We love a good training montage!
It's so easy to root for everyone in this story which makes the appearances of a new character, a past Queen no less, even more exciting. No matter who ends up losing, I don't think I could be disappointed. Unlike with other sports manga where there is still the thrill but deep down, you kind of now the protagonists will pull through, it's not the case here. Even the best, most technical players or the best listeners can have bad days, feel the exhaustion from the past games or just have bad luck which order the poems are read.
(And I love how there some growing... animosity? tensions? growing between Chihaya and Taichi. Ever since we learned that Taichi very much has the skills to win when Chihaya is not around, makes this very interesting.)