NAGOYA BASHO CHAOS: Aonishiki, Kirishima & Atamifuji in a Triple Playoff

The Nagoya Basho 2026 ended the only way this insane tournament could: with three men tied at 12-3 and a triple playoff for the Emperor's Cup. Aonishiki, Kirishima and Atamifuji all finished Day 15 level, forcing a sudden-death format at IG Arena where a wrestler had to win two straight bouts to take the yusho. In this video we break down the full playoff, bout by bout, plus the Day 15 matches that set it up. This July basho was chaos long before the final day. Yokozuna Hoshoryu withdrew on Day 14 with a knee injury, Ozeki Kirishima saw his yokozuna promotion hopes slip away, and Sekiwake Aonishiki fought through heavy taping on a damaged left foot to stay in the yusho race. Add Atamifuji peaking at exactly the right moment and you get one of the wildest finishes in recent grand sumo history — a tournament that flipped its leaderboard almost every single day. SumoSpirit covers every honbasho with full highlights, playoff breakdowns and post-basho analysis, from the ozeki and yokozuna races to the rikishi nobody saw coming. If you want to understand not just who won but how and why, you're in the right place. If you enjoyed this one, drop a LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to SumoSpirit for full sumo highlights, basho recaps and sumo news — and hit the bell so you don't miss the Aki Basho in September. #sumo #nagoyabasho2026 #aonishiki #kirishima #atamifuji #grandsumo #ozumo #sumohighlights