With yesterday’s M-League Watch update and the public opening of the M-League Watch Discord server, let’s keep the energy going!
M-League 2019 was a very busy season with big and fast plays. In a season with yakuman and comebacks, let’s take a look at the top 5 plays of the M-League 2019 season.
Honourable Mentions
Not every great play could make my top 5 list. Here are a few hand that didn’t quite make the list.
5. Hagiwara’s Fast Chasing Riichi
High-speed and lots of action, you see a riichi, a chasing riichi, and a haneman in just over 2 minutes.
Original game day: January 10, 2020
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-4_s30_p273
In E4-0, the scores are quite close, with only 5500 points between 4th and 1st. All four haipais have something of interest: Uotani has all 4 winds in her hand, with one of them a pair and another an ankou, Matsumoto has an easy setup ittsuu with one dora and a chance at honitsu, Takizawa has two dora and a pair of green dragons, and Hagiwara has a 2-shanten hand with a red dora and a chance of sanshoku. Matsumoto’s discards honours for his first two discards, making it clear that he’s going for quick hand or an expensive chinitsu.
At turn 4, Matsumoto is already iishanten, while Hagiwara struggles to bring his hand forward.
On turn 5, Hagiwara has a choice to maintain flexibility and speed but lose a safe tile by throwing the green dragon, or to aim to increase the hand value safely by going back a shanten and throwing the 79s group. He opts for the latter, hoping to utilize the red dora and the possible sanshoku instead of taking the possible pinfu option.
By turn 6, Matsumoto calls riichi on the 3p penchan. He loses the ittsuu chance, but gains some power being the first player in riichi. Hagiwara’s next draw brings him back to iishanten and the draw after that puts him into tenpai. He calls riichi on the 36m ryanmen wait, with the 6m giving him sanshoku. Unfortunately for Matsumoto, he deals in the 6m immediately after to give the takame. Hagiwara wins the hand with a Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Aka 1 for 12000 points, one of the fastest and most intense 12000 losses in M-League.
4. Uchikawa and the Perfect Kan
Original game day: February 18, 2020
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-4_s30_p393
In E1-0, the scores are even. Uchikawa the dealer faces off against Kondo, Suzuki and Matsumoto. Uchikawa starts his hand off with 4 pairs, giving him the choice between toitoi and chiitoi. When he discards the 8s from a 5778s shape, it becomes clear that he’s not looking for ryanmen. On turn 4, Uchikawa calls pon on the white dragon, confirming a yaku and looking to go quick. On turn 7, he calls pon on the west, putting him iishanten for a 1500 point hand. On turn 8, he draws the 7s to complete an ankou and put him tenpai on a 14s ryanmen wait. On the next turn, he draws a west. He calls kan another dora indicator is flipped. Revealing the south wind as the indicator, Uchikawa’s hand suddenly jumped from 1 han to 5 han! He takes a replacement tile and another miracle happens! He draws his winning 1s dora to win the hand with Rinshan/White Dragon/Dora 5 to give him an incredible 6000 points from all. An amazing hand, jumping from 2000 to 18000 in mere seconds.
With results similar to a certain Mahjong anime, Abema Mahjong couldn’t help but make this video
3. Asakura’s Finals Daisangen
In a season with eight yakuman won, I had to choose one for the list. I admit, I am very biased on this one. One of the big reasons why I chose this one is because the Pirates won this one. However, it was also one of the turning points for the Pirates in the finals, making it one of the top plays of the year. Add to that Hiyoshi’s commentary and exuberance, the video is quality watching.
Original game day: June 18, 2020
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-4_s30_p521
In S1-0, Asakura’s haipai started out with 3 pairs of dragons. Early on, Asakura calls pon on the green dragon discarded from Kondo. As he draws some souzu, he starts to discards some of the manzu he has in hand, allowing him to at least have honitsu if the daisangen effort failed.
On turn 5, he is able to call the red dragon from Okada.
Asakura then discards the 5s from a 133557s group. Though an odd discard, there is some logic behind it. A 5s was already discarded, making it more difficult to pon, it allows him to use the 1s in case it comes, and it leaves the possibility to shift the 57 kanchan to a 78 or 45.
