Only 12 games are left in the M-League season before a champion is declared. Each team has played 106 games so far to get to this point. With the finals just under a week away, let’s look at how each of the teams got here:
Kadokawa Sakura Knights
Regular Season Record: 21-24-20-23 (4th, 48.4pts)
In their debut season, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights have shown that they’re a powerhouse to contend with. At the halfway point of the season, they were in the lead with 271.2pts. Though they fell a bit in the second half of the season, they continued to stay in the positives, longer than any of the other teams. Leading the charge was Sawazaki Makoto, playing 41 games with a record of 12-13-5-11.
Semifinals
Semifinal Record: 6-5-4-1 (1st, 284.7pts)
The strength of the Sakura Knights was really shown in the semifinals. All three of the Sakura Knights players placed positive in the semifinals and the team had a rentai (1st+2nd) rate of 68.75%. Sawazaki was again the star of the show, playing 7 games and never placing last. By earning over 200pts over the course of 16 games, the Sakura Knights took the lead and are now 1st place going into the finals.
Sega Sammy Phoenix
Regular Season Record: 25-28-17-20 (1st, 495.5pts)
The regular season for the Sega Sammy Phoenix was incredible. With Uotani Yuumi winning both the highest regular season score and highest scoring game, and Kondo Seiichi having the best last place avoidance record of 7-7-7-1, it’s no surprise that they placed first.
A talk about Sega Sammy Phoenix’s success isn’t complete without talking about their yakuman. Near the beginning of the season, Kondo was able to get a daisangen by taking the shanpon wait for a yakuman chance instead of the ryanmen haneman. Near the end of the season, Uotani got a kokushi in East 1, which started the ball rolling for the highest scoring game of the season. Just 5 days later, Uotani was able to get a suuankou on the second-to-last tile.
Semifinals
Semifinal Record: 2-6-4-4 (2nd, 172.0pts)
The Sega Sammy Phoenix struggled to get their firsts during the semifinals. They weren’t able to win any of the eight days that they played. Still, with the commanding lead from the regular season, they were still able to take 2nd place with a score of 172.0pts.
Shibuya Abemas
Regular Season Record: 27-24-13-26 (2nd, 273.9pts)
With the most 1st place finishes in the league, the Abemas were able to take second place by the end of the season. Two of their players (Shiratori Sho and Ooi Takaharu) were able to end the season with 200+pts.
It is interesting to note that they were also tied for the most 4ths in the league. But because of how the oka/uma is, a team with an equal number of 1sts and 4ths would be positive.
Semifinals
Semifinal Record: 3-6-4-3 (3rd, 64.0pts)
The Shibuya Abemas was the only team that had all their players play the same number of games in the semifinals. With their combined effort, they were able to have a positive rentai rate. Hinata Aiko had the best result of the four, with a record of 2-1-0-1. Out of the 8 days they played, they were able to get the best combined score on the of them. One of the most impressive moments in the semifinals was when Shiratori went into S4-0 in 3rd and was able to win a gyakuten baiman to move into 1st place.
Interestingly enough, even with a positive rentai rate, the Abemas lost points during the semifinals. One of the reasons: a -87.6pts and a -77.1pts fourth place.
U-Next Pirates
Regular Season Record: 21-22-28-19 (6th, -202.3 pts)
The U-Next Pirates struggled in the regular season. Only one of their players, Kobayashi Go, was able to end up positive by the end of the season. However, their collective 4th place avoidance ability really saved them. With only 19 lasts (21.1%) during the regular season, they were able stop themselves from falling too far down the hole to take the last semifinal spot with -202.3pts.
Semifinals
Semifinal Record: 4-5-4-3 (4th, -3.5pts)
Their semifinal results were more average. On initial look, one would assume that it would be impossible for them to make it. However, their head-to-head battles were the key to their success.
The U-Next Pirates had 7-1 record against Konami Mahjong Fight Club (who was originally in 3rd with 195.0 at the end of the regular season) in the semifinals, showing them that no lead and no playoff spot is safe.
Against Team Raiden, the Pirates went 5-3. With the Pirates’ record of 3-3-2-0 compared the Team Raiden’s 3-0-2-3 record, they were able to gain some hard-earned uma advantage against them.
The unofficial team MVP for the semifinals was Ishibashi Nobuhiro. Having a 3-3-0-0 record and a total of 215.5pts, Ishibashi had the highest point total out of all the players in the semifinals.
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