Bulgarian sekiwake Kotooshu will be looking to shed his "choker" label and make it third time lucky with victory at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament beginning in Fukuoka on Sunday.
Kotooshu looked set to become the first wrestler from Europe to capture the Emperor's Cup at the autumn meet but wilted under the pressure and surrendered a two-win lead before losing in a championship playoff to yokozuna Asashoryu.
Kotooshu also came within a whisker of winning at the Nagoya meet only to cave in on the final day.
With a shot at promotion to sumo's second rank of ozeki at stake this time around, the 22-year-old pin-up knows he can ill-afford another late collapse at the 15-day meet at Fukuoka Kokusai Center.