The U.S. Sumo Open, one of the world’s premier sumo competitions, and the largest annual sumo tournament in the world outside of Japan, has been held all over Los Angeles for 13 years.
Now, a phalanx of 70-plus elite sumo wrestlers from 14 countries will face off in nearly 200 matches on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. (doors open at 12 p.m.) at the Walter Pyramid at California State University Long Beach, 1250 N. Bellflower Blvd. in Long Beach.
This is the only sumo tournament in the U.S. with this international roster, including athletes from the U.S, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Tonga, New Zealand, Japan, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Egypt, the U.K., Poland, and Russia. Twenty-five of them are current or former national or world sumo champions.
Four-time world sumo champion Byamba has won gold medals at the U.S. Sumo Open for seven straight years, amassing an astounding 68-1 record against some of the world’s best sumo wrestlers. Can he maintain his incredible winning streak with an eighth consecutive U.S. Sumo Open title?
Other competitors will include Boldsuk Adyakhuu of Mongolia, Sebastian Videla of Argentina, Erdenebileg Alagdaa of Mongolia, Ramy Belal of Egypt, Kena Heffernan of the U.S., Soslan Gagloev of Russia, and Mark Tanu of New Zealand.
Yama, said to be the heaviest Japanese person in history, will be a special guest.
The event will also feature taiko drumming, gourmet Japanese food from Shin Sen Gumi, Japanese beer (Sapporo) and sake (Hakutsuru).
Tickets: $25 (Upper Bleacher), $40 (Lower Bleacher), $70 (VIP Floor). Ringside seats are only for a few special guests. Children under 5 are free, when sitting on a parent’s lap. For reservations, go to LivingSocial.com or contact the Pyramid box office by calling (562) 985-4949 or clicking here. For special requests and groups, email tickets@usasumo.com. For more information, visit http://usasumo.com/ussumoopen2014.html.
Parking is $5 per vehicle for the entire day.
The competition will be broadcast nationwide on Universal Sports Network on Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern, 5 to 7 p.m. Pacific, and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern, 8 to 10 p.m. Pacific. Additional rebroadcasts to be announced.