Highlights
Takame
November 7, Game 1, E1-0
In E1-0, Kurosawa is sitting in the north seat, 3rd in her team and sitting at just barely negative. With her team in the negatives, she looks to win the game to bring her own score and the team up. She starts out the hand 4-shanten, mixed with terminals and simples and no clear path for value. After getting rid of the stray honours, her hand begins to have some semblance of pinfu. By the end of the 1st row, she is 2-shanten with a penchan, kanchan and ryanmen. At the start of the 2nd row, the dealer Yu puts pressure on the table and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen.
After the riichi, Kurosawa started getting some perfect draws. She drew a 2p to set up a 234 sanshoku, she picked an 8m to fill a kanchan and then she drew the 3p dora to get to tenpai. With tenpai in hand, she calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen, wanting to get the 4s to add sanshoku and bring her up to at least a mangan. Two turns later, Kurosawa draws the 4s and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Sanshoku/Dora 1 for 3,000/6,000 all plus a riichi stick, a good start to the game.
Taro Time
November 7, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s10_p704
In S1-6, the honba is up to 6 for the third time in the past 8 days (past 5 M-League game days) after a series of wins and exhaustive draws. Sitting in 3rd place and 9,000 behind 2nd place, Taro is looking to win this hand and take advantage of the 1,800 in bonus sticks. He starts out with a strong 3-shanten hand with a ryanmen and a pair of white dragon doras. On turn 3, he draws a third white dragon, giving him a yaku and bringing his hand to at least a mangan. On turn 4, he completes the ryanmen for iishanten. A turn later, Taro gets to tenpai and waits dama on a 3s kanchan. While Taro looks for the winning tile or an improvement, dealer Yu builds his hand and in the middle of the 2nd row, Yu calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen.
Two turns after the riichi, Taro draws the 4s, causing him to shift to a 4s/8m shanpon. At the end of the row, he makes a call to change his wait to a 47m ryanmen. In the middle of the 3rd row, Taro finally gets his winning tile, drawing the 7m to win the hand. Taro wins with White Dragon/Dora 3 for 2,000+600/4,000+600 plus a riichi stick, putting him in 2nd place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s10_p705
In S2-0, Taro is in 2nd place and just 5,900 behind 1st place. His haipai has great value, holding two dora 2p and two red doras, but is lacking in good shapes. In the 1st row, he draws some connectors, completes a sequence and makes a call, but still sits 2-shanten with a floating 5p by the end of the row. When he gets to iishanten, he decides to throw the red 5p. Right after he throws it, Kurosawa is the first to tenpai, waiting on a 9s/9p shanpon.
Seeing Kurosawa, a player who usually keeps her hand closed, make a call should raise alarm bells. And after Yu makes a call afterwards, Taro should be looking to get to tenpai as quickly as possible or fold. Near the end of the 2nd row, Taro has a chance to get to a mangan tenpai on a 36s ryanmen. However, Taro makes a misplay and throws the 6m, missing out on the tenpai.
To recover from the situation, Taro makes a call to get to iishanten. Soon after, Yu also makes a call, though his call puts him in tenpai for a 69p ryanmen.
In the 3rd row, Taro gets to tenpai, waiting on a 6s kanchan.
After Taro gets to tenpai, Shibukawa makes himself tenpai calling riichi on a 2p dora tanki.
With all four players tenpai, it was anyone’s game. Only time will tell who is the victor. Kurosawa draws a dangerous tile and drops out, leaving three people tenpai. Yu draws dangerously as well, folding and leaving two people to fight it out. On Shibukawa’s ippatsu turn, he draws the 6s, dealing into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Tanyao/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 8,000 and Shibukawa’s riichi stick, putting Taro on top.
In S3-0, Taro is the dealer and wanting to add more space between him and Kurosawa. He starts out 4-shanten with an isolated red 5p, not the best hand for a dealership. In the 1st row, he fills in a penchan, pairs up the 5p and gets to iishanten on turn 4. In the 2nd row, Shibukawa is the first to tenpai after he calls pon on the south. In the middle of the row, Taro also gets to tenpai, calling riichi on a 47m ryanmen. On the ippatsu draw, Taro gets the 4m to win the hand. Taro wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1 for 4,000 all and putting him above 50,000.
Yakuman Tenpai?!?
