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Urban Taikō Opens With Defending Champ Out as Nippon Steel Setouchi Ends 14-Year Win Drought

Early shocks are sharpening the emphasis on in-game adjustments and the rapid integration of reinforcement players as teams pivot toward second-round tests.

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Overview

  • The 96th Urban Taikō Tournament opened at Tokyo Dome on August 28, with defending champion Mitsubishi Heavy Industries East falling 1–2 to NTT West in the first round.
  • On August 29, Nippon Steel Setouchi edged Nippon Express 4–3 for its first tournament victory in 14 years, powered in part by Keisuke Fukui’s two-run double.
  • Nippon Steel Setouchi advances to a September 3 second-round game against the winner of Sagimiya Seisakusho vs. TDK.
  • The Nippon Express–Nippon Steel Setouchi matchup featured a managers’ reunion, with Yukiaki Sawamura and Masaki Yoneda facing off as former Kumamoto Technical High School classmates.
  • Setouchi’s Yoneda highlighted slugger Kazusa Uchikura, left-hander Sosshi Sugimoto, and reinforcement Riku Nishiriku as keys, noting limited time to blend reinforcements into the roster.