he defeated Kyokutaisei. This culminated in a three man playoff between three members of the same Tatsunami stable. This playoff comprised himself, Akua, and Meisei. Bouts between stablemates are only allowed in the case of playoffs where two or more wrestlers end up with the same record, and is a rare occurrence. He was defeated by Meisei who went on to defeat Akua and take the championship. However, his performance was still enough to propel him into the top-tier makuuchi division for the September 2020 tournament. He is the 50th foreigner to reach the top division, and the 27th Mongolian. In the July 2021 tournament Hōshōryū had his best result in the top division up to that point, winning ten bouts and the Technique Prize. This saw him promoted to a new highest rank of maegashira 1 for September, but in that tournament he had to withdraw on Day 5 with only one win, due to injury. However he returned on Day 8 and won four of his remaining eight matches. In the January 2022 tournament he produced an 11–4 record. He was then promoted to san'yaku for the first time, ranked at komusubi for the March 2022 tournament. He achieved winning records in three consecutive tournaments at the komusubi rank, and earned promotion to sekiwake for the September 2022 tournament. In the November tournament, Hōshōryū stood up by winning his fifth bout with a rare kawazugake kimarite, a move not seen in 10 years. He was the outright leader of the tournament after Day 11 with just one loss, He ultimately finished on 11–4, but this was still his best performance to date in the san'yaku ranks and he received his 2nd Technique Prize of his career. Hōshōryū had hopes of promotion to if he produced double-digit wins in the next tournament, but he withdrew on Day 10 of the January 2023 tournament with a sprained left ankle. Hōshōryū returned to the tournament on Day 12 having missed just one day, and preserved his rank on the final day, winning his eighth match after his opponent Ōnoshō was disqualified for a hair pull. Fighting style Hōshōryū's Japan Sumo Association profile lists his preferred grip on his opponent's mawashi is migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. He is fond of using shitatenage (underarm throw) and yori kiri (force out). He also likes the outside leg trip or