November 8, Game 1, S3-2
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s10_p706
In S3-2, the scores are quite spread out, so a big win is necessary for all players to change placement. At the start, the player closest to tenpai is Taro, who sit 2-shanten for chiitoi. If we were only to consider standard hands, all four players are tied at 3-shanten. Of particular note, Yu has a huge hand with all four dora 8s and a red 5m. At the end of the 1st row, Shibukawa and Kurosawa are iishanten while the other two are 2-shanten. For Kurosawa, she has 4 pairs and an ankou, putting her 2-shanten for a potential suuankou. In the middle of the 2nd row, Taro makes a call to get to a 3s yakuless tenpai, but he later rejects it to get a yaku. A few turns later, Shibukawa gets to tenpai, calling riichi to guarantee a yaku and waiting on a 147p sanmenchan.
Calling chii on Shibukawa’s riichi tile, Taro gets to tenpai and waits on a 2p/2s shanpon.
Right after, Kurosawa draws a 2nd ankou to get to toitoi iishanten. The very next turn, she makes her third ankou putting her tenpai for a potential suuankou. She calls riichi, hoping to draw the 1p or 8m herself to get the yakuman.
Calling Kurosawa’s riichi tile, Yu is the fourth player to get to tenpai, waiting on a 5m tanki for haneman.
On Shibukawa’s draw, he draws the 2s and deals into Taro, killing Kurosawa’s yakuman chance in the process. Taro wins the hand with Tanyao only for 1,500+600 plus three riichi sticks, putting him at 62,500.
Kurosawa
November 7, Game 1
In S4-0, Kurosawa is the dealer, 28,200 behind 1st place. Though the lead is difference is quite big, anything can happen during a dealership. Her hand doesn’t start out so well, being 5-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand. The wall treats her well in the 1st row, giving her a sequence, a red 5s and a pair of easts, putting her 2-shanten by turn 6. The 2nd row wasn’t as kind to Kurosawa, keeping her 2-shanten and letting Yu advance. At the start of the 3rd row, Yu gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69s ryanmen. With a call of the east and a good draw, Kurosawa is able to get to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen. Immediately after, Yu draws and discards the red 5p, dealing into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with East/Aka 2 for 5,800 plus Yu’s riichi stick.
In S4-1, Kurosawa is now 21,400 behind 1st place. She starts out with a strong hand, being 2-shanten for both chiitoi and a standard hand, as well as an isolated east dora and a paired red 5m. The 1st row pushes her hand away from chiitoi, but forces her to get rid of the east dora. By turn 4, she is iishanten. At the start of the 2nd row, Kurosawa draws the red 5s to get to tenpai. She calls riichi, waiting on a 5m/9m shanpon. Everyone starts folding, but they start to get low on safe tiles. With Kurosawa throwing the 8m and later the 2m, the 5m becomes tempting. At the end of the 2nd row, the 5m seemed like the safest tile for Taro to throw, so he throws it, dealing into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Riichi/Aka 2 for 7,700+300, putting her 5,400 from 1st.
Video (S4-2): https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s10_p707
In S4-2 and S4-3, Kurosawa was the first one to call riichi, pushing both hands to a draw and letting her gain 1,000 and 3,000 in tenpai payments.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s70_p710
In S4-4, Kurosawa is just 2,300 behind Taro and is looking to win the 4,200 in bonus sticks up for grabs. She starts off 3-shanten with a red 5m and two ryanmens. She pares her hand with her first few discards, but only gets to 2-shanten by the end of the 1st row. At the start of the 2nd row, she draws a pair, getting her to iishanten. Two turns later, she fills in her last kanchan to get to tenpai. Kurosawa calls riichi, waiting on a 47p ryanmen. In the first go-around, Taro makes a call to break ippatsu and push his hand, but the call actually shifts the wall in Kurosawa’s favour. On Kurosawa’s draw, she finds the 7p and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 4,000+400 all plus three riichi sticks. With the win, Kurosawa is now in 1st place with 67,300.
In S4-5, Kurosawa is in the lead and showing no sign of stopping. She starts out with a valuable hand, sitting 3-shanten with two 5s doras (including the red 5s). On turn 5, Kurosawa gets to iishanten. At the end of the 1st row, Kurosawa gets rid of a dora 5s to have a perfect iishanten. At the start of the 2nd row, Kurosawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14s ryanmen. As Kurosawa waits, 2nd place Taro builds his hand. In the middle of the 2nd row, Taro gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen, hoping to draw the 3m himself and get an uradora to take 1st place. However, on Taro’s very last draw, he gets the 4s and deals into Kuorsawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with Riichi/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 7,700+1,500 plus Taro’s riichi stick, sending her score above 75,000.
