Something big is coming to Cedar Park. The Sumo Championship League is opening its inaugural season October 10 at H-E-B Center. After the Austin-area event, the league will move on to other cities as the season progresses.
Central Texans may already know that two San Antonio-area athletes are in the league representing them, and Austin claims one champion, too. The league will alternate wrestlers in round-robin play throughout the season. On September 28, it announced the 16-athlete competition field for the first event.
The Austin athlete is Jonithan “Jiva” Pilgrim, who, according to his Sumo Championship League bio, weighs 315 pounds and won the silver medal at the 2026 Florida State Sumo Championship. Pilgrim practices bhakti yoga, which is all about cultivating love and devotion.
The other Texas wrestlers on the first card are Dominus Davis-Williams from San Antonio, Edobor Konyeha from Jacksonville, and Jared Parham from Coppell. Davis-Williams (450 pounds) won the 2025 International Sumo World Championships Bronze Medal, Konyeha (200 pounds) is the 2024-2026 US National Lightweight Champ, and Parham is the 2026 Empire Cup Light Heavyweight Champion.
More Texas athletes are part of the league and will compete in upcoming events. They are Konner Kane from New Braunfels (255 pounds), Jared Parham from Irving (254 pounds), and Jared Tadlock from Dallas (325 pounds).
Other athletes on the initial card are from 10 states including Florida (3 wrestlers) and Georgia (2).
Each event will put the athletes through a series of rounds to line up the top three winners. The first round will eliminate half the wrestlers, leaving eight to move forward. Then four more will be eliminated. A seed bracket will then lead into the semifinal, third place, and final matchups, which culminate in a title bout. The athletes will earn points for their wins, which determine power rankings (the release compares this to the traditional scoring system, banzuke).
The regular season will lead into the SCL Annual Championship in late 2027.
“Austin will see a combination of proven champions with emerging contenders, local pride alongside national experience and matchups that can shift from one bout to the next,” said league chairman and CEO Stuart Snyder in a press release. “This unpredictability is what makes live sumo so compelling and we are excited to bring it to Austin on October 10th.”
Along with athletic spectacle, the league promises an authentic sumo experience and storytelling, showing respect for the traditional Japanese sport. Spectators who want to learn more about the sport before heading out to see it can read up on the rules and the league's mission at sumochampionshipleague.com.
Tickets (starting at $44.15) for the Cedar Park season kickoff are available via Ticketmaster.
