I think overall the takeaway we're supposed to get from this whole tournament is best said by the principal - Kiriyama still has his whole life ahead of him as a pro, he's just a kid, and yet he's also having these extraordinary victories. We're not supposed to think he's actually at the tippity top level of shogi yet, but we're supposed to be excited about his career because he clearly has the potential to get there. This is just a fortuitous Cinderella run, which you see in competition now and then.
The real question that remains is... how far will it go? I always thought this being the Lion Cup and with the title of the series, that we'd see the grand finale be Kiriyama squaring off against Touya. But now I'm thinking like, is there any way he can make it that far??? I think Umino-sensei has done a really good job establishing these "power levels" such that his victories so far have felt very hard-fought and miraculous, and that any further wins will require even more amazing scenarios. I can't wait...