In S4-6, Kurosawa calls riichi on a Honitsu/Chiitoi in the first row, forcing everyone to fold. The hand ended in a draw with Kurosawa the only one tenpai.
In S4-7, Kurosawa starts out with a big chiitoi iishanten with a red 5m in hand. Unfortunately, the slow nature of chiitoi gives her opponents time to develop. After some calls, Yu is actually the first to tenpai, waiting on a 47p ryanmen. In order to speed up her hand, Kurosawa keeps her hand flexible and eventually gets to iishanten for a standard hand as well. In the middle of the 2nd row, Kurosawa makes an ankou of wests and calls riichi on a 3p/6s shanpon, with tsumo giving her sanankou as well. On the ippatsu turn, Yu draws the dora east, causing him to fold and giving Kurosawa extra time to win. At the end of the 2nd row, Kurosawa draws the 6s and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Sanankou for 4,000+700 all plus a riichi stick. The win raises her score to 94,600, putting her just 5,400 from the 100k barrier.
In S4-8, Kurosawa starts out 4-shanten with a white dragon pair. Though this hand seemed like the end of Kurosawa’s reign of terror, she just kept drawing good tiles. She fills in a kanchan, makes the white dragon an ankou and at the end of the row, she gets to tenpai, staying dama on a 2m kanchan. As Taro pushes, he throws the 2m and deals into Kurosawa. Kurosawa wins the hand with White Dragon only for 2,000+2,400, bringing her score to 99,000.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s70_p711
In S4-9, Kurosawa is just 1,000 points away from the 100,00 mark. With any win or any tenpai, she will be only the 4th player to hit that mark. She is blessed with a good starting hand, being 2-shanten with two completed sequences. On turn 2, she gets to iishanten. On turn 4, she gets rid of a penchan to create a sanmenchan. At the end of the row, Kurosawa gets to tenpai and sit dama on a yakuless 3p wait. In the middle of the 2nd row, Kurosawa breaks her tenpai to fish for a better wait and a turn later, she gets back to tenpai and calls riichi on a 5p kanchan which gives her iipeikou. On the ippatsu draw, she gets the 5p and wins the hand. Kurosawa wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Iipeikou for 4,000+900 all, putting her score to 113,700. With the 113,700, she now holds the record for highest score ever achieved in an M-League game.
In S4-10, Kurosawa wants to see how far she can push it. Her starting hand is in her favour, being 2-shanten and clear for tanyao. However, she isn’t alone. Yu starts out 2-shanten with a pair of green dragons, while Taro and Shibukawa have paths to tanyao or dragons. By the start of the 2nd row, Kurosawa is iishanten with 10 possible tiles to give her a good wait tenpai while Shibukawa and Taro are 2-shanten for tanyao and red dragon respectively. Near the end of the 2nd row, Taro calls the red dragon to get to iishanten. Right after, Kurosawa is the first to tenpai, calling riichi on a 47s ryanmen.
Even with the dealer riichi, neither Yu nor Taro gave up. With a call, Yu gets himself to iishanten. At the end of the row, Taro draws the last of Kurosawa’s waits and sits tenpai on a 47p ryanmen. With the 7p being a safe tile against Kurosawa, he was ready to end the game.
With two calls, Yu is tenpai as well, sitting on a 5m tanki for baiman. If he wins by tsumo, he moves into 2nd place.
Approaching the end of the 3rd row, Shibukawa is stuck at iishanten and still looking to get to tenpai. Since the 1p and 7p were previously discarded and safe against Kurosawa, Shibukawa throws the 4p and ends up dealing into Taro. Taro wins the hand with Red Dragon/Aka 1 for 2,000+3,000, ending the game.
After 3.5 hours and 26 hands, the game was finally over. With this game, many records were broken or tied:
- Highest score achieved: 113,700
- Highest final score: 112,700 (+132.7pts)
- Most hands won by a single person in one hanchan: 9 wins (tied)
- Most hands in a single game: 26 hands
- Longest game: 3 hours 26 minutes
- Lowest score ever achieved: -47,600
- Lowest final score: -47,600 (-107.6pts)
Shibukawa’s Redemption
November 7, Game 2
Even after Shibukawa’s disastrous first game, Shibukawa chose to play in the second game, giving him a chance to redeem himself.
