An 8 man playoff in the July 2001 tournament. Each rikishi scored a 9-6. The wrestlers are currently drawing a number to see who they will face off against.
Kettei-sen (決定戦) is a playoff between two or more wrestlers in a division who are tied for the lead on the last day of the tournament.
Since 1947 a playoff system (kettei-sen) has been in place to determine the winner of the yusho if two or more wrestlers finish with an identical score. Until then, the yusho would go to whoever was the higher in rank, as it was presumed they had faced better quality opposition, but this caused controversy in 1928, when ozeki Hitachiiwa was chosen over maegashira Misugiiso despite the fact that one of his wins had come by default. There was similar criticism when new maegashira Chiyonoyama was denied a championship in November 1945, despite winning all his matches.
Playoffs with more than two wrestlers involved are fairly common in lower divisions, but have only happened a handful of times in the top division. A three way playoff occurred three times in the 1990s, with a four way playoff in March 1997 and a unique five way playoff in November 1996. In such cases lots are drawn to decide who fights first, and the first wrestler to win two consecutive bouts takes the yusho. A playoff is the only occasion in which wrestlers from the same stable (or heya) and relatives can meet in tournament competition. The wrestlers who have taken part in the most top division playoffs are Takanohana II with ten (won five, lost five) and Hakuho with ten (won six, lost four). Chiyonofuji has the highest percentage of victories, with a perfect 6-0 playoff record.
Implementation Methods According to the Number of Ties[]
| Number of Sumo Wrestlers | Implementation Method |
|---|---|
| 2 | The rikishi wrestle directly. Since there is no combination, there is no lottery, and higher ranks go up from the east side, regardless of if their rank itself is east or west. |
| 3 | The choices, "East", "West" and "O" are selected. The east and the west battle first, while the "O" is a reserve. The winner of the first match will face the reserve. If the winner of the original match also wins this match he takes the championship. If the reserve wins then he faces off against the loser of the first match. Overall first rikishi with two consecutive wins takes the championship. |
| 4 | Wrestlers will draw out of a lottery that says "East 1", "East 2", "West 1" and "West 2". This is an elimination style tournament where the "East 1" goes against "West 1" and "East 2" goes against "West 2" in the first round. The winner of the first round matches will advance to the finals where they will face off against each other for the championship. |
| 5 | Wrestlers will draw out of a lottery that says "East 1", "East 2", "West 1", "West 2" and "O". "O" is an automatic reserve for the second round. The first round is an elimination style tournament where the "East 1" goes against "West 1" and "East 2" goes against "West 2". With the winners of the first round and the reserve, there will be three remaining wrestlers. Then the method with three wrestlers (see row 3) will be implemented. |
| 6 | Wrestlers will draw out of a lottery that says "East 1", "East 2", "East 3", "West 1", "West 2" and "West 3". The first round matches will be: "East 1" vs "West 1", "East 2" vs "West 2", and "East 3" vs "West 3". After the first round, three wrestlers will remain, and the method used for three wrestlers (see row 3) will be implemented. |
| 7 | Wrestlers will draw out of a lottery that says "East 1", "East 2", "East 3", "West 1", "West 2", "West 3" and "O". "O" is an automatic reserve for the next round. The first round matches will be: "East 1" vs "West 1", "East 2" vs "West 2", and "East 3" vs "West 3". After the first round, four wrestlers will remain, and the method used for four wrestlers (see row 4) will be implemented. |
| 8 | Wrestlers will draw out of a lottery that says "East 1", "East 2", "East 3", "East 4", "West 1", "West 2", "West 3", and "West 4". This is an elimination style tournament where each east side wrestler will wrestle against the west side wrestler with the corresponding number. After the first round, four wrestlers remain and the method used for four wrestlers will be implemented. |
| 9 | Wrestlers will draw out a lottery that says "East 1 - East 4", "West 1 - West 4", and "O". "O" is an automatic reserve for the second round. In the first round, each east side wrestler will wrestle against the west side wrestler with the corresponding number. After the first round five wrestlers remain and the method used for five wrestlers will be implemented. |
| 10 | Wrestlers will draw out a lottery that says "East 1 - East 5" and "West 1 - West 5". In the first round, each east side wrestler will wrestle against the west side wrestler with the corresponding number. After the first round five wrestlers remain and the method used for five wrestlers will be implemented. |
| 11 | Wrestlers will draw out a lottery that says "East 1 - East 5", "West 1 - West 5", and "O". "O" is an automatic reserve for the second round. In the first round, each east side wrestler will wrestle against the west side wrestler with the corresponding number. After the first round six wrestlers remain and the method used for six wrestlers will be implemented. |
| 12 | Wrestlers will draw out a lottery that says "East 1 - East 6" and "West 1 - West 6". In the first round, each east side wrestler will wrestle against the west side wrestler with the corresponding number. After the first round six wrestlers remain and the method used for six wrestlers will be implemented. |