

The player with the highest daily score wins the Shukun-sho. Tie-breaker is the second highest (etc.) daily score.

Gino-sho:

The player with the lowest number of zero-point days wins the Gino-sho. Tie-breaker is the is the lowest number of 1-point days, 2-point days, etc.

Kanto-sho:

The player with the highest total score on any five consecutive days wins the Kanto-sho. Tie-breaker is the better placement in the Shukun-sho standings.

Ranking

Ranking is based on the player's point results in prior bashos where the newer results are weighted more heavily than older ones. A Performance Value (PV) will be calculated for each player by normalizing the point for the Yusho winner to 100.

The PV is calculated as:
     PV = 0.6 * Prior PV + 0.4 * Normalized points

The calculation takes place automatically at the end of each basho. Player rankings are set by order of PV with the exception of kosho players

Kosho

Each player is allowed to request kosho status if he or she will be absent for a basho.  In order to obtain kosho status, you must use the registration page to request kosho between the announcement of the banzuke for the basho and the last day of the basho.  If you do not request kosho, you will not receive it automatically. 

In case of kosho, the new PV will be the same as the old PV and your place in the banzuke remains the same.  Because of this, there is a possibility that you will be ranked higher or lower on the banzuke than your PV would indicate.  If you are absent a second basho, your normalized points will be considered as 0 and you will fall down the banzuke.  If you are away three bashos in a row, you will be removed from the ranking.

Banzuke

The ranking structure is mapped into the banzuke by considering the highest ranked player the Maegashira Game Yokozuna.  The next two ranks are considered Ozeki, followed by two Sekiwake and two Komusubi.  The remainder of the top 42 players are considered Maegashira.  The following 28 will be Juryo, and so on.