Highlights
Sakura Knights Double 12,000
February 8, Game 1
In E4-0, the game is early and 6,000 points separate 1st and 4th. 2nd place Okada starts out with a 3-shanten hand with a regular dora and a red dora. Her hand develops very quickly, already getting to a wide iishanten by turn 3. Unfortunately, her hand doesn’t progress that much after that. From Kobayashi trying for a quick hand and skipping Okada’s turn to Okada getting useless tiles, her hand is stuck at iishanten. At the start of the 2nd row, Uotani calls riichi on a 47p wait, furthering the challenge for Okada to win a hand. Two turns later, Setokuma makes a call to put him tenpai with a 2p/2s shanpon wait. Near the end of the 2nd row, Okada finally gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69p ryanmen wait for mangan minimum. Within the first go-around, Setokuma discards the 9p and deals into Okada. Okada wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 12,000 to give Okada the lead.
In S1-0, Okada is the dealer and starts out with a 3-shanten hand with some nice ryanmen shapes. Her hand again develops quickly, getting to iishanten by turn 4. At the start of the 2nd row, Okada gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen wait for riichi nomi. Within the first go-around, Setokuma gets to tenpai as well and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen wait. On Okada’s very next draw, she finds the 1s and wins the hand. Okada wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Ura 1 for 4,000 all, plus Setokuma’s riichi stick. With the win, she breaks the 50,000 barrier. By the end of the game, she would have 54,000 points and helped bring the team up to the positives.
Sakura Knights Double 12,000
February 8, Game 2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-7_s30_p353
In S3-0, Uchikawa is the dealer and in 4th place. He starts out with a 3-shanten with no value besides a distant pinfu. In the first row, Uchikawa is tasked with the standard garbage disposal, removing terminals and honours. By the end of the row, he is iishanten with a chance for a 456 sanshoku. Near the start of the 2nd row, Uchikawa is faced with an obstacle against his potential comeback when Asakura calls riichi on a 5p/north shanpon wait. During the first go-around, Uchikawa gets to tenpai and chases, calling riichi on a 7p dora kanchan. With the tile being a dora and two of the 7p being in Hagiwara’s hand, the chances of winning seemed very unlikely. Stacked with the face that Hagiwara is also tenpai on a 14p wait, it seemed impossible. However, the wall was kind to Uchikawa and he was able to draw the 7p at the end of the 2nd row. Uchikawa wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 4,000, plus Asakura’s riichi stick. With the win, it brought Uchikawa into 2nd place.
In S3-1, Uchikawa starts out with a chiitoi 3-shanten with no value again. Also being 4-shanten for a standard hand, he keeps his options open and discards terminals and honours. At the end of the 1st row, he decides to go for a standard hand when he draws a sanmenchan wait. He confirms the standard hand when he breaks up his 9p pair near the start of the 2nd row for iishanten. It takes him quite a few turns to find tenpai, but he eventually does so and calls riichi on a 47s ryanmen wait near the start of the 3rd row. On Uchikawa’s very next draw, he finds the 7s to win the hand. Uchikawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 4,000+100 all to take the lead from Kayamori.
4,200 on the Board
February 8, Game 2, S4-4
In S4-4, the scores are close. With the difference between 2nd and 4th being 1,300 points and 4,200 in bonus sticks being up for grabs, a lot is at stake for all the players. Even for 1st place Uchikawa, he wants to defend his 1st place before dealer Asakura gets to him. Starting hands are interesting all around, with Asakura and Kayamori with dragon pairs and Uchikawa with a clear callable tanyao hand. By the end of the 1st row, all players are 2-shanten or better. At the start of the 2nd row, dealer Asakura draws a 4th red dragon after having called pon on the red dragon earlier. Because of the potential upsides outweighing the potential downsides, Asakura calls kan. With the kan, it made the 9p a dora, giving Kayamori one dora and Hagiwara two. The first player to get to tenpai is Asakura, who does so by calling chii and giving him a 5s kanchan wait.
Soon after, Uchikawa calls chii and gives him a 25m wait.
When Hagiwara gets to tenpai, he calls riichi with his 3 dora no yaku hand, but discards the 2m in the process.
The 2m deals into Uchikawa to give him the win. Uchikawa wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 1 for 2,000+1,200, plus the three leftover riichi sticks.
This hand, along with the two 12,000 hands were the key factor in Uchikawa’s win and the reason why the Kadokawa Sakura Knights were able to get a double 1st that day.
Yakuman Iishanten vs. Yakuman Iishanten!?!
February 9, Game 2, S4-0
In S4-0, Maruyama is deep in 4th place and Takamiya is 1st place as the dealer. Takamiya starts out with a 4-shanten hand with an ankou and two pairs. With no obvious way to get out of 4th, Maruyama decides to go for kokushi with her 7 terminals and honours hand. By the end of the 1st row, Takamiya has brought her hand to iishanten with two ankous and two pairs, while Maruyama still struggles with 8 unique terminals and honours. On Takamiya’s very next turn, Takamiya draws a red 5p to create another ankou to be in tenpai. With a 6777899m shape along with two other ankous, it gives her a 7m/9m shanpon wait. However, winning by ron on the 7m will give her sanankou because it can be treated as filling in the 68m shape and having the 7m ankou separate. The shape also puts her iishanten from suuankou, an opportunity for overkill.