In E3-0, Shibukawa is 2nd place and is 5,300 behind 1st place. He starts out the hand 4-shanten with a pair of green dragons and an isolated dora 2m. On turn 3, he pairs up the dora 2m to advance to 3-shanten. While Shibukawa waits to advance, Maruyama makes a call to get to a mangan tenpai on a 6m kanchan. At the start of the 2nd row, Shibukawa draws a third 2m, guaranteeing at least a mangan should he win. A turn later, he fills in a kanchan to get to iishanten. With one more draw, Shibukawa got to tenpai and called riichi on a 7m kanchan. On the ippatsu draw, Shibukawa found the 7m to win the hand. Shibukawa wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Dora 3/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000, moving him into 1st place.
Jumping to S2-0, Shibukawa is in 2nd place after Nakabayashi won a haneman in E4-0. Shibukawa starts out the hand 2-shanten with a clear route to tanyao. On turn 3, he draws a red 5m, giving him a 445m shape. At the end of the 1st row, he gets to a perfect iishanten. In the middle of the 2nd row, Shibukawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 369p sanmenchan. Despite Nakabyashi’s attempts to get a chinitsu hand and stop Shibukawa, he ends up drawing the 3p, stopping his progress. At the start of the 3rd row, Shibukawa draws the 9p and wins the hand. Shibukawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Aka 2/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s30_p710
In S3-0, Shibukawa starts out 4-shanten with a distant possibility of a 789 sanshoku. In the first row, he draws a dora 6m which breaks his 789 sanshoku chance, but it does advance his hand and give him one more han. By the end of the row, Shibukawa is 2-shanten. In the middle of the 2nd row, both Nakabayashi and Shibukawa fill in a kanchan for tenpai, with Nakabayashi waiting on a 4m kanchan and Shibukawa calling riichi on a 7p penchan. It takes a lot of waiting but, on the second-last tile in the wall, Shibukawa manages to draw the 7p to win the hand. Shibukawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 2,000/4,000, raising his score to 55,700.
Shibukawa would hold onto that lead until the end of the game, resulting in his first M-League win and the completion of his redemption arc.
Katsumata
November 8, Game 1
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s20_p713
In E3-3, Katsumata is sitting in 3rd place, 12,100 behind 1st place. With a mangan tsumo, he would move into 1st place. He starts out the hand 3-shanten for chiitoi (4-shanten for a standard hand) but lacking dora or sequences. In the 1st row, he creates a ryanmen, an ankou and gets to iishanten. In the 2nd row, Katsumata draws a second 6s and gets rid of his 4s. On the very next turn, he draws a 5s and making his 4s discard painful and putting him in a potential furiten position. Even so, Katsumata takes the ryanmen. The very next turn, Katsumata gets to tenpai and waits on a yakuless furiten 47s ryanmen.
In the 3rd row, Hinata joins Katsumata and gets to tenpai, waiting on a 5m tanki.
Right after, Uotani gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 47m ryanmen, with the 4m also giving sanshoku.
On the ippatsu draw, Katsumata draws a fourth 3p. With the 3p being dangerous and with a chance to stay in tenpai, he calls kan. When the kandora is flipped his hand now has 4 more dora! Though the rinshan misses, his hand now has a lot of value. When Hinata draws a dangerous tile, she folds. On Katsumata’s last draw, he gets the 7s and wins the hand. Katsumata wins with Tsumo/Dora 4 for 2,000+300/4,000+300 plus Uotani’s riichi stick, moving Katsumata into 1st place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-15_s90_p252
In E4-0, Katsumata is the dealer and starts out 3-shanten with a pair of 4m dora. His hand moves forward, getting to chiitoi iishanten on turn 4 while still having a potential to go for a standard hand. At the same time as Katsumata’s chiitoi builds, Takamiya builds for chiitoi as well. At the end of the first row, Takamiya is the first to tenpai and calls riichi on a 1p tanki.
As Katsumata tries to work around the riichi, his hand shifts toward a standard hand. At the end of the 2nd row, he confirms his standard hand, getting to iishanten. In the middle of the 3rd row, Katsumata draws a 4m dora to make an ankou and calls riichi on a 25p ryanmen. On the ippatsu draw, Katsumata draws the takame 2p and wins the hand. Katsumata wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Iipeikou/Dora 3 for 6,000 all plus one riichi stick, putting him above 50,000.
Skipping to S2-0, Katsumata is 17,500 ahead of 2nd and wanting to move the game along. He starts out. with a 2-shanten hand with a red 5s double dora and a ryanmen. At the end of the row, Katsumata is iishanten. In the middle of the 2nd row, Katsumata gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36s ryanmen. Soon after, Hinata also gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 69p ryanmen. With Hinata’s wait only having two left while Katsumata had six left, Katsumata was the favourite to win. Near the end of the 2nd row, Katsumata draws the 6s and wins the hand. Katsumata wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 2,000/4,000 and one riichi stick, putting him above 60,000.
