M-League 2021 Semifinals: The Teams

1. U-Next Pirates

Regular Season: +377.1pts (22/30/19/19)

After winning the 2019 championship, the team became cursed and failed to make the playoffs in the 2020 season, placing 7th. In the off-season, the team decided to keep the team, not making any changes. Because they missed the playoffs the previous season and because they didn’t change the team, they are now forced to drop at least one player if they don’t make the playoffs in the 2021 season.

With this threat looming, the team tried to avoid losing points. Through the first five weeks, the team never lost or gained mode than 40.0pts. Then, in the 6th week, Asakura dealt into two dealer mangans and went into the negatives in East 1 and ended up finishing the game with a score of -27,500, one of the lowest scores of all time. Things got worse in week 7, when they lost 113.1pts and went below -200.0.

After the big losses, things started to look up for them. They got three positive weeks in a row, with the team becoming overall positive and being the best performer of the week in week 10. At the start of the new year, they had three more positive weeks, with week 14 marking another top performance and the first time the Pirates were in 1st place in the regular season in 800 days.

There was a lot of volatility in February, gaining and losing big points, the team finished the season strong and ended up in 1st place.

In total, the team was the top performer in 4 of the 22 weeks and were at the top of the standings for 47 out of 180 games.

Going Into the Semifinals: +188.6pts

At the end of the regular season, the scores were close. With the points being cut in half for the semifinals, the scores are even closer. With a 96.5pts lead over 5th, a single 4th could potentially drop them out of playoff position. As such, as with any game, gaining points is important.

In the 2019 championship season, Ishibashi did extremely well, having a 3/3/0/0 record in the semifinals despite some poor results in the regular season. Because of this, the team should let him play the first 2-3 games. If he does well, then trust him to play a few more later in the semis. If not, then they shouldn’t take the risk and let Mizuhara reverse the damage.

With Mizuhara or Ishibashi as the gainers, and Asakura and Kobayashi for support, the team can easily make it to the semifinals.

2. Shibuya Abemas

Regular Season: +328.2pts (21/26/32/11)

In the 2018, 2019 and 2020 season, the Shibuya Abemas finished 3rd in the finals. Being the only team to make the finals every year, the team decided to push for top spot again with the same crew.

Through the first few weeks, the team flip-flopped from positive to negative, gaining points one week, losing points the next. Even when they had a big -93.4 in week 7, they counteracted that with a +139.0 in week 9. Even through the new year, the team was never below -100.0 and rarely above +100.0.

Then, on week 15, something big happened. The team won three games in a row, went on a big 4th place avoidance streak and jumped all the way from 6th to 2nd in just that week. With the big moment for the team and a positive outlook, the team went on to be the best performing team in weeks 18, 20 and 22, finishing the season in 2nd place. For the 4th season in a row, the Shibuya Abemas finished the regular season in the top 2.

Despite being on the top of the standings for only 6 games total, the team had the most top weekly performances, being the best team for 5 out of the 22 weeks.

Going Into the Semifinals: +164.1pts

Historically, Matsumoto and Hinata have done well in the semifinals and Ooi has struggled. Despite the team wanting to put one of the best players in the league as the ace, the team should follow the historical data and reduce its reliance on him.

With their curse of getting 3rd place in the finals, they should look ahead and start to target those who have beaten them in the past. The EX Furinkazan have placed ahead of them in 2 of the 3 past seasons, so they are the easy choice. Alternatively, they can choose to target the team that has gotten the most points in the playoffs in general, the U-Next Pirates.

3. Konami Mahjong Fight Club

Regular Season: +249.0pts (29/16/17/28)

After the Konami Mahjong FIght Club finished just out of the finals in 5th place, the team wanted to improve their results. In the off-season, the team dropped Fujisaki Satoshi and Maehara Yudai. During the draft, they picked up the up-and-coming superstar and voice actor, Date Arisa. For their second pick, they chose former EX Furinkazan player and Sasaki Hisato’s rival, Takizawa Kazunori. With the new changes, the team went from the second-oldest team to the second-youngest team.

The team had some trouble near the beginning of the season, dropping to -156.0 by the middle of the 3rd week. But afterwards, the team was just raking in the points. Two 1sts to finish week 3, over +70.0pts in week four and over +100.0pts in week 5. In week 7, Date had her legendary 105,500 performance for another +100 week. Near the end of November, Date was at the top of all three individual categories. Near the end of the year, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club had over +400.0pts and were sitting at the top of the standings for the first time ever in the team’s history.

When 2021 turned to 2022, so did their fortune. Three weeks in a row of negative results, including a humiliating four 4ths in week 14. At one point in week 15, the team was in the negatives and in 7th.

From there there, the team made some small and mid-sized gains, slowly clawing their way back up. By the end season, they had +249.0pts and were in 3rd place.

The Konami Mahjong Fight Club were at the top of the standings for a total of 18 games. They were also the best performer of the week in 2 of the 22 weeks, including the highest weekly performance this season of +197.3 in week 7.

Going Into the Semifinals: +124.5pts

Two seasons ago, the Konami Mahjong Fight Club made the semifinal and missed the finals. Last season, the team made the semifinals and missed the finals. As such, the team is desperate to break the streak. The difference this year is that they have semifinals superstar Takizawa and top newcomer Date. With these two leading the charge and Sasaki and Takamiya providing support, the team will make the playoffs.

