M-League 2020 Finals: The Teams

1. Shibuya Abemas

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

The Shibuya Abemas had an amazing regular season. Breaking the record for the highest total score for a single season, the Abemas crew is also the only team to have all of their players in the positives and the only team to have three players in the triple digits.

Semifinals: +536.9pts (+209.5pts gain, 5/6/3/2)

The team had quite a few struggles in the first half of the semis, going 0-4-3-1 over the first 8 games of the semis and dropped down to 2nd place. However, the team made a big comeback in the 2nd half of the finals. Solid playing from both Ooi and Shiratori, an incredible comeback from Hinata in game 21 and a suuankou from Matsumoto in game 22, the team had a record of 5-2-0-1 to earn +323.7pts. Just like the regular season, the team had the best record in the semifinals and got the most points, thereby extending their lead over the 2nd place team, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights.

Going Into the Finals: +218.5pts

As the only team to make the finals for all three of the seasons that M-League has existed, the time is now for the team to take it all. With the continued success of the team through the regular season and semifinals, the team starts out with a 121.2pts head start over the Kadokawa Sakura Knights. Though this seems like a big gap, a 1st from the Kadokawa Sakura Knights and a 4th from the Shibuya Abemas could make them fall to 2nd place. However, if they are able to treat the finals the same way they did the regular season and the semifinals, they can come out on top.

2. Kadokawa Sakura Knights

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

Though not 1st place in the overall standings, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights had a really solid outcome in the regular season. With Uchikawa Kotaro and newcomer Hori Shingo bringing in really good results, the team ends the regular season with +497.3pts, higher than the 1st place team in the 2019 season.

Semifinals: +294.5pts (45.8pts gain, 4/4/3/5)

The semifinals performance for the Kadokawa Sakura Knights was pretty average, having a 4-4-3-5 record. However, some big wins from Hori and Okada meant that the team was able to just able to get a positive result. The top player of the team for the semis was Okada, who had a 1-1-2-0 record and +56.7pts.

Going Into the Finals: +147.3pts

2nd place isn’t a bad place to start off, but it isn’t 1st. The team needs to focus on sabotaging the Shibuya Abemas, possibly to the point of targeting them for rons. However, they cannot be overly aggressive, as the risk of dropping too far away is too great. Sending Hori will be their best choice and they should avoid sending Sawazaki out too much.

3. Akasaka Drivens

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

The Akasaka Drivens had a really good start to the regular season, but things fell downhill after their great start. With some good results at the last minute, they were able to bring themselves back up to almost positive. With the other teams having difficulties, they were able to take 3rd place to end the season.

Semifinals: +26.6pts (28.2pts gain, 4/4/5/3)

The Akasaka Drivens had a really good games and really bad games. In the first half, they got four 1sts, getting +72.0, +58.6, +81.8 and +80.9 for them. At the end of the first half, they got within 32.0pts of 2nd place. However, they were unable to get a single 1st place in the 2nd half, having a 0-2-5-1 record, including a -11.9pts 2nd place. Though they were able to get a positive result by the end, they are still a good distance away between 1st place.

Going Into the Finals: +13.3pts

The Akasaka Drivens are in a difficult predicament in 3rd place. They are 255.2pts away from the 1st place Shibuya Abemas, meaning that they have to be aggressive in order to aim for top spot. If the mess up though, they can easily fall to 4th and miss out on the prize money. The team should focus on ruining the Abemas’ and Sakura Knights’ dealer turns, preventing them from getting too far ahead. All of the players have been doing decently, so an equal-opportunity lineup will be good for both the team and their fans.

4. EX Furinkazan

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

The EX Furinkazan started the season off really well taking an early 1st place and had a high standing for a good part of the season. The team was in the positives for a long time, with them only falling to the negatives in week 18. The continued struggle until the end of the season caused the team to end up in 4th place.

Semifinals: -82.9pts (-28.5pts loss, 4/3/5/4)

The EX Furinkazan had a big challenge on their plate to start off the semifinals. Knowing that it’s a do or die situation, they had to bring their best. In the 1st quarter of the semis, the pressure was too great and the team had the worst performance of all the teams that quarter. They ended that quarter in 6th place. The end of the 2nd quarter, the poor performance from Team Raiden and the Konami Mahjong Fight brought the EX Furinkazan into 4th place, but a bland result for the team meant that 3rd place was out of reach and they would need to defend 4th place with their life. In the 3rd quarter, the record-breaking game from Sasaki brought the Konami Mahjong Fight Club in 4th place. By the end of the 3rd quarter, the EX Furinkazan was in 5th place and 154.3pts from 4th place. Seemingly an impossible task, the team had to bring everything they had in the 4th quarter. Takizawa started off really well in the first game, getting a good 1st place and making Konami 4th. In the 2nd game, he got another 1st to get them back to 4th. The comeback from Hinata in Konami’s 2nd last game and Matsumoto’s Suuankou in Konami’s last game gave the EX Furinkazan some breathing room. In the 2nd last game for EX Furinkazan, Takizawa ended up last and put EX Furinkazan within points of falling out. However, Katsumata was able to keep the team from drowning and the EX Furinkazan just barely makes the finals.

Going Into the Finals: -41.4pts

With the team being in 4th place and 309.9pts from 1st place, they have to be realistic. Of course, 1st place isn’t impossible, but it may be difficult. Of course the team will need to aim for 1sts in all their games, but they will need to choose their goal. By the midway point of the finals, they will need to choose whether to aim for 3rd or 1st. Their choice will determine who they will be targeting. At the very minimum, the team will be aiming for 3rd so that all of the players stay in the lineup for next season. Them being 4th place may also be a good thing, as the past two M-League champions started the finals at 4th place.