 This win was considered a great upset as two poor performances had sent him down to "maegashira" 14 in the rankings, and Takatōriki faced demotion from "makuuchi" altogether.He won his first twelve matches, and though he was then defeated by "yokozuna" Akebono and Musashimaru, he clinched the championship by beating Miyabiyama to finish on 13–2.After his final bout, confirming his tournament win, Takatōriki was visibly shaken.