Haneman Tsumos Everywhere
November 9, Game 2
In E1-3, Matsumoto is in last place after being noten in the past three hands. He starts out the hand 2-shanten with three ryanmens and a secured pair. In the first row, he shifts his 1p pair to a 3p pair, giving him tanyao and iishanten. At the start of the 2nd row, Matsumoto gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36m ryanmen. On the ippatsu draw, he finds the 6m. Matsumoto wins with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Tanyao/Aka 1 for 3,000+300/6,000+300 and two riichi sticks, moving him from 4th to 1st.
In E3-0, Tojo is in 3rd place and starts out 4-shanten with a 6m dora. Drawing a red 5p dora and creating ryanmens, Tojo gets to 2-shanten with three ryanmens at the end of the 1st row. Around the table, players are making calls left and right. In the middle of the 2nd row, Matsumoto is the first to tenpai on a 58m ryanmen, but he folds against Aki’s honitsu discards when he draws a 1m. A few turns later, Tojo gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 14p ryanmen. With a call, Aki gets to tenpai as well, sitting on a 7m wait. In the 3rd row, Tojo draws the 1p. Tojo wins the hand with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.
In E4-0, Hisato is in 3rd place and 12,000 behind 1st place. He starts out 3-shanten with a dora 3s and a red 5p. Getting some ryanmens, Hisato was able to get to 2-shanten by the end of the 1st row. In the 2nd row, Hisato connects a lone red 5m to make a ryanmen, guaranteeing a good wait when he gets to tenpai. Near the end of the 2nd row, Hisato gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 36p ryanmen. Three turns later, Hisato draws the 3p and wins the hand. Hisato wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Aka 2 for 3,000/6,000, moving into 1st place.
Chasing Tenpai Always Wins
November 10, Game 2, S2-1
In S2-1, Sonoda is in 3rd place and sitting 12,300 behind 1st place Ooi. With his team below -400.0, Sonoda is the team’s only hope. He starts out with a great hand, being 2-shanten with a 4p dora and a red 5m. Heis hand has a very good chance at tanyao, but a 1m draw would derail that. Sonoda improved his shapes in the 1st row, but is only iishanten at the end of the row. When Sonoda discards a north from his hand, Ooi makes a call to get to tenpai on a 25p ryanmen. Near the middle of the 2nd row, Sonoda draws a 2p, which creates a pair in his hand and gets him to tenpai. Sonoda calls riichi, waiting on a 147m witha good chance at mangan. In the ippatsu turn, Ooi refuses to give up his good wait tenpai and discards the 7m, dealing into Sonoda. Sonoda wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Tanyao/Dora 1/Aka 1 for 18,000+300, putting him in 1st place.
Ooi’s Escape
November 10, Game 2
In S3-1, Ooi is in 4th place, 3,700 behind 3rd. He starts out the hand 4-shanten with a distant souzu honitsu being the only potential value. In the first row, he pairs up his west yakuhai, calls pon on the 1s and gets to 2-shanten by turn 5. At around the same time, Kayamori gets to tenpai on a 14s ryanmen. If Ooi calls kan on the 1s, Kayamori will be able to call ron and get chankan. With Ooi’s being desperate, he keeps pushing. At the start of the 2nd row, he draws the 6s dora to get to iishanten. With a call of the west in the middle of the row, he gets to tenpai on a 58s ryanmen. A turn later, he draws the 8s and wins the hand. Ooi wins with Honitsu/West/Dora 1 for 2,000+100/4,000+100, moving into 3rd place.
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s50_p712
In S4-0, Ooi has only one more hand to close the 12,200 gap between him and 2nd place Kayamori. He starts out 3-shanten, but lacking any dora or clear yaku. He keeps his hand closed and waits for the tiles to tell him what to go for. On turn 3, he draws a dora and his hand slowly forms a pinfu or a potential ittsuu. On turn 5, he gets to tenpai, but waits on a yakuless 7s wait. The very next turn, he breaks his tenpai for a wider acceptance potential in pinzu. While he waits for tenpai, Kayamori the dealer tries to get to 1st place. On turn 8, Kayamori gets to tenpai and calls riichi, waiting on a 14m ryanmen.