It also wouldn’t hurt the team to target. The scores are close and pushing one team below them increases their chances of going to the playoffs. The easy targets would be the Phoenix or the Sakura Knights, but they shouldn’t be afraid of trying to push down one of the stronger teams. After all, a strong team out of the finals will give them a better chance at the championship.

4. EX Furinkazan

Regular Season: +184.4pts (25/25/16/24)

After winning the M-League 2020 championship, the team wanted to make it back-to-back. As promised last season, the team had the 2021 EX Furinkazan Member Audition to find their next player. In the end, Matsugase Takaya emerged the winner and was welcomed to the team.

However, during contract re-signing time, Takizawa Kazunori left the team. Needing to fill the other spot, they chose Nikaido Aki’s sister, Nikaido Rumi, to fill their 4th spot.

The team had a fabulous start to the season, getting to 1st place in the standings by game 20. From there, their points kept going up and up. They went past, +200.0, +300.0, +400.0. By game 51 in the season (game 25 for the team), they broken the +500.0pts barrier. By game 64, the team broke the +600.0 barrier.

But, just like what happened last season, the EX Furinkazan’s success at the beginning of the season came to a halt. By game 90 of the season, the team’s points were cut in half and they were no long top of the standings. By game 128, they were around a quarter of what they had just 64 games earlier.

Even with their losses, the cushion that they had at the start of the season helped keep them in the positives. In February, the started to earn points again and were able to take the top of the standings for a short while. In week 21, they had a big fall again and they ended up finishing the season in 4th place with +184.4pts

The team was at the top of the standings the longest out of all the teams, being there for 87 out of 180 games. They were also top of the weekly performers list for 3 of the 22 weeks.

Going Into the Semifinals: +92.2pts

The EX Furinkazan are in the same position that they were a year ago. The difference, though, is that the team has lost their star player in the semifinals. With Katsumata’s performance in both the 2020 finals and this regular season, he should be the team’s ace. If Katsumata gets into trouble, both Matsugase and Aki will be there to help. Rumi should be sent sparingly, but is a good choice if the team desperately needs a high-scoring game.

5. Sega Sammy Phoenix

Regular Season: +184.2pts (25/19/23/23)

The Sega Sammy Phoenix had a lot of trouble in the 2020 season, finishing 8th place and missing the playoffs. Wanting a better result, the team decided to drop Wakutsu Akira and chose to draft Tojo Rio.

In the first month, they gained what they lost and lost what they gained. At the start of November, the team was the worst performer for two weeks in a row. By the end of week 7, the team was in 7th place and below -200.0

Then a streak began. With each game, the team was able to avoid last. Game after game, week after week, the team didn’t get a 4th. Through the latter half of November and through December, the team avoided getting 4th. They were the best performer in both the last week of December, as well as the best performer of the month. When their streak ended at 28 games, they had gotten to around +200.0 and would get to the top of the standings just a few games later.

After their streak ended, the team went on a big 3-week negative streak, pushing them back to the negatives. Starting in February, the team went on a 5-week positive streak, making them the best performer in February and put them above +300.0 by the end of week 21. Though there was some struggle at the very end of the season, the team still got a playoff spot, finishing 5th with a score of +184.2

The team spent 8 games at the top of the standings and the top performer in 2 of the 22 weeks.

Going Into the Semifinals: +92.1pts

In 2019, Uotani was sent as the team’s ace to try to win the championship, but a single discard in a high-pressure situation arguably lost the team the championship. Even so, Uotani is still a solid player and likely to gain points. Tojo is new, so she should be sent to get experience. If a high-pressure situation comes up, both Kayamori and Kondo have proven themselves capable of handling the situation.

6. Kadokawa Sakura Knights

Regular Season: +177.0pts (24/23/24/19)

The Kadokawa Sakura Knights finished in 2nd place in the M-League 2020 Finals, the same season that they drafted Hori. Seeing the good results, the team decided to keep its composition to have another go at the plate.

In the first 6 weeks, the team didn’t make a splash, never making more than ±40 on any given week. On week 7, they made their 1st big impact with a gain of +111.4. Two weeks later, they made a big negative impact with a -99.6. Still, they slowly made points and eventually above +100.0 by the end of 2021.

The slow movement continued into 2022, but they did catch a big break with a +98.6 week to give them their first top performer of the week distinction. Leading the crew was Sawazaki, who was slowly making his way near the top of the individual standings. Near the end, Sawazaki was within striking range of the MVP spot, but was unable to capitalize and had to settle for 2nd and the team had to settle with 6th.

The team was at the top of the standings for 2 games and the best team of the week on week 16.

Going Into the Semifinals: +88.5pts

The bad news is that the team is in 6th place. The good news is that the points are halved and the threshold for the finals is close. The other good news is that there is precedence for a 6th place team winning the championship (U-Next Pirates, 2019 Season). Of course, placing 6th at the end of the regular season doesn’t mean that a championship is automatic. They will have to work to earn the championship plate.

Over the past two season, the team has always gained more points in the semifinals. And over those past two seasons, all four players have done well, with Okada being the team’s best performer in the post-season. If the team is planning to go to the finals, they should ensure that Okada gets comfortable and is able to get points for the team again. Once they do that, they can climb up the standings and make a playoff spot.