M-League 2022-23 Week 1: A New Season Begins

After months of waiting, we are finally here at the start of a new M-League season! Back to setting our alarms (for some people, very early in the morning!) and cheering on our favourite teams and players! This week, we had three players making their debut, some new looks, and big wins. We also had comebacks, dora-filled hands and even more big wins! With all that, let’s get started, shall we?

Opening Ceremony

From left to right: Shibukawa Nanba (渋川難波), Okada Sayaka (岡田紗佳), Uchikawa Kotaro (内川幸太郎), Hori Shingo (堀慎吾)

Before the first games, the season started with an opening ceremony. Fans packed the Bellesalle Roppongi to watch the ceremony and the first games live.

At the start, each team, going by reverse order of last season’s standings, went onto the stage. When the team arrived on stage, each player would be named and the team would do their pose.

Uchikawa Kotaro (right) returning the M-League Championship Plate to Fujita Susumu (left)

After all eight teams were on stage, Uchikawa Kotaro, the captain on the championship-winning Kadokawa Sakura Knights, was invited to step forward to ceremoniously return the championship plate back to Fujita Susumu, the M-League founder and chairman.

After each team captain gave a short message, the senior advisor of M-League, Kawabuchi Saburo, went onto stage to officially start the M-League 2022-23 season. With the “Ganbare!”, the new season begins!

Win Chiihou, Win UFO! x2

今年もやります。
「チーホー出たら、ユーホーあげる。」
去年のキャリーオーバーが発生中。#Ｍリーグ #麻雀 #ABEMA #一生分かける２ pic.twitter.com/wOad6zFIXB
— 日清焼そばU.F.O.公式 (@nissin_u_f_o) October 3, 2022

This season, Nissin announced that their yakisoba promotion will be returning this season, but now the stakes have doubled! This time, the first player to win chiihou will receive TWO lifetime supplies* of Nissin U.F.O. Yakisoba.

*Lifetime supply being defined as starting from the time the player wins until the player reaches the Japanese average life expectancy

今シーズンも継続！
「チーホー出たら、ユーホーあげる。」

調べてみると、日本人女性の平均寿命は約87歳🤔

もしも、最年少Mリーガー#岡田紗佳選手(28歳)が #地和をアガると⁉
(87-28)×365＝21,535個が一生分！#一生分かける２だと･･･

【43,070個】ユーホー贈呈！😋😋#Mリーグ #日清食品 pic.twitter.com/VRMLljSlWw
— Mリーグ/プロ麻雀リーグ (@m_league_) October 3, 2022

M-League calculated that if Okada Sayaka (the youngest player in the league) were to win a chiihou, she would receive 43,070 bowls of yakisoba!

New Graphics

Before the start of the game, they feature a new graphic before they reveal who will be playing that game.

Graphic indicating that Uotani Yuumi is waiting on the 7p and Suzuki Yu is waiting on the 7s

This season, M-League added a major upgrade to their overlay. Whenever a player is in tenpai, they now display the player’s waits.

Matsugase winning with Riichi(リーチ)/Ippatsu(一発)/Tsumo(ツモ)/Chiitoi(七対子)/Aka 1(赤１)/Dora 2(ドラ２)/Ura 2(裏２)

In addition, they now display the winning yaku after a hand is won. With these two additions, it allows beginners to understand more of what is going on.