Asakura didn’t need to do any shifting, drawing the 6s himself to put him tenpai on a 3s/White Dragon shanpon wait.
When Kondo draws a white dragon, he is forced to retreat. As the game continues and nobody sees any white dragons, they begin to bail. Draw after draw, Hiyoshi’s commentating voice got louder and louder with more and more anticipation for a possible daisangen.
On Asakura’s 9th draw while in tenpai, his second last draw, he manages to draw the white dragon to win the daisangen. As dealer, he wins 16000 from all, giving him the lead and puts his score up to 83600.
2. Shiratori S4 Sanbaiman Gyakuten
This hand is probably the closest hand to chuuren you will see in M-League. Not only that, the hand was won in S4-0 to catapult him from 4th to 1st.
Original game day: February 13, 2020
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-4_s30_p372
In S4-0, Shiratori is behind, 5800 behind 3rd place Setokuma and 19000 behind 1st place Uchikawa. He needs at least 4 han to get out of last, and a sanbaiman to guarantee 1st.
Shiratori’s starting hand looks promising, holding 10 manzu tiles in his starting hand. With an 8m dora in hand, an open chinitsu would give him haneman and be enough to get second place, first with a direct hit. Shiratori calls a 9m pon on turn 4, putting him iishanten. He later calls the 1m, waiting on the 7m kanchan. He draws a 8m, increasing his hand value and giving him a 147m three-sided wait. Everyone begins to bail, trying to avoid a dreadful deal in
In the middle of the last row, Shiratori draws the 9m and calls kan. If he gets rinshan, it would put him on top. The rinshan misses, but the 8m dora indicator is revealed, giving him 4 more dora and brings up his hand from haneman to sanbaiman.
A few turns later, Shiratori manages to win on the 7m near the end of the hand. Chinitsu/Dora 6 gives him 11 han for 6000/12000 and to take 1st. It is interesting to note the final shape 23456788m with a pon of 1m and a kan of 9m, bearing resemblance to Chuuren. However, because the hand is open and the kan, it doesn’t qualify.
1. Maruyama’s Gyakuten
This is probably going to be my top M-League play of all time and one of my favourite mahjong videos next to Takeo Kojima’s Chuuren Poutou.
Original game day: October 29, 2019
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-4_s30_p92
In South 4-2, Maruyama is in 4th, 1600 points behind 3rd place Sasaki and 19200 behind 1st place Takizawa. Her hand starts out 2-shanten, with a red and regular dora and the possibility of ittsuu. Her hand develops quickly to iishanten on turn 3, though missing a pair. Either the 12340p shape or the 13s shape will have to be converted to get a pair. Her hand value increases with the next turn, drawing a red 5m to have a hand with 3 guaranteed dora. On turn 7, she draws the 6p, completing the ittsuu shape but still lacking a pair. Takizawa, the dealer, has already made two calls with a hand iishanten for mangan. To Maruyama’s luck, she draw the 6m to give her a 4066m shape. She calls riichi to slow down Takizawa and have a chance to take 1st with a Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Ittsuu/Dora 1/Aka 2 baiman. Takizawa is forced to bail, drawing a 6m on the first turn and not wanting to risk his lead. Sasaki is forced to push since bailing would otherwise put him into 4th place.
When Sasaki discards the 3m, Maruyama skips the winning tile in order to go for first, a bold “high risk, high reward” opportunity. As Takizawa and Ooi fold, Sasaki continues to push and Maruyama continues to wait. Sasaki calls to tenpai, ensuring that he would stay in 3rd if it goes to ryuukyoku. On her very last draw, Maruyama draws the 3m to win the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Ittsuu/Dora 1/Aka 2. An impressive risk pays off to get first place.
From the Drivens locker room, you see the reaction of Murakami, Sonoda and Suzuki as they watch the win.
When Maruyama gets back, she gets very emotional about the win
Those are my top plays of last season! What are your favourite plays of last season? Tomorrow, we take a look at the in M-League 2020 Coach and Staff Tournament. See you then!
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