As Takamiya waits for her winning tiles to come, Maruyama continues to build her kokushi hand. Near the end of the 2nd row, Maruyama draws her 11th unique terminal and honour, putting her iishanten for kokushi. With only one of both the north and the 9m left in the wall, there was still hope.
Unfortunately for both of them, neither of their tiles came. Furthermore, the kokushi threat from Maruyama forced Takamiya to fold when she drew the red dragon. The hand ended with only Aki tenpai at the end of the hand.
Sanshoku Baiman
Febraury 11, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-7_s30_p361
In E4-0, Sonoda is in 4th place and starts out with a 3-shanten hand with a regular dora and a red dora. Through the first row, he forms his hand to tanyao and holds onto an isolated red 5p in case he can form a shape around it. Near the start of the 2nd row, Sonoda gets to iishanten and gives himself the flexibility to incorporate another dora, iipeikou or use the isolated red 5p. The very next turn, Sonoda picks up the 6p and calls riichi on a 47p ryanmen wait, with the 4p giving him sanshoku. In the middle of the 3rd row, Sonoda finds the 4p and wins the hand. Sonoda wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Dora 1 /Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000/8,000. With the win, it catapulted him to 1st place.
Your Weekly Riichi Battle
February 11, Game 1, S1-0
In S1-0, 2,000 points separate 1st and 3rd, while 4th place dealer Ooi is 10,100 behind 3rd place. Ooi starts out with a very poor 4-shanten with no ryanmen shapes at all. In the first row, Ooi fills in some of the kanchan shapes, but still ends up 2-shanten with no pairs by the end of the row. Nearing the end of the 2nd row, 3rd place Setokuma tries to put some more distance between him and Ooi by calling riichi on a 69m ryanmen wait.
2nd place Uotani has the same idea and calls riichi herself on a 14s ryanmen wait.
During the go-around, Ooi gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen wait by unabatedly throwing the red 5m.
Immediately after, Sonoda draws the 6p and deals into Ooi. Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Dora 1 for 12,000, plus the two other riichi sticks. The player who had just put Ooi in 4th the turn before has now switched places with him, making it the perfect revenge story.
South 4 Shenanigans
February 12, Game 1, S4-1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-7_s30_p367
In S4-1, the scores were close. only 8,000 points separated 1st place Sasaki and 4th place Mizuhara. With 1,300 points up for grabs, the imperative to win is high. Dealer Sawazaki starts out with a 2-shanten chiitoi hand, Aki starts with a pair of easts and souths, Mizuhara has two doras and a red dora and Sasaki starts out with a red dragon pair. By the end of the 1st row, Aki is iishanten for chiitoi, Mizuhara is iishanten for a regular hand and Maehara has moulded his hand towards tanyao. When Aki draws a 3rd south at the start of the 2nd row, she shifts to toitoi and a 3s call confirms it the toitoi. In the middle of the 2nd row, Aki calls pon on the east to get to a 9s/1m shanpon tenpai. With Mizuhara iishanten with a sanmenchan and ryanmen chance, she discards the 1m when she draws it and deals into Aki.
Aki wins the hand with Toitoi/Double South for 8,000+300. With the win, it brought Aki from 3rd to 1st.
Birthday Double Riichi
February 12, Game 2, S2-0
With February 12 being Kobayashi Go’s birthday, both he and the viewers were looking for a birthday present for him. With Kobayashi’s first 13 tiles, he already had 3 completed groups and a 89m block. With Kobayashi’s first draw, he gets the 7m and now has 4 completed groups. Only missing a pair, Kobayashi calls double riichi and waits on a green dragon tanki wait. Hori was holding the green dragon in his starting hand, but he managed to not throw it. When Maehara drew it at the end of the 1st row, he also managed to not throw it.
It wasn’t until Katsumata drew and discarded the green dragon that Kobayashi finally got his present. Kobayashi wins the hand with Double Riichi/Dora 1 for 5,200.
Stolen
February 12, Game 2, S4-0
In S4-0, dealer Kobayashi is in the lead and is followed by closely by Hori, who is 6,700 points behind. Being 4-shanten, Kobayashi was in no rush to win and would be happy just to let the hand go to ryuukyoku. Hori, on the other hand, starts out with a 3-shanten hand for a straight toitoi hand. However, even with the toitoi, it wouldn’t be enough unless Hori draws the tile himself. By the end of the first row, Kobayashi is in a pinfu 2-shanten while Hori is still 3-shanten. Though not a threat to either of the two leaders, Katsumata is iishanten for a one dora hand, something that’s not enough to overcome his 7,100 deficit. Near the start of the 2nd row, Hori draws his second ankou, giving the potential for sanankou or suuankou. Soon after, Hori calls pon on the 1p to get him to iishanten. With a terminal pon and immediate yakuhai discard from Hori, Kobayashi decides to start to bail. Near the end of the 2nd row, Katsumata draws his winning 5m, but he knows that it’s not enough to surpass 3rd place Maehara. As a result, Katsumata decides to call furiten riichi on a 69m ryanmen, hoping to draw the 6m dora.
Within the first go-around of Katsumata’s riichi, Hori draws to tenpai and waits on a south/1m shanpon wait. The commentators Matsumoto and Hiyoshi theorized that Hori wouldn’t ron off anyone in hopes to tsumo it to get sanankou and the win. For Hori, he didn’t have a chance to be tested, as he drew his winning 1m on his very next turn. Hori wins the hand with Toitoi/Sanankou for 2,000/4,000, taking the win away from birthday boy Kobayashi.
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