M-League 2021-22 Finals: The Teams

1. Kadokawa Sakura Knights

Regular Season: +177.0pts (6th, 24/23/24/19)

The first few months of M-League 2021-22 were rough for the Kadokawa Sakura Knights. Whatever they gained, no matter how big or small, they lost much of it within a couple of days. Still, they made small gains and were just above +100.0 by the end of 2021. The slow gains continued, with a triple-digit gain being erased by a big double-digit loss. They kept moving forward and eventually ended the season at +177.0, placing 6th.

Semifinals: +248.5pts (Net +160.0pts, 6/4/1/5)

Going into the semifinals, the Kadokawa Sakura Knights had some work to do. They were two spots away from a chance to play in the finals, but were helped by the scores being cut in half. With the team being only 3.7pts away from a playoff spot, they got to work. They had a huge first quarter, getting +146.7pts and jumped from 6th to 2nd by playing 4 games. The 2nd quarter was not so kind to them, being the worst performer of the quarter and losing 63.5pts. They regained those points and then some in the 3rd quarter with a +130.1pts gain. After receiving news that Sawazaki won’t be playing in the finals, they made sure to make him proud by securing a spot in the finals and ended up finishing 1st place in the semifinals. This is the 3rd season in a row the Kadokawa Sakura Knights qualified for the finals.

Going Into the Finals: +124.3pts

Being in 1st place going into the final series isn’t new for the Kadokawa Sakura Knights. In the 2019-20 season, they were in 1st place with a 56.4pts lead over 2nd place, 144.1pts lead over 4th. However, failed to get a single 1st place and ended up 4th with -249.1pts.

This season, they are facing 2 of the 3 same teams as the 2019-20 season, with the U-Next Pirates being replaced with the Konami Mahjong Fight Club. Though the teams are similar, both their opponents roster and their own team is different. Hori is in, Sawazaki is sadly unable to join, the Phoenix have Tojo and they have a whole highly-motivated Konami team to deal with.

So, what do they do? Channel the semifinals. They know their opponents and harnessed the power well. From 6th to 1st, they had an amazing run. As long as they can continue that momentum, they can win it all.

One thing that they do have to watch out is the issue of targeting. In the final game of the 2019-20 finals, Ooi skipped a ron from 4th place to call ron off 2nd place. Being in 1st place overall, the team will need to be very careful. They will need to make sure that what they are discarding is absolute best tile if they are choosing to fold so they don’t fall into any traps.

2. Konami Mahjong Fight Club

Regular Season: +249.0pts (3rd, 29/16/17/28)

The Konami Mahjong Fight Club wanted a fresh start with two new players after their 5th place performance last season. For the first 10 games, the team struggled, getting to -156.0pts and sitting in 8th place. From there, things started to look up. They were over +100.0pts just 10 games later, Date had her record-breaking 105,500 game two week after that and the team was at the top of the standings at the end of the year. They dropped through the new year, but their gains from in 2021 gave them enough cushion to soften the blow. With some small gains near the end of the season, they ended up 3rd place with +249.0pts.

Semifinals: +184.9pts (Net +60.4pts, 4/4/5/3)

The semifinals have been the biggest challenge for the Konami Mahjong Fight Club for the past two seasons. Every time they went to the semifinals, they fell. As they say, third time’s the charm. They started off extremely strong, being the best performer in the first quarter with the help of Sasaki’s suuankou and the team was also the best performer in the first half. Now sitting in 1st place with a good lead, they were in a better spot, but couldn’t get too comfortable. In the 3rd quarter, disaster happened. They were the worst performer of the quarter and ended up losing all their progress and becoming net negative. Sitting in 3rd, they needed to hold on. As Date does well, she had a huge win in game 13, getting +80.0, and the team held on to make their first finals in three years.

Going Into the Finals: +92.5pts

This is the first time the Konami Mahjong Fight Club has made the finals since the 2018-19 season. However, a lot has changed since then. The number of games was cut in half from 24 to 12, Maehara has left the team and Date and Takizawa have joined the team. Basically, their previous finals appearance will be of little use and they are starting with a blank slate.

They are not completely lost, though. Takizawa won the championship last season with the EX Furinkazan and had to face the Sakura Knights and Abemas to get there. His expertise, along with the video analysis of previous finals, will prove useful to the team.

In the points department, both Takizawa and Date have been welcome additions to the team. Takizawa was consistent throughout the season and finished 3rd in the individual standings. Date is consistent as well and has the M-League record for the highest score in a single hanchan. With Date and Takizawa taking the lead, they can get big points.

