M-League 2020 Semifinals: The Teams

1. Shibuya Abemas

Regular Season: +654.7pts (25/30/17/18)

Being the only team to make the finals in both the 2018 and 2019 season, the Shibuya Abemas want to make the third time a charm. Ever since the week 5, they have only gone up and even since week 13, they have been in 1st place. From Matsumoto’s Suuankou to Hinata’s 3rd to 1st comeback to Ooi’s closed chinitsu even when he was already at 44,300, all the team members have been solid. Even in the 2nd last game of the season, Shiratori didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal and won the game for +76.4pts.

Going Into the Semifinals: +327.4pts

In 2019, the 4th place cutoff was -3.5pts when there were two teams in the negatives (6th place had -101.1pts to start the semis) going into the semifinals. This year, there are currently 4 teams in the negatives that are going into the semis with the lowest team being -105.2pts. With that, it can be safely assumed that the cutoff will be below 0pts. As long as they don’t get an unreasonable number of 4ths, they are certainly going to make the finals for the 3rd year in a row. All the team has to do is not play recklessly and avoid dealing in when all the other teams are being very aggressive.

2. Kadokawa Sakura Knights

Regular Season: +497.3pts (24/20/22/24)

For the first half of the season, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights were at the bottom half of the standings for the first half of the season and were even in last place at almost -300.0pts. From there, Uchikawa went all out. Since the halfway point of the season, Uchikawa went ham. In the 2nd half, Uchikawa earned 432.1pts and went 9-2-3-2, one of the best records for all the players. Along with some really good playing from newcomer Hori, the team ended up in 2nd place and is challenging the 1st place Shibuya Abemas. Some highlights for the team includes Uchikawa’s dealer haneman to put him over 80,000 and Hori’s rinshan suuankou yakuman.

Going Into the Semifinals: +248.7pts

Though their regular season performance was good, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights don’t do too well in elimination stages. In the finals last year, they had a 0-2-3-7 record and fell from 1st going into the finals and ending up 4th. If they want to do well this playoff season, they need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. However, with Uchikawa’s South 4 performance this season, things are looking up for them.

3. Akasaka Drivens

Regular Season: -3.2pts (28/21/20/21)

At the start of the season, the Akasaka Drivens were doing really good. For the first 6 weeks, they were always between 1st and 3rd place. However, starting week 7, everything just went downhill. The team just kept dropping and dropping and dropping, eventually getting down to last place in week 19. For the last three weeks, they pulled it together and started to rise up. With all the other teams so low, they were able to surpass the other teams and eventually get to 3rd place.

Going Into the Semifinals: -1.6pts

As the team that won the whole thing in 2018 and was in 7th in the 2019 season, this will be their time for redemption. Their performance in the 2018 finals and the last 3 weeks of this season shows their strength in high-pressure situations. This is also the time for Maruyama to show how well she plays in these important games. Playing the minimum number of games this regular season, the team needs to give this Saikouisen Women’s League A1 player more chances to show her strength.

4. EX Furinkazan

Regular Season: -108.8pts (20/22/25/23)

From the start of the season, the EX Furinkazan were doing really well. They were the first team to get over +400.0pts, doing so by the end of week 6. From week 10-14, they were in 1st place. It wasn’t until week 18 that they dropped into the negatives. From there, they continued to struggle, but managed to hold out until the end of the regular season.

Going Into the Semifinals: -54.4pts

The EX Furinkazan have really upped the stakes for themselves. On Twitter, the team announced that they imposed the following conditions:

• If the team gets 4th place overall, they will replace the lowest ranked player as well as get a 4th player
• If the team fails to make the semifinals, they will be replacing ALL of their players and get four new players next season

…続き

「入替のレギュレーション」について

1、セミファイナル脱落→ 3人とも入替対象。
2、4位の場合→ 最低Ptの選手が1人入替対象。
3、レギュラーpt.＋セミファイナルpt.×2倍＋ファイナルpt.×5倍

※それぞれ条件戦になる残りの数戦は対象外#Mリーグ #EX風林火山 #麻雀 #覚悟 #監督発 pic.twitter.com/jEkU0Bl75O

— EX風林火山 (@EX_Furinkazan) March 29, 2021

With the high-pressure situation and all players at risk of being kicked, they really need to bring their a-game. As long as the team can replicate what they did at the beginning of the season, they will make it out just fine.

5. Konami Mahjong Fight Club

Regular Season: -168.5pts (23/21/22/24)

This regular season was all about Sasaki Hisato. From start to finish, he played almost flawlessly and his score reflected it. From his Riichi/Rinshan/Tsumo/Sanankou/Dora 7/Aka 1 and record-breaking game to the South 3 4th to 1st comeback, his play was truly incredible. With Fujisaki, Takamiya and Maehara having a difficult season, Sasaki’s +494.1 helped keep the team in playoff position.

Going Into the Semifinals: -84.2pts

Historically, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club hasn’t done well in the playoffs. They placed 4th in the finals in 2018 and fell from 3rd to 5th in the semis to be eliminated in 2019. Being in 5th position, they are already in elimination range. 4ths must be avoided and as the team with the highest deal-in rate, the will have to strike a balance between being aggressive and defensive.

6. Team Raiden

Regular Season: -210.5pts (22/21/22/25)

There are two stories within Team Raiden. The first story is the rivalry between Kurosawa and Setokuma. The two of them had been consistently near the top of the individual standings, often within points of each other. With each game, they tried to one up one another. The other story is one of Hagiwara’s struggle. Hagiwara consistently got 4ths and had quite a few deal-ins. Even when he was on the cusp of getting a good result, he would either deal in or someone else was able to make a comeback. It wasn’t until around Christmastime that Hagiwara managed to win a game. However, the work that his two teammates has kept the team from sinking too deeply.

Going Into the Semifinals: -105.2pts

Being in 6th place going into the semifinals could be good for Team Raiden. The past two championships were won by teams that were the lowest ranked going into the playoffs. With Hagiwara’s aggressive playing, it may be his time to shine.