Wall Racing's Title Decider Tomorrow: Level on 44 Points, Rivals Fight for the Crown at Separate Venues

Round 22, the wall-racing league's final round of the season, takes place on the 18th. As previously reported, Naniwa WC's 7-tiers-3-chains win over Tokei RC in Round 21 on the 11th left the two clubs level on 44 points heading into the season's final stretch. The title will be decided in a single night, but the matchups, announced on the 13th, mean the two leaders will not meet directly: Tokei RC hosts Hokuto at home at Kameido Second Wall, while Naniwa WC travels to Horikawa Wall to face Owari — different venues, different opponents, both climbing for the same title at the same hour.

League officials said on the 17th only that "the two teams level on points not settling it on the same wall is simply how the bracket fell. As every year, we won't be explaining how the standings are decided." This paper holds to its usual position of not delving into the tiers-and-chains rulebook either.

Tokei RC's home opponent, Hokuto, lost to them 6 tiers 3 chains to 6 tiers 1 chain back in Round 19 on Aug. 29, previously reported, and has struggled against the league's top sides this season. Hokuto's captain said, "A wall where the other side is chasing a title always feels harder than usual. All we can do is enjoy that hardness." Tokei RC's manager sounded wary in turn: "Hokuto's wall craft shouldn't be underestimated. If we crack anywhere, they're probably the ones who'd know it first."

Naniwa WC, meanwhile, heads into Horikawa Wall, home turf of Owari, which as previously reported denied Tokei RC a fourth straight win in Round 20 on Sept. 4 and remains unbeaten there all season. Naniwa WC captain Ushio Nadaoka, 29, known for a fast start as the team's first-leg specialist, said on the 17th, "A home wall tests you before it tests the other side. Whether our start is fast, or their wall is just hard, we won't know until we're on it." Owari's manager struck a confident note: "Unbeaten is a record, not a guarantee. Having a title on the line coming to us is, if anything, the right kind of wall for us."

Tokei RC's third-leg runner, Rui Migiwajima, 17, reached a personal-best tenth tier in Round 21, previously reported, even in defeat. Asked how she felt heading into a title-deciding match, she gave little away, as usual: "The wall never tells you what tomorrow's wall will be like. Today, same as always, I'm just going to sleep properly." League officials, with Migiwajima previously reported as a real contender to become the league's first teenage Athlete of the Month, again maintained that "individual records and match results are judged on separate criteria."

Advance tickets sold out at both Kameido Second Wall and Horikawa Wall by the 17th. Following the rapid sellouts of Rounds 20 and 21, previously reported, officials said the title-deciding round sold out faster than either at both venues. The league said there would be no same-day ticket sales, and Owari's local supporters' association is reportedly arranging a separate standing-room area for nearby residents at Horikawa Wall.

How the league would determine the title if the two level teams finish their separate matches with different opponents remains undisclosed in detail. As previously reported, the league has consistently declined to explain the meaning of tiers-and-chains scoring or its standings rules, and a spokesperson repeated that position on the 17th: "The rule exists as a rule, but we've never once explained what the numbers mean in print. That isn't changing this time." One longtime fan, 52, said, "Watching it through to the end without understanding it is, I think, the whole point of how you're meant to enjoy this sport."

As previously reported, the student wall-racing autumn qualifiers also have their semifinals scheduled for later this month, meaning both the professional and student sides of the sport reach their peaks in the second half of September. A federation official said, "Kameido Second Wall will be taken up by the pro final tomorrow. We're coordinating a separate venue and date for the student semifinals."

Weather for the 18th is expected to hold without major disruption, according to the TDA Forecast Division's briefing on the 17th. The permeation index in the East ward area around Kameido Second Wall is running at "Medium," with the TDA calling the chance of a Yuragi-related suspension "low, for now." The area around Horikawa Wall remains stable at "Low."

Tokei RC's manager closed by saying, "We've been called an all-around team all season. Tomorrow, that all-around strength gets proven in one night. I told the players just to climb the wall they always climb." Naniwa WC's Nadaoka was blunt: "Catching up from three points down to level was half our goal. The other half, our players decide for themselves tomorrow." This reporter noted: "Once again this season, no one has explained what being level on points actually means — tomorrow, on two different walls, an answer arrives anyway. I think that's exactly as it should be."