That doesn’t mean that Sasaki and Takamiya are useless. If either Takizawa or Date seem to be fading, put Sasaki or Takamiya in right away. Both of them have been good support players and will definitely be needed in order for the team to succeed.

3. Shibuya Abemas

Regular Season: +328.2pts (2nd, 21/26/32/11)

Throughout the start of the Shibuya Abemas’ season, they were a middling team, flipping between positive and negative. From the beginning through the new year, the team was never more than 100.0pts in either direction from ±0.0pts. When week 15 came, the team got into high gear and delivered big results, getting three 1sts in a row, avoiding last and managed to jump up 4 spots in a single week. They went on to carry that momentum through to the end of the season, ending up in 2nd place with a score of +328.2pts.

Semifinals: +123.9pts (Net -40.2pts, 4/6/2/4)

Like in the 2019-20 season, the Shibuya Abemas were going into the semifinals in 2nd place. This year, however, the scores were much closer. If the team wanted to keep the spot, they couldn’t lose too many points. In the first quarter, they had a small gain. In the second quarter, they lost a very small amount, still staying net positive. They gained some more points in the 3rd quarter, but they were not out of the woods yet. In the fourth quarter, they had a slow bleed, and ended up losing the final game in the negatives and being the worst performer of the quarter. Despite this, the team was still holding on and the team booked their ticket to the finals for the 4th year in a row, going into the final series in 3rd place.

Going Into the Finals: +62.0pts

This is the 4th time that the Shibuya Abemas are going to the finals. This gives them a distinct advantage over every other team: experience. They have played each team more that every other team in the league. With this experience comes with the knowledge of the little quirks of each player. Using this to their advantage will give them an edge over their opponents.

This next thing is going to be hard to do: don’t overly rely on Ooi. During the regular season, Ooi is one of the best players in all of M-League. However, once the playoffs hit, Ooi’s power begins to fade. In last season’s finals, Ooi went 1/0/4/1. In the semifinals this season, Ooi couldn’t get a 1st in his 5 games, having negative results in 4 of them.

Instead of having Ooi play almost half of the games in the finals, they should use the trick that they used in every regular season with much success: balanced play. Have every member contribute. Out of all the teams, the Shibuya Abemas are the only team to have every player contribute equally and their results speak for themselves. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The last thing is simple: motivation. Being 3rd three season in a row sucks and frustration. The team must channel that frustration into positive performance. If they do that, this may be the year that they get the prize that they’ve been chasing.

4. Sega Sammy Phoenix

Regular Season: +184.2pts (5th, 25/19/23/23)

With an 8th place last season, the Sega Sammy Phoenix wanted to reverse their fortunes, just like the how the EX Furinkazan went from 8th to champions in just one season. The team stayed level in the first month, but dropped off in November to be below -200.0pts. From that point on, a new power was activated: 4th place avoidance. 28 games in a row, they managed to avoid getting 4th and made gains because of it. When their streak ended, they were around +200.0pts and were on the top of the standings soon after. After that, different streak happened. A big negative streak, then a big positive streak, finally finishing the season at +184.2pts in 5th place.

Semifinals: +120.2pts (Net +28.1pts, 4/4/6/2)

At the start of the semifinals, they were essentially tied with EX Furinkazan for a spot in the finals. However, they still needed to stay positive in order to take that spot from them. In the first quarter, they didn’t do so well, going -57.6. They recouped some of it in the 2nd quarter, but were still net negative.They couldn’t get over to the positives in the 3rd quarter, still sitting in 5th place. In the 4th quarter, they needed to do there best for their final push. In the first two games, Kayamori and Tojo got 2nd and 1st, respectively, to get the team into net positive. With Kondo and Uotani helping to keep the team there, the team had just enough to place 4th and make the playoffs.

Going Into the Finals: +60.1pts

The Sega Sammy Phoenix are currently in the spot where the Akasaka Drivens, the U-Next Pirates and EX Furinkazan have been: 4th place. And each time a team has been in 4th place going into the finals, they have won the championship. But being in 4th isn’t the only thing that connects those three teams. The things that connect all three championship teams is hard work and determination.

A big thing that the Sega Sammy Phoenix have been able to do this season is avoiding 4th. In the regular season, they had a run of 28 games without going 4th. In the semifinals, they avoided 4th 87.5% of the time. If they can continue that, they will have a big advantage over their opponents.

These last ones is important: targeting and situational awareness. As the last place team, they need to make the biggest impact and be efficient with these moves. Pushing 1st place into 4th will get the scores extremely close, making getting 1st easier for the Phoenix. If they can do this effectively, they can make it 4 for 4 for finals comeback teams.