Since Ooi still has a decent chance at a mangan tsumo, he pushes. On turn 10, Ooi draws a 2p to create a sanmenchan. With a good wait tenpai, Ooi calls riichi and waits on a 147p sanmenchan. Ooi just needs to tsumo and find one more hand to move into 2nd. On the ippatsu draw, Ooi draws the 7p, getting the one extra han he needs. Ooi wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Tsumo/Pinfu/Dora 1/Ura 1 for 3,000/6,000 plus Kayamori’s riichi stick to take 2nd place.
In just two hands, Ooi moved from 10,600 to 32,900, avoiding last and proving once again that the Abemas are a force to be reckoned with.
Chasing
November 11, Game 1, E4-0
Video: https://abema.tv/video/episode/444-14_s80_p714
In E4-0, Mizuhara is the dealer in 1st place, but she is only 2,000 ahead of 2nd. She starts out the hand 2-shanten with a pair of north doras and a red 5m. With 7 different pinzu, her hand also has the chance of getting an ittsuu. Though the 1st row faled to help, she draws an 8p to get to iishanten, waiting on the 4p to give her ittsuu. Near the end of the 2nd row, Mizuhara draws a 6m. Though it isn’t a 4p, it does get her to tenpai. She chooses to stay dama, waiting on a 47p ryanmen for dealer mangan minimum.
Within a go-around, Date also gets to tenpai, calling riichi on a 3s kanchan with sanshoku guaranteed.
Right after, Honda gets to tenpai and calls riichi waiting on a north/8m shanpon for a guaranteed mangan.
With two players already in riichi, Mizuhara puts a stick on the table, calling riichi with her ryanmen. On Honda’s ippatsu draw, he gets the 4p and ends up dealing into Mizuhara. Mizuhara wins the hand with Riichi/Ippatsu/Pinfu/Ittsuu/Dora 2/Aka 1 for 24,000 plus two riichi sticks, putting her score above 60,000.
Donations
November 11, Game 2, E1-0
In E1-0, Honda is the starting dealer, wanting to make up for his last place the previous game. He starts out the hand 4-shanten with a red 5s and a sanmenchan. Completing sequences and making pairs, Honda gets to iishanten at the end of the 1st row, guaranteed to have tanyao. On turn 8, Honda gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 3p kanchan.
In the middle of the 2nd row, Takizawa has a decent hand going, guaranteed to be tanyao. With a call of kan and a good draw, Takizawa gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 25s ryanmen. In the 3rd row, Takizawa makes another kan, hoping to get more dora or a winning tile.
Both the dora and the rinshan miss. On Honda’s draw right after, he finds the 3p and wins the hand. Because of the kans, Honda was able to find two ura dora, enough to upgrade his hand to a haneman. Honda wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Aka 1/Ura 2 for 6,00 all plus Takizawa’s riichi stick, a great start to the game.
Double Riichi
November 11, Game 2, E3-3
In E3-3, Honda is in 2nd place after being over taken by Matsugase the previous hand. With Honda’s initial 13 tiles, he has an ankou of souths, a 456m sequence, a 789p sequence and a pair of 1s. With a floating 2s and 7s, any souzu will give Honda tenpai. On his first draw, he gets to 3s. Putting the 7s sideways, Honda calls riichi and waits on a 14s ryanmen.
On the ippatsu draw, Matsugase gets himself to iishanten. With essentially no cues as to what is safe, he pushes his hand. On turn 4, Matsugase gets to tenpai and calls riichi on a 7s kanchan.
With two of Matsugase’s waits already cut, Honda is still the favourite to win. However, the 7s is safe against Honda, so it could go either way. At the start of the 2nd row, Honda draws the 4s and wins the hand. Honda wins with Double Riichi/Tsumo/Dora 1 for 2,000+300/4,000+300 plus Matsugase’s riichi stick, retaking the lead.
Quick
November 11, Game 2, E4-0
In E4-0, Takizawa is in 3rd place, sitting as the dealer and behind 2nd place. He starts out with a near-perfect hand, being iishanten with a pair of 3m dora. On the very next turn, Takizawa gets to tenpai, calling riichi on a 14p ryanmen (with the 4p giving tanyao as well). With all eight of his willing tiles left in the wall, it was almost certain that Takizawa would win the hand. In the middle of the 2nd row, Takizawa drew the 4p to win the hand. Flipping one uradora, Takizawa wins with Riichi/Tsumo/Tanyao/Dora 2/Ura 1 for 6,000 all, widening the gap between him and 4th and getting a bit closer to 2nd place.
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